THE GHOST-SEER; OR, APPARITIONIST. 

 AND

 SPORT OF DESTINY

FROM THE PAPERS OF COUNT O-------

I am about to relate an adventure which to many will appear incredible, but of which I was in great part an eye-witness. The few who areacquainted with a certain political event will, if indeed these pagesshould happen to find them alive, receive a welcome solution thereof. And, even to the rest of my readers, it will be, perhaps, important asa contribution to the history of the deception and aberrations of thehuman intellect. The boldness of the schemes which malice is able tocontemplate and to carry out must excite astonishment, as must also themeans of which it can avail itself to accomplish its aims. Clear, unvarnished truth shall guide my pen; for, when these pages come beforethe public, I shall be no more, and shall therefore never learn theirfate. 

On my return to Courland in the year 17--, about the time of theCarnival, I visited the Prince of ------- at Venice. We had beenacquainted in the ------ service, and we here renewed an intimacy which, by the restoration of peace, had been interrupted. As I wished to seethe curiosities of this city, and as the prince was waiting only for thearrival of remittances to return to his native country, he easilyprevailed on me to tarry till his departure. We agreed not to separateduring the time of our residence at Venice, and the prince was kindenough to accommodate me at his lodgings at the Moor Hotel. 

As the prince wished to enjoy himself, and his small revenues did notpermit him to maintain the dignity of his rank, he lived at Venice inthe strictest incognito. Two noblemen, in whom he had entireconfidence, and a few faithful servants, composed all his retinue. Heshunned expenditure, more however from inclination than economy. Heavoided all kinds of dissipation, and up to the age of thirty-five yearshad resisted the numerous allurements of this voluptuous city. To thecharms of the fair sex he was wholly indifferent. A settled gravity andan enthusiastic melancholy were the prominent features of his character. His affections were tranquil, but obstinate to excess. He formed hisattachments with caution and timidity, but when once formed they werecordial and permanent. In the midst of a tumultuous crowd he walked insolitude. Wrapped in his own visionary ideas, he was often a strangerto the world about him; and, sensible of his own deficiency in theknowledge of mankind, he scarcely ever ventured an opinion of his own, and was apt to pay an unwarrantable deference to the judgment of others. Though far from being weak, no man was more liable to be governed; but, when conviction had once entered his mind, he became firm and decisive;equally courageous to combat an acknowledged prejudice or to die for anew one. 

As he was the third prince of his house, he had no likely prospect ofsucceeding to the sovereignty. His ambition had never been awakened;his passions had taken another direction. Contented to find himselfindependent of the will of others, he never enforced his own as a law;his utmost wishes did not soar beyond the peaceful quietude of a privatelife, free from care. He read much, but without discrimination. As hiseducation had been neglected, and, as he had early entered the career ofarms, his understanding had never been fully matured. Hence theknowledge he afterwards acquired served but to increase the chaosof his ideas, because it was built on an unstable foundation. 

He was a Protestant, as all his family had been, by birth, but not byinvestigation, which he had never attempted, although at one period ofhis life he had been an enthusiast in its cause. He had never, so faras came to my knowledge, been a freemason. 

One evening we were, as usual, walking by ourselves, well masked in thesquare of St. Mark. It was growing late, and the crowd was dispersing, when the prince observed a mask which followed us everywhere. This maskwas an Armenian, and walked alone. We quickened our steps, andendeavored to baffle him by repeatedly altering our course. It was invain, the mask was always close behind us. "You have had no intriguehere, I hope, " said the prince at last, "the husbands of Venice aredangerous. " "I do not know a single lady in the place, " was my answer. "Let us sit down here, and speak German, " said he; "I fancy we aremistaken for some other persons. " We sat down upon a stone bench, andexpected the mask would have passed by. He came directly up to us, andtook his seat by the side of the prince. The latter took out his watch, and, rising at the same time, addressed me thus in a loud voice inFrench, "It is past nine. Come, we forget that we are waited for at theLouvre. " This speech he only invented in order to deceive the mask asto our route. "Nine!" repeated the latter in the same language, in aslow and expressive voice, "Congratulate yourself, my prince" (callinghim by his real name); "he died at nine. " In saying this, he rose andwent away. 

We looked at each other in amazement. "Who is dead?" said the princeat length, after a long silence. "Let us follow him, " replied I, "anddemand an explanation. " We searched every corner of the place; the maskwas nowhere to be found. We returned to our hotel disappointed. Theprince spoke not a word to me the whole way; he walked apart by himself, and appeared to be greatly agitated, which he afterwards confessed to mewas the case. Having reached home, he began at length to speak: "Is itnot laughable, " said he, "that a madman should have the power thus todisturb a man's tranquillity by two or three words?" We wished eachother a goodnight; and, as soon as I was in my own apartment, I noteddown in my pocket-book the day and the hour when this adventurehappened. It was on a Thursday. 

The next evening the prince said to me, "Suppose we go to the square ofSt. Mark, and seek for our mysterious Armenian. I long to see thiscomedy unravelled. " I consented. We walked in the square till eleven. The Armenian was nowhere to be seen. We repeated our walk the fourfollowing evenings, and each time with the same bad success. 

On the sixth evening, as we went out of the hotel, it occurred to me, whether designedly or otherwise I cannot recollect, to tell the servantswhere we might be found in case we should be inquired for. The princeremarked my precaution, and approved of it with a smile. We found thesquare of St. Mark very much crowded. Scarcely had we advanced thirtysteps when I perceived the Armenian, who was pressing rapidly throughthe crowd, and seemed to be in search of some one. We were justapproaching him, when Baron F-----, one of the prince's retinue, came upto us quite breathless, and delivered to the prince a letter. "It issealed with black, " said he, "and we supposed from this that it mightcontain matters of importance. " I was struck as with a thunderbolt. The prince went near a torch, and began to read. "My cousin is dead!"exclaimed he. "When?" inquired I anxiously, interrupting him. Helooked again into the letter. "Last Thursday night at nine. "

We had not recovered from our surprise when the Armenian stood beforeus. "You are known here, my prince!" said he. "Hasten to your hotel. You will find there the deputies from the Senate. Do not hesitate toaccept the honor they intend to offer you. Baron I--forgot to tell youthat your remittances are arrived. " He disappeared among the crowd. 

We hastened to our hotel, and found everything as the Armenian had toldus. Three noblemen of the republic were waiting to pay their respectsto the prince, and to escort him in state to the Assembly, where thefirst nobility of the city were ready to receive him. He had hardlytime enough to give me a hint to sit up for him till his return. 

About eleven o'clock at night he returned. On entering the room heappeared grave and thoughtful. Having dismissed the servants, he tookme by the hand, and said, in the words of Hamlet, "Count -----

 "'There are more things in heav'n and earth, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. '"

"Gracious prince!" replied I, "you seem to forget that you are retiringto your pillow greatly enriched in prospect. " The deceased was thehereditary prince. 

"Do not remind me of it, " said the prince; "for should I even haveacquired a crown I am now too much engaged to occupy myself with such atrifle. If that Armenian has not merely guessed by chance--"

"How can that be, my prince?" interrupted I. 

"Then will I resign to you all my hopes of royalty in exchange for amonk's cowl. "

I have mentioned this purposely to show how far every ambitious idea wasthen distant from his thoughts. 

The following evening we went earlier than usual to the square of St. Mark. A sudden shower of rain obliged us to take shelter in acoffee-house, where we found a party engaged at cards. The prince took hisplace behind the chair of a Spaniard to observe the game. I went intoan adjacent chamber to read the newspapers. A short time afterwards Iheard a noise in the card-room. Previously to the entrance of theprince the Spaniard had been constantly losing, but since then he hadwon upon every card. The fortune of the game was reversed in a strikingmanner, and the bank was in danger of being challenged by the pointeur, whom this lucky change of fortune had rendered more adventurous. AVenetian, who kept the bank, told the prince in a very rude manner thathis presence interrupted the fortune of the game, and desired him toquit the table. The latter looked coldly at him, remained in his place, and preserved the same countenance, when the Venetian repeated hisinsulting demand in French. He thought the prince understood neitherFrench nor Italian; and, addressing himself with a contemptuous laugh tothe company, said "Pray, gentlemen, tell me how I must make myselfunderstood to this fool. " At the same time he rose and prepared toseize the prince by the arm. His patience forsook the latter; hegrasped the Venetian with a strong hand, and threw him violently on theground. The company rose up in confusion. Hearing the noise, I hastilyentered the room, and unguardedly called the prince by his name. "Takecare, " said I, imprudently; "we are in Venice. " The name of the princecaused a general silence, which ended in a whispering which appeared tome to have a dangerous tendency. All the Italians present divided intoparties, and kept aloof. One after the other left the room, so that wesoon found ourselves alone with the Spaniard and a few Frenchmen. "Youare lost, prince, " said they, "if you do not leave the city immediately. The Venetian whom you have handled so roughly is rich enough to hire abravo. It costs him but fifty zechins to be revenged by your death. "The Spaniard offered, for the security of the prince, to go for theguards, and even to accompany us home himself. The Frenchmen proposedto do the same. We were still deliberating what to do when the doorssuddenly opened, and some officers of the Inquisition entered the room. They produced an order of government, which charged us both to followthem immediately. They conducted us under a strong escort to the canal, where a gondola was waiting for us, in which we were ordered to embark. We were blindfolded before we landed. They led us up a large stonestaircase, and through a long, winding passage, over vaults, as I judgedfrom the echoes that resounded under our feet. At length we came toanother staircase, and, having descended a flight of steps, we entered ahall, where the bandage was removed from our eyes. We found ourselvesin a circle of venerable old men, all dressed in black; the hall washung round with black and dimly lighted. A dead silence reigned in theassembly, which inspired us with a feeling of awe. One of the old men, who appeared to be the principal Inquisitor, approached the prince witha solemn countenance, and said, pointing to the Venetian, who was ledforward:

"Do you recognize this man as the same who offended you at thecoffee-house?"

"I do, " answered the prince. 

Then addressing the prisoner: "Is this the same person whom you meant tohave assassinated to-night?"

The prisoner replied, "Yes. "

In the same instant the circle opened, and we saw with horror the headof the Venetian severed from his body. 

"Are you content with this satisfaction?" said the Inquisitor. Theprince had fainted in the arms of his attendants. "Go, " added theInquisitor, turning to me, with a terrible voice, "Go; and in futurejudge less hastily of the administration of justice in Venice. "

Who the unknown friend was who had thus saved us from inevitable death, by interposing in our behalf the active arm of justice, we could notconjecture. Filled with terror we reached our hotel. It was pastmidnight. The chamberlain, Z-------, was waiting anxiously for us atthe door. 

"How fortunate it was that you sent us a message, " said he to theprince, as he lighted us up the staircase. "The news which Baron F-----soon after brought us respecting you from the square of St. Mark wouldotherwise have given us the greatest uneasiness. "

"I sent you a message!" said the prince. "When? I know nothing of it. "

"This evening, after eight, you sent us word that we must not be alarmedif you should come home later to-night than usual. "

The prince looked at me. "Perhaps you have taken this precautionwithout mentioning it to me. "

I knew nothing of it. 

"It must be so, however, " replied the chamberlain, "since here is yourrepeating-watch, which you sent me as a mark of authenticity. "

The prince put his hand to his watch-pocket. It was empty, and herecognized the watch which the chamberlain held as his own. 

"Who brought it?" said he, in amazement. 

"An unknown mask, in an Armenian dress, who disappeared immediately. "

We stood looking at each other. "What do you think of this?" said theprince at last, after a long silence. "I have a secret guardian here inVenice. "

The frightful transaction of this night threw the prince into a fever, which confined him to his room for a week. During this time our hotelwas crowded with Venetians and strangers, who visited the prince from adeference to his newly-discovered rank. They vied with each other inoffers of service, and it was not a little entertaining to observe thatthe last visitor seldom failed to hint some suspicion derogatory to thecharacter of the preceding one. Billets-doux and nostrums poured inupon us from all quarters. Every one endeavored to recommend himself inhis own way. Our adventure with the Inquisition was no more mentioned. The court of --------, wishing the prince to delay his departure fromVenice for some time, orders were sent to several bankers to pay himconsiderable sums of money. He was thus, against his will, compelled toprotract his residence in Italy; and at his request I also resolved topostpone my departure for some time longer. 

As soon as the prince had recovered strength enough to quit his chamberhe was advised by his physician to take an airing in a gondola upon theBrenta, for the benefit of the air, to which, as the weather was serene, he readily consented. Just as the prince was about to step into theboat he missed the key of a little chest in which some very valuablepapers were enclosed.. We immediately turned back to search for it. Hevery distinctly remembered that he had locked the chest the day before, and he had never left the room in the interval. As our endeavors tofind it proved ineffectual, we were obliged to relinquish the search inorder to avoid being too late. The prince, whose soul was abovesuspicion, gave up the key as lost, and desired that it might not bementioned any more. 

Our little voyage was exceedingly delightful. A picturesque country, which at every winding of the river seemed to increase in richness andbeauty; the serenity of the sky, which formed a May day in the middle ofFebruary; the charming gardens and elegant countryseats which adornedthe banks of the Brenta; the maestic city of Venice behind us, with itslofty spires, and a forest of masts, rising as it were out of the waves;all this afforded us one of the most splendid prospects in the world. We wholly abandoned ourselves to the enchantment of Nature's luxuriantscenery; our minds shared the hilarity of the day; even the princehimself lost his wonted gravity, and vied with us in merry jestsand diversions. On landing about two Italian miles from the city weheard the sound of sprightly music; it came from a small village at alittle distance from the Brenta, where there was at that time a fair. The place was crowded with company of every description. A troop ofyoung girls and boys, dressed in theatrical habits, welcomed us in apantomimical dance. The invention was novel; animation and graceattended their every movement. Before the dance was quite concludedthe principal actress, who represented a queen, stopped suddenly, as if arrested by an invisible arm. Herself and those around her weremotionless. The music ceased. The assembly was silent. Not a breathwas to be heard, and the queen stood with her eyes fixed on the groundin deep abstraction. On a sudden she started from her reverie with thefury of one inspired, and looked wildly around her. "A king is amongus, " she exclaimed, taking her crown from her head, and laying it at thefeet of the prince. Every one present cast their eyes upon him, anddoubted for some time whether there was any meaning in this farce; somuch were they deceived by the impressive seriousness of the actress. This silence was at length broken by a general clapping of hands, as amark of approbation. I looked at the prince. I noticed that heappeared not a little disconcerted, and endeavored to escape theinquisitive glances of the spectators. He threw money to the players, and hastened to extricate himself from the crowd. 

We had advanced but a few steps when a venerable barefooted friar, pressing through the crowd, placed himself in the prince's path. "Mylord, " said he, "give the holy Virgin part of your gold. You will wanther prayers. " He uttered these words in a tone of voice which startledus extremely, and then disappeared in the throng. 

In the meantime our company had increased. An English lord, whom theprince had seen before at Nice, some merchants of Leghorn, a Germanprebendary, a French abbe with some ladies, and a Russian officer, attached themselves to our party. The physiognomy of the latter hadsomething so uncommon as to attract our particular attention. Never inmy life did I see such various features and so little expression; somuch attractive benevolence and such forbidding coldness in the sameface. Each passion seemed by turns to have exercised its ravages on it, and to have successively abandoned it. Nothing remained but the calm, piercing look of a person deeply skilled in the knowledge of mankind;but it was a look that abashed every one on whom it was directed. Thisextraordinary man followed us at a distance, and seemed apparently totake but little interest in what was passing. 

We came to a booth where there was a lottery. The ladies bought shares. We followed their example, and the prince himself purchased a ticket. He won a snuffbox. As he opened it I saw him turn pale and start back. It contained his lost key. 

"How is this?" said he to me, as we were left for a moment alone. "A superior power attends me, omniscience surrounds me. An invisiblebeing, whom I cannot escape, watches over my steps. I must seek for theArmenian, and obtain an explanation from him. "

The sun was setting when we arrived at the pleasurehouse, where a supperhad been prepared for us. The prince's name had augmented our companyto sixteen. Besides the above-mentioned persons there was a virtuosofrom Rome, several Swiss gentlemen, and an adventurer from Palermo inregimentals, who gave himself out for a captain. We resolved to spendthe evening where we were, and to return home by torchlight. Theconversation at table was lively. The prince could not forbear relatinghis adventure of the key, which excited general astonishment. A warmdispute on the subject presently took place. Most of the companypositively maintained that the pretended occult sciences were nothingbetter than juggling tricks. The French abbe, who had drank rather toomuch wine, challenged the whole tribe of ghosts, the English lorduttered blasphemies, and the musician made a cross to exorcise thedevil. Some few of the company, amongst whom was the prince, contendedthat opinions respecting such matters ought to be kept to oneself. Inthe meantime the Russian officer discoursed with the ladies, and did notseem to pay attention to any part of conversation. In the heat of thedispute no one observed that the Sicilian had left the room. In lessthan half an hour he returned wrapped in a cloak, and placed himselfbehind the chair of the Frenchman. "A few moments ago, " said he, "youhad the temerity to challenge the whole tribe of ghosts. Would you wishto make a trial with one of them?"

"I will, " answered the abbe, "if you will take upon yourself tointroduce one. "

"That I am ready to do, " replied the Sicilian, turning to us, "as soonas these ladies and gentlemen have left us. "

"Why only then?" exclaimed the Englishman. "A courageous ghost willsurely not be afraid of a cheerful company. "

"I would not answer for the consequences, " said the Sicilian. 

"For heaven's sake, no!" cried the ladies, starting affrighted fromtheir chairs. 

"Call your ghost, " said the abbe, in a tone of defiance, "but warn himbeforehand that there are sharp-pointed weapons here. " At the same timehe asked one of the company for a sword. 

"If you preserve the same intention in his presence, " answered theSicilian, coolly, "you may then act as you please. " He then turnedtowards the prince: "Your highness, " said he, "asserts that your key hasbeen in the hands of a stranger; can you conjecture in whose?"

"No"

"Have you no suspicion?"

"It certainly occurred to me that"--

"Should you know the person if you saw him?"

"Undoubtedly. "

The Sicilian, throwing back his cloak, took out a looking-glass and heldit before the prince. "Is this the man?"

The prince drew back with affright. 

"Whom have you seen?" I inquired. 

"The Armenian. "

The Sicilian concealed his looking-glass under his cloak. 

"Is it the person whom you thought of?" demanded the whole company. 

"The same. "

A sudden change manifested itself on every face; no more laughter was tobe heard. All eyes were fixed with curiosity on the Sicilian. 

"Monsieur l'Abbe! The matter grows serious, " said the Englishman. "I advise you to think of beating a retreat. "

"The fellow is in league with the devil, " exclaimed the Frenchman, andrushed out of the house. The ladies ran shrieking from the room. Thevirtuoso followed them. The German prebendary was snoring in a chair. The Russian officer continued sitting in his place as before, perfectlyindifferent to what was passing. 

"Perhaps your attention was only to raise a laugh at the expense of thatboaster, " said the prince, after they were gone, "or would you indeedfulfil your promise to us?"

"It is true, " replied the Sicilian; "I was but jesting with the abbe. I took him at his word, because I knew very well that the coward wouldnot suffer me to proceed to extremities. The matter itself is, however, too serious to serve merely as a jest. "

"You grant, then, that it is in your power?"

The sorcerer maintained a long silence, and kept his look fixed steadilyon the prince, as if to examine him. 

"It is!" answered he at last. 

The prince's curiosity was now raised to the highest pitch. A fondnessfor the marvellous had ever been his prevailing weakness. His improvedunderstanding and a proper course of reading had for some timedissipated every idea of this kind; but the appearance of the Armenianhad revived them. He stepped aside with the Sicilian, and I heard themin very earnest conversation. 

"You see in me, " said the prince, "a man who burns with impatience to beconvinced on this momentous subject. I would embrace as a benefactor, I would cherish as my best friend him who could dissipate my doubtsand remove the veil from my eyes. Would you render me this importantservice?"

"What is your request!" inquired the Sicilian, hesitating. 

"For the present I only beg some proof of your art. Let me see anapparition. "

"To what will this lead?"

"After a more intimate acquaintance with me you may be able to judgewhether I deserve further instruction. "

"I have the greatest esteem for your highness, gracious prince. Asecret power in your countenance, of which you yourself are as yetignorant, drew me at first sight irresistibly towards you. You are morepowerful than you are yourself aware. You may command me to the utmostextent of my power, but--"

"Then let me see an apparition. "

"But I must first be certain that you do not require it from merecuriosity. Though the invisible powers are in some degree at mycommand, it is on the sacred condition that I do not abuse myauthority. "

"My intentions are most pure. I want truth. "

They left their places, and removed to a distant window, where I couldno longer hear them. The English lord, who had likewise overheard thisconversation, took me aside. "Your prince has a noble mind. I am sorryfor him. I will pledge my salvation that he has to do with a rascal. "

"Everything depends on the manner in which the sorcerer will extricatehimself from this business. "

"Listen to me. The poor devil is now pretending to be scrupulous. Hewill not show his tricks unless he hears the sound of gold. There arenine of us. Let us make a collection. That will spoil his scheme, andperhaps open the eyes of the prince. "

"I am content. " The Englishman threw six guineas upon a plate, and wentround gathering subscriptions. Each of us contributed some louis-d'ors. The Russian officer was particularly pleased with our proposal; he laida bank-note of one hundred zechins on the plate, a piece of extravagancewhich startled the Englishman. We brought the collection to the prince. "Be so kind, " said the English lord, "as to entreat this gentleman inour names to let us see a specimen of his art, and to accept of thissmall token of our gratitude. " The prince added a ring of value, andoffered the whole to the Sicilian. He hesitated a few moments. "Gentlemen, " answered he, "I am humbled by this generosity, but I yieldto your request. Your wishes shall be gratified. " At the same time herang the bell. "As for this money, " continued he, "to which I have noright myself, permit me to send it to the next monastery to be appliedto pious uses. I shall only keep this ring as a precious memorial ofthe worthiest of princes. "

Here the landlord entered; and the Sicilian handed him over the money. "He is a rascal notwithstanding, " whispered the Englishman to me. "He refuses the money because at present his designs are chiefly on theprince. "

"Whom do you wish to see?" asked the sorcerer. 

The prince considered for a moment. "We may as well have a great man atonce, " said the Englishman. "Ask for Pope Ganganelli. It can make nodifference to this gentleman. "

The Sicilian bit his lips. "I dare not call one of the Lord'sanointed. "

"That is a pity!" replied the English lord; "perhaps we might haveheard from him what disorder he died of. "

"The Marquis de Lanoy, " began the prince, "was a French brigadier in thelate war, and my most intimate friend. Having received a mortal woundin the battle of Hastinbeck, he was carried to my tent, where he soonafter died in my arms. In his last agony he made a sign for me toapproach. 'Prince, ' said he to me, 'I shall never again behold mynative land. I must, therefore, acquaint you with a secret known tonone but myself. In a convent on the frontiers of Flanders livesa --------' He expired. Death cut short the thread of his discourse. I wish to see my friend to hear the remainder. "

"You ask much, " exclaimed the Englishman, with an oath. "I proclaim youthe greatest sorcerer on earth if you can solve this problem, " continuedhe, turning to the Sicilian. We admired the wise choice of the prince, and unanimously gave our approval to the proposition. In the meantimethe sorcerer paced up and down the room with hasty steps, apparentlystruggling with himself. 

"This was all that the dying marquis communicated to you?"

"It is all. "

"Did you make no further inquiries about the matter in his nativecountry?"

"I did, but they all proved fruitless. "

"Had the Marquis de Lanoy led an irreproachable life? I dare not callup every shade indiscriminately. "

"He died, repenting the excesses of his youth. "

"Do you carry with you any token of his!"

"I do. " (The prince had really a snuff-box with the marquis' portraitenamelled in miniature on the lid, which he had placed upon the tablenear his plate during the time of supper. )

"I do not want to know what it is. If you will leave me you shall seethe deceased. "

He requested us to wait in the other pavilion until he should call us. At the same time he caused all the furniture to be removed from theroom, the windows to be taken out, and the shutters to be bolted. Heordered the innkeeper, with whom he appeared to be intimately connected, to bring a vessel with burning coals, and carefully to extinguish everyfire in the house. Previous to our leaving the room he obliged usseparately to pledge our honor that we would maintain an everlastingsilence respecting everything we should see and hear. All the doors ofthe pavilion we were in were bolted behind us when we left it. 

It was past eleven, and a dead silence reigned throughout the wholehouse. As we were retiring from the saloon the Russian officer asked mewhether we had loaded pistols. "For what purpose?" asked I. "They maypossibly be of some use, " replied he. "Wait a moment. I will providesome. " He went away. The Baron F------ and I opened a window oppositethe pavilion we had left. We fancied we heard two persons whisperingto each other, and a noise like that of a ladder applied to one of thewindows. This was, however, a mere conjecture, and I did not dareaffirm it as a fact. The Russian officer came back with a brace ofpistols, after having been absent about half an hour. We saw him loadthem with powder and ball. It was almost two o'clock in the morningwhen the sorcerer came and announced that all was prepared. Before weentered the room he desired us to take off our shoes, and to appear inour shirts, stockings, and under-garments. He bolted the doors after usas before. 

We found in the middle of the room a large, black circle, drawn withcharcoal, the space within which was capable of containing us all veryeasily. The planks of the chamber floor next to the wall were taken upall round the room, so that we stood as it were upon an island. Analtar covered with black cloth was placed in the centre upon a carpet ofred satin. A Chaldee Bible was laid open, together with a skull; and asilver crucifix was fastened upon the altar. Instead of candles somespirits of wine were burning in a silver vessel. A thick smoke offrankincense darkened the room and almost extinguished the lights. Thesorcerer was undressed like ourselves, but barefooted; about his bareneck he wore an amulet, suspended by a chain of human hair; round hismiddle was a white apron marked with cabalistic characters andsymbolical figures. 

 [Amulet is a charm or preservative against mischief, witchcraft, or diseases. Amulets were made of stone metal, simples, animals, and everything which fancy or caprice suggested; and sometimes they consisted of words, characters, and sentences ranged in a particular order and engraved upon wood, and worn about the neck or some other part of the body. At other times they were neither written nor engraved, but prepared with many superstitious ceremonies, great regard being usually paid to the influence of the stars. The Arabians have given to this species of amulets the name of talismans. All nations have been fond of amulets. The Jews were extremely superstitious in the use of them to drive away diseases; and even amongst the Christians of the early times amulets were made of the wood of the cross or ribbons, with a text of Scripture written on them, as preservatives against diseases. ]

He desired us to join hands and to observe profound silence; above allhe ordered us not to ask the apparition any question. He desired theEnglishman and myself, whom he seemed to distrust the most, constantlyto hold two naked swords crossways an inch above his head as long as theconjuration should last. We formed a half-moon round him; the Russianofficer placed himself close to the English lord, and was the nearest tothe altar. The sorcerer stood upon the satin carpet with his faceturned to the east. He sprinkled holy water in the direction of thefour cardinal points of the compass, and bowed three times before theBible. The formula of the conjuration, of which we did not understand aword, lasted for the space of seven or eight minutes, at the end ofwhich he made a sign to those who stood close behind to seize him firmlyby the hair. Amid the most violent convulsions he called the deceasedthree times by his name, and the third time he stretched forth his handtowards the crucifix. 

On a sudden we all felt at the same instant a stroke as of a flash oflightning, so powerful that it obliged us to quit each other's hands; aterrible thunder shook the house; the locks jarred; the doors creaked;the cover of the silver box fell down and extinguished the light; and onthe opposite wall over the chimney-piece appeared a human figure in abloody shirt, with the paleness of death on its countenance. 

"Who calls me?" said a hollow, hardly intelligible voice. 

"Thy friend, " answered the sorcerer, "who respects thy memory, and praysfor thy soul. " He named the prince. 

The answers of the apparition were always given at very long intervals. 

"What does he want with me?" continued the voice. 

"He wants to hear the remainder of the confession which then had begunto impart to him in thy dying hour, but did not finish. "

"In a convent on the frontiers of Flanders lives a -------"

The house again trembled; a dreadful thunder rolled; a flash oflightning illuminated the room; the doors flew open, and another humanfigure, bloody and pale as the first, but more terrible, appeared on thethreshold. The spirit in the box began to burn again by itself, and thehall was light as before. 

"Who is amongst us?" exclaimed the sorcerer, terrified, casting a lookof horror on the assemblage; "I did not want thee. " The figure advancedwith noiseless and majestic steps directly up to the altar, stood on thesatin Carpet over against us, and touched the crucifix. The firstapparition was seen no more. 

"Who calls me?" demanded the second apparition. 

"The sorcerer began to tremble. Terror and amazement kept us motionlessfor some time. I seized a pistol. The sorcerer snatched it out of myhand, and fired it at the apparition. The ball rolled slowly upon thealtar, and the figure emerged unaltered from the smoke. The Sorcererfell senseless on the ground. 

"What is this?" exclaimed the Englishman, in astonishment, aiming ablow at the ghost with a sword. The figure touched his arm, and theweapon fell to the ground. The perspiration stood on my brow withhorror. Baron ------ afterwards confessed to me that he had prayedsilently. 

During all this time the prince stood fearless and tranquil, his eyesriveted on the second apparition. "Yes, I know thee, " said he atlength, with emotion; "thou art Lanoy; thou art my friend. Whencecomest thou?"

"Eternity is mute. Ask me concerning my past life. "

"Who is it that lives in the convent which thou mentionedst to me in thylast moments?"

"My daughter. "

"How? Hast thou been a father?"

"Woe is me that I was not. "

"Art thou not happy, Lanoy?"

"God has judged. "

"Can I render thee any further service in this world?"

"None but to think of thyself. "

"How must I do that?"

"Thou wilt learn at Rome. "

The thunder again rolled; a black cloud of smoke filled the room; whenit had dispersed the figure was no longer visible. I forced open one ofthe window shutters. It was daylight. 

The sorcerer now recovered from his swoon. "Where are we?" asked he, seeing the daylight. 

The Russian officer stood close beside him, and looked over hisshoulder. "Juggler, " said he to him, with a terrible countenance, "Thou shalt summon no more ghosts. "

The Sicilian turned round, looked steadfastly in his face, uttered aloud shriek, and threw himself at his feet. 

We looked all at once at the pretended Russian. The prince instantlyrecognized the features of the Armenian, and the words he was about toutter expired on his tongue. We were all as it were petrified with fearand amazement. Silent and motionless, our eyes were fixed on thismysterious being, who beheld us with a calm but penetrating look ofgrandeur and superiority. A minute elapsed in this awful silence;another succeeded; not a breath was to be heard. 

A violent battering against the door roused us at last from this stupor. The door fell in pieces into the room, and several officers of justice, with a guard, rushed in. "Here they are, all together, " said the leaderto his followers. Then addressing himself to us, "In the name of thegovernment, " continued he, "I arrest you. " We had no time to recollectourselves; in a few moments we were surrounded. The Russian officer, whom I shall again call the Armenian, took the chief officer aside, and, as far as I in my confusion could notice, I observed him whisper a fewwords to the latter, and show him a written paper. The officer, bowingrespectfully, immediately quitted him, turned to us, and taking off hishat, said "Gentlemen, I humbly beg your pardon for having confoundedyou with this impostor. I shall not inquire who you are, as thisgentleman assures me you are men of honor. " At the same time he gavehis companions a sign to leave us at liberty. He ordered the Sicilianto be bound and strictly guarded. "The fellow is ripe for punishment, "added he; "we have been searching for him these seven months. "

The wretched sorcerer was really an object of pity. The terror causedby the second apparition, and by this unexpected arrest, had togetheroverpowered his senses. Helpless as a child, he suffered himself to bebound without resistance. His eyes were wide open and immovable; hisface was pale as death; his lips quivered convulsively, but he wasunable to utter a sound. Every moment we expected he would fall into afit. The prince was moved by the situation in which he saw him. Heundertook to procure his discharge from the leader of the police, towhom he discovered his rank. "Do you know, gracious prince, " said theofficer, "for whom your highness is so generously interceding? Thejuggling tricks by which he endeavored to deceive you are the least ofhis crimes. We have secured his accomplices; they depose terrible factsagainst him. He may think himself fortunate if he is only punished withthe galleys. "

In the meantime we saw the innkeeper and his family led bound throughthe yard. "This man, too?" said the prince; "and what is his crime?"

"He was his comrade and accomplice, " answered the officer. "He assistedhim in his deceptions and robberies, and shared the booty with him. Your highness shall be convinced of it presently. Search the house, "continued he, turning to his followers, "and bring me immediate noticeof what you find. "

The prince looked around for the Armenian, but he had disappeared. Inthe confusion occasioned by the arrival of the watch he had found meansto steal away unperceived. The prince was inconsolable; he declared hewould send all his servants, and would himself go in search of thismysterious man; and he wished me to go with him. I hastened to thewindow; the house was surrounded by a great number of idlers, whom theaccount of this event had attracted to the spot. It was impossible toget through the crowd. I represented this to the prince. "If, " said I, "it is the Armenian's intention to conceal himself from us, he isdoubtless better acquainted with the intricacies of the place than we, and all our inquiries would prove fruitless. Let us rather remain herea little longer, gracious prince, " added I. "This officer, to whom, ifI observed right, he discovered himself, may perhaps give us someinformation respecting him. "

We now for the first time recollected that we were still undressed. We hastened to the other pavilion and put on our clothes as quicklyas possible. When we returned they had finished searching the house. 

On removing the altar and some of the boards of the floor a spaciousvault was discovered. It was high enough, for a man might sit uprightin it with ease, and was separated from the cellar by a door and anarrow staircase. In this vault they found an electrical machine, aclock, and a little silver bell, which, as well as the electricalmachine, was in communication with the altar and the crucifix that wasfastened upon it. A hole had been made in the window-shutter oppositethe chimney, which opened and shut with a slide. In this hole, as welearnt afterwards, was fixed a magic lantern, from which the figure ofthe ghost had been reflected on the opposite wall, over the chimney. From the garret and the cellar they brought several drums, to whichlarge leaden bullets were fastened by strings; these had probably beenused to imitate the roaring of thunder which we had heard. 

On searching the Sicilian's clothes they found, in a case, differentpowders, genuine mercury in vials and boxes, phosphorus in a glassbottle, and a ring, which we immediately knew to be magnetic, because itadhered to a steel button that by accident had been placed near it. Inhis coat-pockets were found a rosary, a Jew's beard, a dagger, and abrace of pocket-pistols. "Let us see whether they are loaded, " said oneof the watch, and fired up the chimney. 

"Jesus Maria!" cried a hollow voice, which we knew to be that of thefirst apparition, and at the same instant a bleeding person cametumbling down the chimney. "What! not yet laid, poor ghost!" cried theEnglishman, while we started back in affright. "Home to thy grave. Thou hast appeared what thou wert not; now thou wilt become what thoudidst but seem. "

"Jesus Maria! I am wounded, " repeated the man in the chimney. The ballhad fractured his right leg. Care was immediately taken to have thewound dressed. 

"But who art thou?" said the English lord; "and what evil spiritbrought thee here?"

"I am a poor mendicant friar, " answered the wounded man; "a strangegentleman gave me a zechin to--"

"Repeat a speech. And why didst thou not withdraw as soon as thy taskwas finished?"

I was waiting for a signal which we had agreed on to continue my speech;but as this signal was not given, I was endeavoring to get away, when Ifound the ladder had been removed. 

"And what was the formula he taught thee?"

The wounded man fainted away; nothing more could be got from him. Inthe meantime the prince turned towards the principal officer of thewatch, giving him at the same time some pieces of gold. "You haverescued us, " said he, "from the hands of an impostor, and done usjustice without even knowing who we were; would you increase ourgratitude by telling us the name of the stranger who, by speakingonly a few words, was able to procure us our liberty. "

"Whom do you mean?" inquired the party addressed, with an air whichplainly showed that the question was useless. 

"The gentleman in a Russian uniform, who took you aside, showed you awritten paper, and whispered a few words, in consequence of which youimmediately set us free. "

"Do not you know the gentleman? Was he not one of your company?"

"No, " answered the prince; "and I have very important reasons forwishing to be more intimately acquainted with him. "

"I know very little of him myself. Even his name is unknown to me, andI saw him to-day for the first time in my life. "

"How? And was he in so short a time, and by using only a few words, able to convince you both of our innonocence and his own?"

"Undoubtedly, with a single word. "

"And this was? I confess I wish to know it. "

"This stranger, my prince, " said the officer, weighing the zechins inhis band, --"you have been too generous for me to make a secret of it anylonger, --this stranger is an officer of the Inquisition. "

"Of the Inquisition? This man?"

"He is, indeed, gracious prince. I was convinced of it by the paperwhich he showed to me. "

"This man, did you say? That cannot be. "

"I will tell your highness more. It was upon his information that Ihave been sent here to arrest the sorcerer. "

We looked at each other in the utmost astonishment. 

"Now we know, " said the English lord at length, "why the poor devil of asorcerer started in such a terror when he looked more closely into hisface. He knew him to be a spy, and that is why he uttered that shriek, and fell down before him. "

"No!" interrupted the prince. "This man is whatever he wishes to be, and whatever the moment requires him to be. No mortal ever knew what hereally was. Did you not see the knees of the Sicilian sink under him, when he said, with that terrible voice: 'Thou shalt summon no moreghosts?' There is something inexplicable in this matter. No person canpersuade me that one man should be thus alarmed at the sight ofanother. "

"The sorcerer himself will probably explain it the best, " said theEnglish lord, "if that gentleman, " pointing to the officer, "will affordus an opportunity of speaking with his prisoner. "

The officer consented to it, and, having agreed with the Englishman tovisit the Sicilian in the morning, we returned to Venice. 

 [The Count O-------, whose narrative I have thus far literally copied, describes minutely the various effects of this adventure upon the mind of the prince and of his companions, and recounts a variety of tales of apparitions which this event gave occasion to introduce. I shall omit giving them to the reader, on the supposition that he is as curious as myself to know the conclusion of the adventure, and its effect on the conduct of the prince. I shall only add that the prince got no sleep the remainder of the night, and that he waited with impatience for the moment which was to disclose this incomprehensible mystery, Note of the German Editor. ]

Lord Seymour (this was the name of the Englishman) called upon us veryearly in the forenoon, and was soon after followed by a confidentialperson whom the officer had entrusted with the care of conducting us tothe prison. 

I forgot to mention that one of the prince's domestics, a native ofBremen, who had served him many years with the strictest fidelity, andhad entirely gained his confidence, had been missing for several days. Whether he had met with any accident, whether he had been kidnapped, or had voluntarily absented himself, was a secret to every one. Thelast supposition was extremely improbable, as his conduct had alwaysbeen quiet and regular, and nobody had ever found fault with him. Allthat his companions could recollect was that he had been for some timevery melancholy, and that, whenever he had a moment's leisure, he usedto visit a certain monastery in the Giudecca, where he had formed anacquaintance with some monks. This induced us to suppose that he mighthave fallen into the hands of the priests and had been persuaded to turnCatholic; and as the prince was very tolerant, or rather indifferentabout matters of this kind, and the few inquiries he caused to be madeproved unsuccessful, he gave up the search. He, however, regretted theloss of this man, who had constantly attended him in his campaigns, had always been faithfully attached to him, and whom it was thereforedifficult to replace in a foreign country. The very same day theprince's banker, whom he had commissioned to provide him with anotherservant, was announced at the moment we were going out. He presented tothe prince a middle-aged man, well-dressed, and of good appearance, whohad been for a long time secretary to a procurator, spoke French and alittle German, and was besides furnished with the best recommendations. The prince was pleased with the man's physiognomy; and as he declaredthat he would be satisfied with such wages as his service should befound to merit, the prince engaged him immediately. 

We found the Sicilian in a private prison where, as the officer assuredus, he had been lodged for the present, to accommodate the prince, before being removed to the lead roofs, to which there is no access. These lead roofs are the most terrible prisons in Venice. They aresituated on the top of the palace of St. Mark, and the miserablecriminals suffer so dreadfully from the heat of the leads occasioned bythe heat of the burning rays of the sun descending directly upon themthat they frequently become delirious. The Sicilian had recovered fromhis yesterday's terror, and rose respectfully on seeing the princeenter. He had fetters on one hand and on one leg, but was able to walkabout the room at liberty. The sentinel at the door withdrew as soon aswe had entered. 

"I come, " said the prince, "to request an explanation of you on twosubjects. You owe me the one, and it shall not be to your disadvantageif you grant me the other. "

"My part is now acted, " replied the Sicilian, "my destiny is in yourhands. "

"Your sincerity alone can mitigate your punishment. 

"Speak, honored prince, I am ready to answer you. I have nothing now tolose. "

"You showed me the face of the Armenian in a looking-glass. How wasthis effected?"

"What you saw was no looking-glass. A portrait in crayons behind aglass, representing a man in an Armenian dress, deceived you. Myquickness, the twilight, and your astonishment favored the deception. The picture itself must have been found among the other things seized atthe inn. "

"But how could you read my thoughts so accurately as to hit upon theArmenian?"

"This was not difficult, your highness. You must frequently havementioned your adventure with the Armenian at table in the presence ofyour domestics. One of my accomplices accidentally got acquainted withone of your domestics in the Giudecca, and learned from him gradually asmuch as I wished to know. "

"Where is the man?" asked the prince; "I have missed him, and doubtlessyou know of his desertion. "

"I swear to your honor, sir, that I know not a syllable about it. Ihave never seen him myself, nor had any other concern with him than theone before mentioned. "

"Proceed with your story, " said the prince. 

"By this means, also, I received the first information of your residenceand of your adventures at Venice; and I resolved immediately to profitby them. You see, prince, I am sincere. I was apprised of yourintended excursion on the Brenta. I prepared for it, and a key thatdropped by chance from your pocket afforded me the first opportunity oftrying my art upon you. "

"How! Have I been mistaken? The adventure of the key was then a trickof yours, and not of the Armenian? You say this key fell from mypocket?"

"You accidentally dropped it in taking out your purse, and I seized anopportunity, when no one noticed me, to cover it with my foot. Theperson of whom you bought the lottery-ticket acted in concert with me. He caused you to draw it from a box where there was no blank, and thekey had been in the snuff-box long before it came into your possession. "

"I understand you. And the monk who stopped me in my way and addressedme in a manner so solemn. "

"Was the same who, as I hear, has been wounded in the chimney. He isone of my accomplices, and under that disguise has rendered me manyimportant services. "

"But what purpose was this intended to answer?"

"To render you thoughtful; to inspire you with such a train of ideas asshould be favorable to the wonders I intended afterwards to show you. "

"The pantomimical dance, which ended in a manner so extraordinary, wasat least none of your contrivance?"

"I had taught the girl who represented the queen. Her performance wasthe result of my instructions. I supposed your highness would be not alittle astonished to find yourself known in this place, and (I entreatyour pardon, prince) your adventure with the Armenian gave me reason tohope that you were already disposed to reject natural interpretations, and to attribute so marvellous an occurrence to supernatural agency. "

"Indeed, " exclaimed the prince, at once angry and amazed, and castingupon me a significant look; "indeed, I did not expect this. "

 [Neither did probably the greater number of my readers. The circumstance of the crown deposited at the feet of the prince, in a manner so solemn and unexpected, and the former prediction of the Armenian, seem so naturally and obviously to aim at the same object that at the first reading of these memoirs I immediately remembered the deceitful speech of the witches in Macbeth:--

 "Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! that shall be king hereafter!"

 and probably the same thing has occurred to many of my readers. 

 When a certain conviction has taken hold upon a man's mind in a solemn and extraordinary manner, it is sure to follow that all subsequent ideas which are in any way capable of being associated with this conviction should attach themselves to, and in some degree seem to be consequent upon it. The Sicilian, who seems to have had no other motive for his whole scheme than to astonish the prince by showing him that his rank was discovered, played, without being himself aware of it, the very game which most furthered the view of the Armenian; but however much of its interest this adventure will lose if I take away the higher motive which at first seemed to influence these actions, I must by no means infringe upon historical truth, but must relate the facts exactly as they occurred. --Note of the German Editor. ]

"But, " continued he, after a long silence, "how did you produce thefigure which appeared on the wall over the chimney?"

"By means of a magic lantern that was fixed in the oppositewindow-shutter, in which you have undoubtedly observed an opening. "

"But how did it happen that not one of us perceived the lantern?" askedLord Seymour. 

"You remember, my lord, that on your re-entering the room it wasdarkened by a thick smoke of frankincense. I likewise took theprecaution to place the boards which had been taken up from the floorupright against the wall near the window. By these means I preventedthe shutter from immediately attracting observation. Moreover, thelantern remained covered by a slide until you had taken your places, andthere was no further reason to apprehend that you would institute anyexamination of the saloon. "

"As I looked out of the window in the other pavilion, " said I, "I fancied I heard a noise like that of a person placing a ladderagainst the side of the house. Was I right?"

"Exactly; it was the ladder upon which my assistants stood to direct themagic-lantern. "

"The apparition, " continued the prince, "had really a superficiallikeness to my deceased friend, and what was particularly striking, hishair, which was of a very light color, was exactly imitated. Was thismere chance, or how did you come by such a resemblance?"

"Your highness must recollect that you had at table a snuff-box by yourplate, with an enamelled portrait of an officer in a uniform. I askedwhether you had anything about you as a memento of your friend, and asyour highness answered in the affirmative, I conjectured that it mightbe the box. I had attentively examined the picture during supper, andbeing very expert in drawing and not less happy in taking likenesses, Ihad no difficulty in giving to my shade the superficial resemblance youhave perceived, the more so as the marquis' features are very marked. "

"But the figure seemed to move?"

"It appeared so, yet it was not the figure that moved but the smokeon which the light was reflected. "

"And the man who fell down in the chimney spoke for the apparition?"

"He did. "

"But he could not hear your question distinctly. "

"There was no occasion for it. Your highness will recollect that Icautioned you all very strictly not to propose any question to theapparition yourselves. My inquiries and his answers were preconcertedbetween us; and that no mistake might happen, I caused him to speak atlong intervals, which he counted by the beating of a watch. "

"You ordered the innkeeper carefully to extinguish every fire in thehouse with water; this was undoubtedly--"

"To save the man in the chimney from the danger of being suffocated;because the chimneys in the house communicate with each other, and I didnot think myself very secure from your retinue. "

"How did it happen, " asked Lord Seymour, "that your ghost appearedneither sooner nor later than you wished him?"

"The ghost was in the room for some time before I called him, but whilethe room was lighted, the shade was too faint to be perceived. When theformula of the conjuration was finished, I caused the cover of the box, in which the spirit was burning, to drop down, the saloon was darkened, and it was not till then that the figure on the wall could be distinctlyseen, although it had been reflected there a considerable time before. "

"When the ghost appeared, we all felt an electric shock. How was thatmanaged?"

"You have discovered the machine under the altar. You have also seenthat I was standing upon a silk carpet. I directed you to form ahalf-moon around me, and to take each other's hands. When the crisisapproached, I gave a sign to one of you to seize me by the hair. Thesilver crucifix was the conductor, and you felt the electric shock whenI touched it with my hand. "

"You ordered Count O----- and myself, " continued Lord Seymour, "to holdtwo naked swords crossways over your head, during the whole time of theconjuration; for what purpose?"

"For no other than to engage your attention during the operation;because I distrusted you two the most. You remember, that I expresslycommanded you to hold the sword one inch above my head; by confining youexactly to this distance, I prevented you from looking where I did notwish you. I had not then perceived my principal enemy. "

"I own, " cried Lord Seymour, "you acted with due precaution--but whywere we obliged to appear undressed?"

"Merely to give a greater solemnity to the scene, and to excite yourimaginations by the strangeness of the proceeding. "

"The second apparition prevented your ghost from speaking, " said theprince. "What should we have learnt from him?"

"Nearly the same as what you heard afterwards. It was not withoutdesign that I asked your highness whether you had told me everythingthat the deceased communicated to you, and whether you had made anyfurther inquiries on this subject in his country. I thought this wasnecessary, in order to prevent the deposition of the ghost from beingcontradicted by facts with which you were previously acquainted. Knowing likewise that every man in his youth is liable to error, I inquired whether the life of your friend had been irreproachable, and on your answer I founded that of the ghost. "

"Your explanation of this matter is satisfactory, " resumed the prince, after a short silence; "but there remains a principal circumstance whichI must ask you to clear up. "

"If it be in my power, and--"

"No conditions! Justice, in whose hands you now are, might perhaps notinterrogate you with so much delicacy. Who was this unknown at whosefeet we saw you fall? What do you know of him? How did you getacquainted with him? And in what way was he connected with theappearance of the second apparition?

"Your highness"--

"On looking at him more attentively, you gave a loud scream, and fell athis feet. What are we to understand by that?"

"This man, your highness"--He stopped, grew visibly perplexed, and withan embarrassed countenance looked around him. "Yes, prince, by all thatis sacred, this unknown is a terrible being. "

"What do you know of him? What connection have you with him? Do nothope to conceal the truth from us. "

"I shall take care not to do so, --for who will warrant that he is notamong us at this very moment?"

"Where? Who?" exclaimed we altogether, half-amused, half-startled, looking about the room. "That is impossible. "

"Oh! to this man, or whatever he may be, things still moreincomprehensible are possible. "

"But who is he? Whence comes he? Is he an Armenian or a Russian? Ofthe characters be assumes, which is his real one?"

"He is nothing of what he appears to be. There are few conditions orcountries of which he has not worn the mask. No person knows who he is, whence he comes, or whither he goes. That he has been for a long timein Egypt, as many pretend, and that he has brought from thence, out of acatacomb, his, occult sciences, I will neither affirm nor deny. Here weonly know him by the name of the Incomprehensible. How old, forinstance, do you suppose he is?"

"To judge from his appearance he can scarcely have passed forty. "

"And of what age do you suppose I am?"

"Not far from fifty. "

"Quite right; and I must tell you that I was but a boy of seventeen whenmy grandfather spoke to me of this marvellous man whom he had seen atFamagusta; at which time he appeared nearly of the same age as he doesat present. "

"This is exaggerated, ridiculous, and incredible. "

"By no means. Were I not prevented by these fetters I could producevouchers whose dignity and respectability should leave you no room fordoubt. There are several credible persons who remember having seen him, each, at the same time, in different parts of the globe. No sword canwound, no poison can hurt, no fire can burn him; no vessel in which heembarks can be wrecked. Time itself seems to lose its power over him. Years do not affect his constitution, nor age whiten his hair. Neverwas he seen to take any food. Never did he approach a woman. No sleepcloses his eyes. Of the twenty-four hours in the day there is only onewhich he cannot command; during which no person ever saw him, and duringwhich he never was employed in any terrestrial occupation. "

"And this hour is?"

"The twelfth in the night. When the clock strikes twelve at midnighthe ceases to belong to the living. In whatever place he is he mustimmediately be gone; whatever business he is engaged in he mustinstantly leave it. The terrible sound of the hour of midnight tearshim from the arms of friendship, wrests him from the altar, and woulddrag him away even in the agonies of death. Whither he then goes, orwhat he is then engaged in, is a secret to every one. No personventures to interrogate, still less to follow him. His features, atthis dread ful hour, assume a sternness of expression so gloomy andterrifying that no person has courage sufficient to look him in theface, or to speak a word to him. However lively the conversation mayhave been, a dead silence immediately succeeds it, and all around waitfor his return in respectful silence without venturing to quit theirseats, or to open the door through which he has passed. "

"Does nothing extraordinary appear in his person when he returns?"inquired one of our party. 

"Nothing, except that he seems pale and exhausted, like a man who hasjust suffered a painful operation, or received some disastrousintelligence. Some pretend to have seen drops of blood on his linen, but with what degree of veracity I cannot affirm. "

"Did no person ever attempt to conceal the approach of this hour fromhim, or endeavor to preoccupy his mind in such a manner as to make himforget it?"

"Once only, it is said, he missed the appointed time. The company wasnumerous and remained together late in the night. All the clocks andwatches were purposely set wrong, and the warmth of conversation carriedhim away. When the stated hour arrived he suddenly became silent andmotionless; his limbs continued in the position in which this instanthad arrested them; his eyes were fixed; his pulse ceased to beat. Allthe means employed to awake him proved fruitless, and this situationendured till the hour had elapsed. He then revived on a sudden withoutany assistance, opened his eyes, and resumed his speech at the verysyllable which he was pronouncing at the moment of interruption. Thegeneral consternation discovered to him what had happened, and hedeclared, with an awful solemnity, that they ought to think themselveshappy in having escaped with the fright alone. The same night hequitted forever the city where this circumstance had occurred. Thecommon opinion is that during this mysterious hour he converses with hisgenius. Some even suppose him to be one of the departed who is allowedto pass twenty-three hours of the day among the living, and that in thetwenty-fourth his soul is obliged to return to the infernal regions tosuffer its punishment. Some believe him to be the famous Apollonius ofTyana; and others the disciple of John, of whom it is said, 'He shallremain until the last judgment. '"

"A character so wonderful, " replied the prince, "cannot fail to giverise to whimsical conjectures. But all this you profess to know only byhearsay, and yet his behavior to you and yours to him, seemed toindicate a more intimate acquaintance. Is it not founded upon someparticular event in which you have yourself been concerned? Concealnothing from us. "

The Sicilian looked at us doubtingly and remained silent. 

"If it concerns something, " continued the prince, "that you do not wishto be made known, I promise you, in the name of these two gentlemen, themost inviolable secrecy. But speak candidly and without reserve. "

"Could I hope, " answered the prisoner, after a long silence, "that youwould not make use of what I am going to relate as evidence against me, I would tell you a remarkable adventure of this Armenian, of which Imyself was witness, and which will leave you no doubt of hissupernatural powers. But I beg leave to conceal some of the names. "

"Cannot you do it without this condition?"

"No, your highness. There is a family concerned in it whom I havereason to respect. "

"Let us hear your story. "

"It is about five years ago, " began the Sicilian, "that at Naples, whereI was practising my art with tolerable success, I became acquainted witha person of the name of Lorenzo del M-------, chevalier of the Order ofSt. Stephen, a young and rich nobleman, of one of the first families inthe kingdom, who loaded me with kindnesses, and seemed to have a greatesteem for my occult knowledge. He told me that the Marquis del M--nte, his father, was a zealous admirer of the cabala, and would think himselfhappy in having a philosopher like myself (for such he was pleased tocall me) under his roof. The marquis lived in one of his country seatson the sea-shore, about seven miles from Naples. There, almost entirelysecluded from the world, he bewailed, the loss of a beloved son, of whomhe had been deprived by a terrible calamity. The chevalier gave me tounderstand that he and his family might perhaps have occasion to employme on a matter of the most grave importance, in the hope of gainingthrough my secret science some information, to procure which all naturalmeans had been tried in vain. He added, with a very significant look, that he himself might, perhaps at some future period, have reason tolook upon me as the restorer of his tranquillity, and of all his earthlyhappiness. The affair was as follows:--

"This Lorenzo was the younger son of the marquis, and for that reasonhad been destined for the church; the family estates were to descend tothe eldest. Jeronymo, which was the name of the latter, had spent manyyears on his travels, and had returned to his country about seven yearsprior to the event which I am about to relate, in order to celebrate hismarriage with the only daughter of the neighboring Count C----tti. Thismarriage had been determined on by the parents during the infancy of thechildren, in order to unite the large fortunes of the two houses. Butthough this agreement was made by the two families, without consultingthe hearts of the parties concerned, the latter had mutually pledgedtheir faith to each other in secret. Jeronymo del M------ and AntoniaC----- had been brought up together, and the little restraint imposed ontwo children, whom their parents were already accustomed to regard asdestined for each other, soon produced between them a connection of thetenderest kind; the congeniality of their tempers cemented thisintimacy; and in later years it ripened insensibly into love. Anabsence of four years, far from cooling this passion, had only served toinflame it; and Jeronymo returned to the arms of his intended bride asfaithful and as ardent as if they had never been separated. 

"The raptures occasioned by his return had not yet subsided, and thepreparations for the happy day were advancing with the utmost zeal andactivity, when the bridegroom disappeared. He used frequently to passwhole afternoons in a summer-house which commanded a prospect of thesea, and was accustomed to take the diversion of sailing on the water. One day, on an evening spent in this manner, it was observed that heremained absent a much longer time than usual, and his friends began tobe very uneasy on his account. Messengers were despatched after him, vessels were sent to sea in quest of him; no person had seen him. Noneof his servants were missed; he must, therefore, have gone alone. Nightcame on, and he did not appear. The next morning dawned; the daypassed, the evening succeeded--, Jeronymo came not. Already they hadbegun to give themselves up to the most melancholy conjectures when thenews arrived that an Algerine pirate had landed the preceeding day onthat coast, and carried off several of the inhabitants. Two galleyswhich were ready for sea were immediately manned; the old marquishimself embarked in one of them, to attempt the deliverance of his sonat the peril of his own life. On the third morning they perceived thecorsair. They had the advantage of the wind; they were just about toovertake the pirate, and had even approached so near that Lorenzo, whowas in one of the galleys, fancied that he saw upon the deck of theadversary's ship a signal made by his brother, when a sudden stormseparated the vessels. Hardly could the damaged galleys sustain thefury of the tempest. The pirate in the meantime had disappeared, andthe distressed state of the other vessels obliged them to land at Malta. The affliction of the family knew no bounds. The distracted old marquistore his gray hairs in the utmost violence of grief; and fears wereentertained for the life of the young countess. Five years wereconsumed in fruitless inquiries. Diligent search was made along all thecoast of Barbary; immense sums were offered for the ransom of the poormarquis, but no person came forward to claim them. The only probableconjecture which remained for the family to form was, that the samestorm which had separated the galleys from the pirate had destroyed thelatter, and that the whole ship's company had perished in the waves. 

"But, however this supposition might be, it did not by any means amountto a certainty, and could not authorize the family altogether torenounce the hope that the lost Jeronymo might again appear. In case, however, that he was really dead, either the family must become extinct, or the younger son must relinquish the church, and assume the rights ofthe elder. As justice, on the one hand, seemed to oppose the lattermeasure, so, on the other hand, the necessity of preserving the familyfrom annihilation required that the scruple should not be carried toofar. In the meantime through grief and the infirmities of age, the oldmarquis was fast sinking to his grave; every unsuccessful attemptdiminished the hope of finding his lost son; he saw the danger of hisfamily's becoming extinct, which might be obviated by a triflinginjustice on his part, in consenting to favor his younger son at theexpense of the elder. The consummation of his alliance with the houseof Count C---tti required only that a name should be changed, for theobject of the two families was equally accomplished, whether Antoniabecame the wife of Lorenzo or of Jeronymo. The faint probability of thelatter's appearing again weighed but little against the certain andpressing danger of the total extinction of the family, and the oldmarquis, who felt the approach of death every day more and more, ardently wished at least to die free from this inquietude. 

"Lorenzo, however, who was to be principally benefited by this measure, opposed it with the greatest obstinacy. Alike unmoved by theallurements of an immense fortune, and the attractions of the beautifuland accomplished being whom his family were about to deliver into hisarms, he refused, on principles the most generous and conscientious, toinvade the rights of a brother, who perhaps was still alive, and mightsome day return to claim his own. 'Is not the lot of my dear Jeronymo, 'said he, 'made sufficiently miserable by the horrors of a longcaptivity, that I should yet add bitterness to his cup of grief bystealing from him all that he holds most dear? With what consciencecould I supplicate heaven for his return when his wife is in my arms?With what countenance could I hasten to meet him should he at last berestored to us by some miracle? And even supposing that he is tornfrom us forever, how can we better honor his memory than by keepingconstantly open the chasm which his death has caused in our circle? Canwe better show our respect to him than by sacrificing our dearest hopesupon his tomb, and keeping untouched, as a sacred deposit, what waspeculiarly his own?'

"But all the arguments which fraternal delicacy could adduce wereinsufficient to reconcile the old marquis to the idea of being obligedto witness the extinction of a pedigree which nine centuries had beheldflourishing. All that Lorenzo could obtain was a respite of two yearsbefore leading the affianced bride of his brother to the altar. Duringthis period they continued their inquiries with the utmost diligence. Lorenzo himself made several voyages, and exposed his person to manydangers. No trouble, no expense was spared to recover the lostJeronymo. These two years, however, like those which preceded them, were in vain?"

"And the Countess Antonia?" said the prince, "You tell us nothing ofher. Could she so calmly submit to her fate? I cannot suppose it. "

"Antonia, " answered the Sicilian, "experienced the most violent strugglebetween duty and inclination, between hate and admiration. Thedisinterested generosity of a brother's love affected her; she feltherself forced to esteem a person whom she could never love. Her heartwas torn by conflicting sentiments. But her repugnance to the chevalierseemed to increase in the same degree as his claims upon her esteemaugmented. Lorenzo perceived with heartfelt sorrow the grief thatconsumed her youth. A tender compassion insensibly assumed the place ofthat indifference with which, till then, he had been accustomed toregard her; but this treacherous sentiment quickly deceived him, and anungovernable passion began by degrees to shake the steadiness of hisvirtue--a virtue which, till then, had been unequalled. 

"He, however, still obeyed the dictates of generosity, though at theexpense of his love. By his efforts alone was the unfortunate victimprotected against the arbitrary proceedings of the rest of the family. But his endeavors were ineffectual. Every victory he gained over hispassion rendered him more worthy of Antonia; and the disinterestednesswith which he refused her left her no excuse for resistance. 

"This was the state of affairs when the chevalier engaged me to visithim at his father's villa. The earnest recommendation of my patronprocured me a reception which exceeded my most sanguine hopes. I mustnot forget to mention that by some remarkable operations I hadpreviously rendered my name famous in different lodges of Freemasons, which circumstance may, perhaps, have contributed to strengthen the oldmarquis' confidence in me, and to heighten his expectations. I beg youwill excuse me from describing particularly the lengths I went with him, and the means which I employed; you may judge of them from what I havealready confessed to you. Profiting by the mystic books which I foundin his very extensive library, I was soon able to converse with him inhis own language, and to adorn my system of the invisible world with themost extraordinary inventions. In a short time I could make him believewhatever I pleased, and he would have sworn as readily as upon anarticle in the canon. Moreover, as he was very devout, and was by naturesomewhat credulous, my fables received credence the more readily, and ina short time I had so completely surrounded and hemmed him in withmystery that he cared for nothing that was not supernatural. In short Ibecame the patron saint of the house. The usual subject of my lectureswas the exaltation of human nature, and the intercourse of men withsuperior beings; the infallible Count Gabalis was my oracle. 

 [A mystical work of that title, written in French in 1670 by the Abbe do Villars, and translated into English in 1600. Pope is said to have borrowed from it the machinery of his Rape of the Lock. -H. G. B. ]

"The young countess, whose mind since the loss of her lover had been moreoccupied in the world of spirits than in that of nature, and who had, moreover, a strong shade of melancholy in her composition, caught myhints with a fearful satisfaction. Even the servants contrived to havesome business in the room when I was speaking, and seizing now and thenone of my expressions, joined the fragments together in their own way. 

"Two months were passed in this manner at the marquis' villa, when thechevalier one morning entered my apartment. A deep sorrow was paintedon his countenance, his features were convulsed, he threw himself into achair, with gestures of despair. 

"'Captain, ' said he, 'it is all over with me, I must begone; I canremain here no longer. '

"'What is the matter, chevalier? What ails you?'

"'Oh! this fatal passion!' said he, starting frantically from his chair. 'I have combated it like a man; I can resist it no longer. '

"'And whose fault is it but yours, my dear chevalier? Are they not allin your favor? Your father, your relations. '

"'My father, my relations! What are they to me? I want not a forcedunion, but one of inclination, Have not I a rival? Alas! and what arival! Perhaps among the dead! Oh! let me go! Let me go to the endof the world, --I must find my brother. '

"'What! after so many unsuccessful attempts can you still cherish hope?'

"'Hope!' replied the chevalier; 'alas! no. It has long since vanishedfrom my heart, but it has not from hers. Of what consequence are mysentiments? Can I be happy while there remains a gleam of hope inAntonia's heart? Two words, my friend, would end my torments. But itis in vain. My destiny must continue to be miserable till eternityshall break its long silence, and the grave shall speak in my behalf. '

"'Is it then a state of certainty that would render you happy?'

"'Happy! Alas! I doubt whether I can ever again be happy. Butuncertainty is of all others the most dreadful pain. '

"After a short interval of silence he suppressed his emotion, andcontinued mournfully, 'If he could but see my torments! Surely aconstancy which renders his brother miserable cannot add to hishappiness. Can it be just that the living should suffer so much for thesake of the dead, who can no longer enjoy earthly felicity? If he knewthe pangs I suffer, ' continued he, hiding his face on my shoulder, whilethe tears streamed from his eyes, 'yes, perhaps he himself wouldconduct her to my arms. '

"'But is there no possibility of gratifying your wishes?'

"He started. 'What do you say, my friend?'

"'Less important occasions than the present, ' said I, 'have disturbedthe repose of the dead for the sake of the living. Is not the wholeearthly happiness of a man, of a brother--'

"'The whole earthly happiness! Ah, my friend, I feel what you say isbut too true; my entire felicity. '

"'And the tranquillity of a distressed family, are not these sufficientto justify such a measure? Undoubtedly. If any sublunary concern canauthorize us to interrupt the peace of the blessed, to make use of apower--'

"'For God's sake, my friend, ' said he, interrupting me, no more of this. Once, I avow it, I had such a thought; I think I mentioned it to you;but I have long since rejected it as horrid and abominable. '

"You will have conjectured already, " continued the Sicilian, "to whatthis conversation led us. I endeavored to overcome the scruples of thechevalier, and at last succeeded. We resolved to summon the spirit ofthe deceased Jeronymo. I only stipulated for the delay of a fortnight, in order, as I pretended, to prepare myself in a suitable manner for sosolemn an act. The time being expired, and my machinery in readiness, I took advantage of a very gloomy day, when we were all assembled asusual, to obtain the consent of the family, or rather, gradually to leadthem to the subject, so that they themselves requested it of me. Themost difficult part of the task was to obtain the approbation ofAntonia, whose presence was most essential. My endeavors were, however, greatly assisted by the melancholy turn of her mind, and perhaps stillmore so by a faint hope that Jeronymo might still be living, andtherefore would not appear. A want of confidence in the thing itself, or a doubt of my ability, was the only obstacle which I had not tocontend with. 

"Having obtained the consent of the family, the third day was fixed onfor the operation. I prepared them for the solemn transaction bymystical instruction, by fasting, solitude, and prayers, which I orderedto be continued till late in the night. Much use was also made of acertain musical instrument, unknown till that time, and which, in suchcases, has often been found very powerful. The effect of theseartifices was so much beyond my expectation that the enthusiasm to whichon this occasion I was obliged to force myself was infinitely heightenedby that of my audience. The anxiously-expected hour at last arrived. "

"I guess, " said the prince, "whom you are now going to introduce. Butgo on, go on. "

"No, your highness. The incantation succeeded according to my wishes. "

"How? Where is the Armenian?"

"Do not fear, your highness. He will appear but too soon. I omit thedescription of the farce itself, as it would lead me to too great alength. Be it sufficient to say that it answered my utmostexpectations. The old marquis, the young countess, her mother, Lorenzo, and a few others of the family, were present. You may imagine thatduring my long residence in this house I had not wanted opportunities ofgathering information respecting everything that concerned the deceased. Several portraits of him enabled me to give the apparition the moststriking likeness, and as I suffered the ghost to speak only by signs, the sound of his voice could excite no suspicion. 

"The departed Jeronymo appeared--in the dress of a Moorish slave, with adeep wound in his neck. You observe that in this respect I wascounteracting the general supposition that he had perished in the waves, for I had reason to hope that the unexpectedness of this circumstancewould heighten their belief in the apparition itself, while, on theother hand, nothing appeared to me more dangerous than to keep toostrictly to what was natural. "

"I think you judged rightly, " said the prince. "In whatever respectsapparitions the most probable is the least acceptable. If theircommunications are easily comprehended we undervalue the channel bywhich they are obtained. Nay, we even suspect the reality of themiracle if the discoveries which it brings to light are such as mighteasily have been imagined. Why should we disturb the repose of a spiritif it is to inform us of nothing more than the ordinary powers of theintellect are capable of teaching us? But, on the other hand, if theintelligence which we receive is extraordinary and unexpected itconfirms in some degree the miracle by which it is obtained; for who candoubt an operation to be supernatural when its effect could not beproduced by natural means? I interrupt you, " added the prince. "Proceed in your narrative. "

"I asked the ghost whether there was anything in this world which hestill considered as his own, " continued the Sicilian, "and whether hehad left anything behind that was particularly dear to him? The ghostshook his head three times, and lifted up his hand towards heaven. Previous to his retiring he dropped a ring from his finger, which wasfound on the floor after he had disappeared. Antonia took it, and, looking at it attentively, she knew it to be the ring she had given herintended husband on their betrothal. "

"The ring!" exclaimed the prince, surprised. "How did you get it?"

"Who? I? It was not the true one, your highness; I got it. It was onlya counterfeit. "

"A counterfeit!" repeated the prince. "But in order to counterfeit yourequired the true one. How did you come by it? Surely the deceasednever went without it. "

"That is true, " replied the Sicilian, with symptoms of confusion. "Butfrom a description which was given me of the genuine ring--"

"A description which was given you! By whom?"

"Long before that time. It was a plain gold ring, and had, I believe, the name of the young countess engraved on it. But you made me lose theconnection. "

"What happened further?" said the prince, with a very dissatisfiedcountenance. 

"The family felt convinced that Jeronymo was no more. From that dayforward they publicly announced his death, and went into mourning. Thecircumstance of the ring left no doubt, even in the mind of Antonia, andadded a considerable weight to the addresses of the chevalier. 

"In the meantime the violent shock which the young countess had receivedfrom the sight of the apparition brought on her a disorder so dangerousthat the hopes of Lorenzo were very near being destroyed forever. Onher recovery she insisted upon taking the veil; and it was only at themost serious remonstrances of her confessor, in whom she placed implicitconfidence, that she was induced to abandon her project. At length theunited solicitations of the family, and of the confessor, forced fromher a reluctant consent. The last day of mourning was fixed on for theday of marriage, and the old marquis determined to add to the solemnityof the occasion by making over all his estates to his lawful heir. 

"The day arrived, and Lorenzo received his trembling bride at the altar. In the evening a splendid banquet was prepared for the cheerful guestsin a hall superbly illuminated, and the most lively and delightful musiccontributed to increase the general gladness. The happy old marquiswished all the world to participate in his joy. All the entrances ofthe palace were thrown open, and every one who sympathized in hishappiness was joyfully welcomed. In the midst of the throng--"

The Sicilian paused. A trembling expectation suspended our breath. 

"In-the midst of the throng, " continued the prisoner, "appeared aFranciscan monk, to whom my attention was directed by the person who satnext to me at table. He was standing motionless like a marble pillar. His shape was tall and thin; his face pale and ghastly; his eyes werefixed with a grave and mournful expression on the new-married couple. The joy which beamed on the face of every one present appeared not onhis. His countenance never once varied. He seemed like a statue amongthe living. Such an object, appearing amidst the general joy, struck memore forcibly from its contrast with everything around. It left on mymind so indelible an impression that from it alone I have been enabled(which would otherwise have been impossible) to recollect the featuresof the Franciscan monk in the Russian officer; for, without doubt, youmust have already conceived that the person I have described was noother than your Armenian. 

"I frequently attempted to withdraw my eyes from this terrible figure, but they wandered back involuntarily, and found his countenanceunaltered. I pointed him out to the person who sat nearest to me on theother side, and he did the same to the person next to him. In a fewminutes a general curiosity and astonishment pervaded the whole company. The conversation languished; a general silence succeeded; the monk didnot heed it. He continued motionless as before; his grave and mournfullooks constantly fixed upon the new-married couple; his appearancestruck every one with terror. The young countess alone, who found thetranscript of her own sorrow in the fact of the stranger, beheld witha melancholy satisfaction the only object that seemed to understand andsympathize in her sufferings. The crowd insensibly diminished. It waspast midnight; the music became fainter and more languid; the tapersgrew dim, and many of them went out. The conversation, declining bydegrees, lost itself at last in secret murmurs, and the faintlyilluminated hall was nearly deserted. The monk, in the meantime, continued motionless, with the same grave and mournful look still fixedon the new-married couple. The company at length rose from the table;the guests dispersed; the family assembled in a separate group, and themonk, though uninvited, continued near them. How it happened that noperson spoke to him I cannot conceive. 

"The female friends now surrounded the trembling bride, who cast asupplicating and distressed look on the venerable stranger; he did notanswer it. The gentlemen assembled in the same manner around thebridegroom. A solemn and anxious silence prevailed among them. 'Thatwe should be so happy here together, ' began at length the old marquis, who alone seemed not to behold the stranger, or at least seemed tobehold him without dismay. 'That we should be so happy here together, and my son Jeronymo cannot be with us!'

"'Have you invited him, and has he failed to come?' asked the monk. It was the first time he had spoken. We looked at him in alarm. 

"'Alas! he is gone to a place from whence there is no return, ' answeredthe old man. 'Reverend father I you misunderstood me. My son Jeronymois dead. '

"'Perhaps he only fears to appear in this company, ' replied the monk. 'Who knows how your son Jeronymo may be situated? Let him now hear thevoice which he heard the last. Desire your son Lorenzo to call him. '

"'What means he?' whispered the company to one another. Lorenzo changedcolor. I will not deny that my own hair began to stand on end. 

"In the meantime the monk approached a sideboard; he took a glass ofwine and carried to his lips. 'To the memory of our dear Jeronymo!'said he. 'Let every one who loved the deceased follow my example. '

"'Be you who you may, reverend father!' exclaimed the old marquis, 'youhave pronounced a name dear to us all, and you are heartily welcomehere;' then turning to us, he offered us full glasses. 'Come, myfriends!' continued he, 'let us not be surpassed by a stranger. Thememory of my son Jeronymo!

"Never, I believe, was any toast less heartily received. 

"'There is one glass still unemptied, " said the marquis. 'Why does myson Lorenzo refuse to drink this friendly toast?'

"Lorenzo, trembling, received the glass from the hands of the monk;tremblingly he put it to his lips. 'To my dearly-beloved brotherJeronymo!' he stammered out, and replaced the glass with a shudder. 

"'That was my murderer's voice!' exclaimed a terrible figure, whichappeared suddenly in the midst of us, covered with blood, and disfiguredwith horrible wounds. 

"Do not ask me the rest, " added the Sicilian, with every symptom ofhorror in his countenance. "I lost my senses the moment I looked atthis apparition. The same happened to every one present. When werecovered the monk and the ghost had disappeared; Lorenzo was writhingin the agonies of death. He was carried to bed in the most dreadfulconvulsions. No person attended him but his confessor and the sorrowfulold marquis, in whose presence he expired. The marquis died a few weeksafter him. Lorenzo's secret is locked in the bosom of the priest whoreceived his last confession; no person ever learnt what it was. 

"Soon after this event a well was cleaned in the farmyard of themarquis' villa. It had been disused for many years, and was almostclosed up by shrubs and old trees. On digging among the rubbish a humanskeleton was found. The house where this happened is now no more; thefamily del M-----nte is extinct, and Antonia's tomb may be seen in aconvent not far from Salerno. 

"You see, " continued the Sicilian, seeing us all stand silent andthoughtful, "you see how my acquaintance with this Russian officer, Armenian, or Franciscan friar originated. Judge now whether I had notgood cause to tremble at the sight of a being who has twice placedhimself in my way in a manner so terrible. "

"I beg you will answer me one question more, " said the prince, risingfrom his seat. "Have you been always sincere in your account ofeverything relating to the chevalier?"

"To the best of my knowledge I have, " replied the Sicilian. 

"You really believed him to be an honest man?"

"I did; by heaven! I did, " answered he again. 

"Even at the tine he gave you the ring?"

"How! He gave me no ring. I did not say that he gave me the ring. "

"Very well!" said the prince, pulling the bell, and preparing todepart. "And you believe" (going back to the prisoner) "that the ghostof the Marquis de Lanoy, which the Russian officer introduced after yourapparition, was a true and real ghost?"

"I cannot think otherwise. "

"Let us go!" said the prince, addressing himself to us. The gaoler camein. "We have done, " said the prince to him. "You, sir, " turning to theprisoner, "you shall hear further from me. "

"I am tempted to ask your highness the last question you proposed to thesorcerer, " said I to the prince, when we were alone. "Do you believethe second ghost to have been a real and true one?"

"I believe it! No, not now, most assuredly. "

"Not now? Then you did once believe it?"

"I confess I was tempted for a moment to believe it something more thanthe contrivance of a juggler. "

"And I could wish to see the man who under similar circumstances wouldnot have had the same impression. But what reasons have you forretracting your opinion? What the prisoner has related of the Armenianought to increase rather than diminish your belief in his super naturalpowers. "

"What this wretch has related of him, " said the prince, interrupting mevery gravely. "I hope, " continued he, "you have now no doubt but thatwe have had to do with a villain. "

"No; but must his evidence on that account--"

"The evidence of a villain, even supposing I had no other reason fordoubt, can have no weight against common sense and established truth. Does a man who has already deceived me several times, and whose trade itis to deceive, does he deserve to be heard in a cause in which theunsupported testimony of even the most sincere adherent to truth couldnot be received? Ought we to believe a man who perhaps never once spoketruth for its own sake? Does such a man deserve credit, when he appearsas evidence against human reason and the eternal laws of nature? Wouldit not be as absurd as to admit the accusation of a person notoriouslyinfamous against unblemished and irreproachable innocence?"

"But what motives could he have for giving so great a character to a manwhom he has so many reasons to hate?"

"I am not to conclude that he can have no motives for doing this becauseI am unable to comprehend them. Do I know who has bribed him to deceiveme? I confess I cannot penetrate the whole contexture of his plan; buthe has certainly done a material injury to the cause he advocates byproving himself to be at least an impostor, and perhaps somethingworse. "

"The circumstance of the ring, I allow, appears somewhat suspicions. "

"It is more than suspicious, " answered the prince; "it is decisive. Hereceived this ring from the murderer, and at the moment he received ithe must have been certain that it was from the murderer. Who but theassassin, could have taken from the finger of the deceased a ring whichhe undoubtedly never took off himself? Throughout the whole of hisnarration the Sicilian has labored to persuade us that while he wasendeavoring to deceive Lorenzo, Lorenzo was in reality deceiving him. Would he have had recourse to this subterfuge if he had not beensensible how much he should lose in our estimation by confessing himselfan accomplice with the assassin? The whole story is visibly nothing buta series of impostures, invented merely to connect the few truths he hasthought proper to give us. Ought I then to hesitate in disbelieving theeleventh assertion of a person who has already deceived me ten times, rather than admit a violation of the fundamental laws of nature, which Ihave ever found in the most perfect harmony?"

"I have nothing to reply to all this, but the apparition we sawyesterday is to me not the less incomprehensible. "

"It is also incomprehensible to me, although I have been tempted tobelieve that I have found a key to it. "

"How so?" asked I. 

"Do not you recollect that the second apparition, as soon as he entered, walked directly up to the altar, took the crucifix in his hand, andplaced himself upon the carpet?"

"It appeared so to me. "

"And this crucifix, according to the Sicilian's confession, was aconductor. You see that the apparition hastened to make himselfelectrical. Thus the blow which Lord Seymour struck him with a swordwas of course ineffectual; the electric stroke disabled his arm. "

"This is true with respect to the sword. But the pistol fired by theSicilian, the ball of which we heard roll slowly upon the altar?"

"Are you convinced that this was the same ball which was fired from thepistol?" replied the prince. "Not to mention that the puppet, or theman who represented the ghost, may have been so well accoutred as to beinvulnerable by sword or bullet; but consider who it was that loaded thepistols. "

"True, " said I, and a sudden light broke upon my mind; "the Russian. Officer had loaded them, but it was in our presence. How could he havedeceived us?"

"Why should he not have deceived us? Did you suspect him sufficientlyto observe him? Did you examine the ball before it was put into thepistol? May it not have been one of quicksilver or clay? Did you takenotice whether the Russian officer really put it into the barrel, ordropped it into his other hand? But supposing that he actually loadedthe pistols, what is to convince you that he really took the loaded onesinto the room where the ghost appeared, and did not change them foranother pair, which he might have done the more easily as nobody everthought of noticing him, and we were besides occupied in undressing?And could not the figure, at the moment when we were prevented fromseeing it by the smoke of the pistol, have dropped another ball, withwhich it had been beforehand provided, on the the altar? Which of theseconjectures is impossible?"

"You are right. But that striking resemblance to your deceased friend!I have often seen him with you, and I immediately recognized him in theapparition. "

"I did the same, and I must confess the illusion was complete. But ifthe juggler from a few stolen glances at my snuff-box was able to giveto his apparition a resemblance, what was to prevent the Russianofficer, who had used the box during the whole time of supper, who hadhad liberty to observe the picture unnoticed, and to whom I haddiscovered in confidence whom it represented, what was to prevent himfrom doing the same? Add to this what has been before observed by theSicilian, that the prominent features of the marquis were so striking asto be easily imitated; what is there so inexplicable in this secondghost?"

"But the words he uttered? The information he gave you about yourfriend?"

"What?" said the prince, "Did not the Sicilian assure us, that fromthe little which he had learnt from me he had composed a similar story?Does not this prove that the invention was obvious and natural?Besides, the answers of the ghost, like those of an oracle, were soobscure that he was in no danger of being detected in a falsehood. Ifthe man who personated the ghost possessed sagacity and presence ofmind, and knew ever-so-little of the affair on which he was consulted, to what length might not he have carried the deception?"

"Pray consider, your highness, how much preparation such a complicatedartifice would have required from the Armenian; how much time it takesto paint a face with sufficient exactness; how much time would have beenrequisite to instruct the pretended ghost, so as to guard him againstgross errors; what a degree of minute attention to regulate every minorattendant or adventitious circumstance, which must be answered in somemanner, lest they should prove detrimental! And remember that theRussian officer was absent but half an hour. Was that short spaceof time sufficient to make even such arrangements as were mostindispensable? Surely, my prince, not even a dramatic writer, who hasthe least desire to preserve the three terrible unities of Aristotle, durst venture to load the interval between one act and another with sucha variety of action, or to presume upon such a facility of belief in hisaudience. "

"What! You think it absolutely impossible that every necessarypreparation should have been made in the space of half an hour?"

"Indeed, I look upon it as almost impossible. "

"I do not understand this expression. Does it militate against thephysical laws of time and space, or of matter and motion, that a man soingenious and so expert as this Armenian must undoubtedly be, assistedby agents whose dexterity and acuteness are probably not inferior to hisown; favored by the time of night, and watched by no one, provided withsuch means and instruments as a man of this profession is never without--is it impossible that such a man, favored by such circumstances, should be able to effect so much in so short a time? Is it ridiculousor absurd to suppose, that by a very small number of words or signs hecan convey to his assistants very extensive commissions, and direct verycomplex operations? Nothing ought to be admitted that is contrary tothe established laws of nature, unless it is something with which theselaws are absolutely incompatible. Would you rather give credit to amiracle than admit an improbability? Would you solve a difficultyrather by overturning the powers of nature than by believing an artfuland uncommon combination of them?"

"Though the fact will not justify a conclusion such as you havecondemned, you must, however, grant that it is far beyond ourconception. "

"I am almost tempted to dispute even this, " said the prince, with aquiet smile. "What would you say, my dear count, if it should beproved, for instance, that the operations of the Armenian were preparedand carried on, not only during the half-hour that he was absent fromus, not only in haste and incidentally, but during the whole evening andthe whole night? You recollect that the Sicilian employed nearly threehours in preparation. "

"The Sicilian? Yes, my prince. "

"And how will you convince me that this juggler had not as much concernin the second apparition as in the first?"

"How so, your highness?"

"That he was not the principal assistant of the Armenian? In a word, how will you convince me that they did not co-operate?"

"It would be a difficult task to prove that, " exclaimed I, with nolittle surprise. 

"Not so difficult, my dear count, as you imagine. What! Could it havehappened by mere chance that these two men should form a design soextraordinary and so complicated upon the same person, at the same time, and in the same place? Could mere chance have produced such an exactharmony between their operations, that one of them should play soexactly the game of the other? Suppose for a moment that the Armenianintended to heighten the effect of his deception, by introducing itafter a less refined one--that he created a Hector to make himself hisAchilles. Suppose that he has done all this to discover what degree ofcredulity he could expect to find in me, to examine the readiest way togain my confidence, to familiarize himself with his subject by anattempt that might have miscarried without any prejudice to his plan; ina word, to tune the instrument on which he intended to play. Suppose hedid this with the view of exciting my suspicions on one subject in orderto divert my attention from another more important to his design. Lastly, suppose he wishes to have some indirect methods of information, which he had himself occasion to practise, imputed to the sorcerer, inorder to divert suspicion from the true channel. "

"How do you mean?" said I. 

"Suppose, for instance, that he may have bribed some of my servants togive him secret intelligence, or, perhaps, even some papers which mayserve his purpose. I have missed one of my domestics. What reason haveI to think that the Armenian is not concerned in his leaving me? Such aconnection, however, if it existed, may be accidently discovered; aletter may be intercepted; a servant, who is in the secret, may betrayhis trust. Now all the consequence of the Armenian is destroyed if Idetect the source of his omniscience. He therefore introduces thissorcerer, who must be supposed to have some design upon me. He takescare to give me early notice of him and his intentions, so that whateverI may hereafter discover my suspicions must necessarily rest upon theSicilian. This is the puppet with which he amuses me, whilst hehimself, unobserved and unsuspected, is entangling me in invisiblesnares. "

"We will allow this. But is it consistent with the Armenian's plan thathe himself should destroy the illusion which he has created, anddisclose the mysteries of his science to the eyes of the uninitiated?"

"What mysteries does he disclose? None, surely, which he intends topractise on me. He therefore loses nothing by the discovery. But, on the other hand, what an advantage will he gain, if this pretendedvictory over juggling and deception should render me secure andunsuspecting; if he succeeds in diverting my attention from the rightquarter, and in fixing my wavering suspicions on an object the mostremote from the real one! He could naturally expect that, sooner orlater, either from my own doubts, or at the suggestion of another, Ishould be tempted to seek a key to his mysterious wonders, in the mereart of a juggler; how could he better provide against such an inquirythan by contrasting his prodigies with juggling tricks. By confiningthe latter within artificial limits, and by delivering, as it were, intomy hands a scale by which to appreciate them, he naturally exalts andperplexes my ideas of the former. How many suspicions he precludes bythis single contrivance! How many methods of accounting for hismiracles, which afterwards have occurred to me, does he refutebeforehand!"

"But in exposing such a finished deception he has acted very muchagainst his own interest, both by quickening the penetration of thosewhom he meant to impose upon, and by staggering their belief in miraclesin general. Your highness' self is the best proof of the insufficiencyof his plan, if indeed he ever had one. "

"Perhaps he has been mistaken in respect to myself, " said the prince;"but his conclusions have nevertheless been well founded. Could heforesee that I should exactly notice the very circumstance whichthreatens to become the key to the whole artifice? Was it in his planthat the creature he employed should render himself thus vulnerable?Are we certain that the Sicilian has not far exceeded his commission?He has undoubtedly done so with respect to the ring, and yet it ischiefly this single circumstance which determined my distrust in him. How easily may a plan, whose contexture is most artful and refined, bespoiled in the execution by an awkward instrument. It certainly was notthe Armenian's intention that the sorcerer should trumpet his fame to usin the style of a mountebank, that he should endeavor to impose upon ussuch fables as are too gross to bear the least reflection. Forinstance, with what countenance could this impostor affirm that themiraculous being he spoke of must renounce all commerce with mankind attwelve in the night? Did we not see him among us at that very hour?"

"That is true, " cried I. "He must have forgotten it. "

"It often happens, to people of this description, that they overacttheir parts; and, by aiming at too much, mar the effects which awell-managed deception is calculated to produce. "

"I cannot, however, yet prevail on myself to look upon the whole as amere preconcerted scheme. What! the Sicilian's terror, his convulsivefits, his swoon, the deplorable situation in which we saw him, and whichwas even such as to move our pity, were all these nothing more than astudied part? I allow that a skilful performer may carry imitation to avery high pitch, but he certainly has no power over the organs of life. "

"As for that, my friend, " replied the prince, "I have seen Richard III. Performed by Garrick. But were we at that moment sufficiently cool tobe capable of observing dispassionately? Could we judge of the emotionof the Sicilian when we were almost overcome by our own? Besides, thedecisive crisis even of a deception is so momentous to the deceiverhimself that excessive anxiety may produce in him symptoms as violentas those which surprise excites in the deceived. Add to this theunexpected entrance of the watch. "

"I am glad you remind me of that, prince. Would the Armenian haveventured to discover such a dangerous scheme to the eye of justice; toexpose the fidelity of his creature to so severe a test? And for whatpurpose?"

"Leave that matter to him; he is no doubt acquainted with the people heemploys. Do we know what secret crimes may have secured him the silenceof this man? You have been informed of the office he holds in Venice;what difficulty will he find in saving a man of whom he himself is theonly accuser?"

[This suggestion of the prince was but too well justified by the event. For, some days after, on inquiring after the prisoner, we were told thathe had escaped, and had not since been heard of. ]

"You ask what could be his motives for delivering this man into thehands of justice?" continued the prince. "By what other method, exceptthis violent one, could he have wrested from the Sicilian such aninfamous and improbable confession, which, however, was so material tothe success of his plan? Who but a man whose case is desperate, and whohas nothing to lose, would consent to give so humiliating an account ofhimself? Under what other circumstances could we have believed such aconfession?"

"I grant all this, my prince. That the two apparitions were merecontrivances of art; that the Sicilian has imposed upon us a tale whichthe Armenian his master, had previously taught him; that the efforts ofboth have been directed to the same end, and, from this mutualintelligence all the wonderful incidents which have astonished us inthis adventure may be easily explained. But the prophecy in the squareof St. Mark, that first miracle, which, as it were, opened the door toall the rest, still remains unexplained; and of what use is the key toall his other wonders if we despair of resolving this single one?"

"Rather invert the proposition, my dear count, " answered the prince, "and say what do all these wonders prove if I can demonstrate that asingle one among them is a juggling trick? The prediction, I own, istotally beyond my conception. If it stood alone; if the Armenian hadclosed the scene with it, instead of beginning it, I confess I do notknow how far I might have been carried. But in the base alloy withwhich it is mixed it is certainly rather suspicious. Time may explain, or not explain it; but believe me, my friend!" added the prince, takingmy hand, with a grave countenance, --"a man who can command supernaturalpowers has no occasion to employ the arts of a juggler; he despisesthem. "

"Thus, " says Count O------, "ended a conversation which I have relatedword for word, because it shows the difficulties which were to beovercome before the prince could be effectually imposed upon; and Ihope it may free his memory from the imputation of having blindly andinconsiderately thrown himself into a snare, which was spread for hisdestruction by the most unexampled and diabolical wickedness. Not all, "continues Count O------, "who, at the moment I am writing, smilecontemptuously at the prince's credulity, and, in the fanciedsuperiority of their own yet untempted understanding, unconditionallycondemn him; not all of these, I apprehend, would have stood his firsttrial so courageously. If afterwards, notwithstanding this providentialwarning, we witness his downfall; if we see that the black designagainst which, at the very outset, he was thus cautioned, is finallysuccessful, we shall be less inclined to ridicule his weakness than tobe astonished at the infamous ingenuity of a plot which could seduce anunderstanding so fully prepared. Considerations of worldly interest canhave no influence upon my testimony; he, who alone would be thankful forit, is now no more. His dreadful destiny is accomplished; his soul haslong since been purified before the throne of truth, where mine willlikewise have appeared before these passages meet the eyes of the world. Pardon the involuntary tears which now flow at the remembrance of mydearest friend. But for the sake of justice I must write this. His wasa noble character, and would have adorned a throne which, seduced by themost atrocious artifice, he attempted to ascend by the commission of acrime. 

BOOK II. 

"Not long after these events, " continues Count O-----, in his narrative, "I began to observe an extraordinary alteration in the disposition ofthe prince, which was partly the immediate consequence of the last eventand partly produced by the concurrence of many adventitiouscircumstances. Hitherto he had avoided every severe trial of his faith, and contented himself with purifying the rude and abstract notions ofreligion, in which he had been educated, by those more rational ideasupon this subject which forced themselves upon his attention, orcomparing the many discordant opinions with each other, withoutinquiring into the foundations of his faith. Religious subjects, he hasmany times confessed to me, always appeared to him like an enchantedcastle, into which one does not set one's foot without horror, and thatthey act therefore much the wiser part who pass it in respectfulsilence, without exposing themselves to the danger of being bewilderedin its labyrinths. A servile and bigoted education was the source ofthis dread; this had impressed frightful images upon his tender brain, which, during the remainder of his life, he was never able wholly toobliterate. Religious melancholy was an hereditary disorder in hisfamily. The education which he and his brothers had received wascalculated to produce it; and the men to whose care they were entrusted, selected with this object, were also either enthusiasts or hypocrites. 

"To stifle all the sprightliness of the boy, by a gloomy restraint ofhis mental faculties, was the only method of securing to themselves thehighest approbation of his royal parents. The whole of our prince'schildhood wore a dark and gloomy aspect; mirth was banished even fromhis amusements. All his ideas of religion were accompanied by somefrightful image; and the representations of terror and severity werethose which first took hold of his lively imagination, and which thelongest retained their empire over it. His God was an object of terror, a being whose occupation is to chastise; and the adoration he paid himwas either slavish fear, or a blind submission which stifled all hisenergies. In all his youthful propensities, which a vigorous growth anda fine constitution naturally excited to break out with the greaterviolence, religion stood in his way; it opposed everything upon whichhis young heart was bent; he learned to consider it not as a friend, but as the scourge of his passions; so that a silent indignation wasgradually kindled against it in his heart, which, together with abigoted faith and a blind fear, produced an incongruous mixture offeelings, and an abhorrence of a ruler before whom he trembled. 

"It is no wonder, therefore, that he took the first opportunity ofescaping from so galling a yoke--but he fled from it as a bond-slavewho, escaping from his rigorous master, drags along with him a sense ofhis servitude, even in the midst of freedom; for, as he did not renouncethe faith of his earlier years from a deliberate conviction, and did notwait till the maturity and improvement of his reasoning had weaned himfrom it, but escaped from it like a fugitive, upon whose person therights of his master are still in force, so was he obliged, even afterhis widest separation, to return to it at last. He had escaped with hischain, and for that reason must necessarily become the prey of any onewho should discover it, and know how to make use of the discovery. Thatsuch a one presented himself, the sequel of this history will prove;most likely the reader has already surmised it. 

"The confessions of the Sicilian left a deeper impression upon his mindthan they ought, considering the circumstances; and the small victorywhich his reason had thence gained over this weak imposture, remarkablyincreased his reliance upon his own powers. The facility with which hehad been able to unravel this deception appeared to have surprised him. Truth and error were not yet so accurately distinguished from each otherin his mind but that he often mistook the arguments which were in favorof the one for those in favor of the other. Thence it arose that thesame blow which destroyed his faith in wonders made the whole edifice ofit totter. In this instance, he fell into the same error as aninexperienced man who has been deceived in love or friendship, becausehe happened to make a bad choice, and who denies the existence of thesesensations, because he takes the occasional exceptions fordistinguishing features. The unmasking of a deception made even truthsuspicious to him, because he had unfortunately discovered truth byfalse reasoning. 

"This imaginary triumph pleased him in proportion to the magnitude ofthe oppression from which it seemed to deliver him. From this instantthere arose in his mind a scepticism which did not spare even the mostsacred objects. 

"Many circumstances concurred to encourage, and still more to confirm, him in this turn of mind. He now quitted the retirement in which he hadhitherto lived, and gave way to a more dissipated mode of life. Hisrank was discovered; attentions which he was obliged to return, etiquettes for which he was indebted to his rank, drew him imperceptiblywithin the vortex of the great world. His rank, as well as his personalattractions, opened to him the circles of all the beaux esprits inVenice, and he soon found himself on terms of intimacy with the mostenlightened persons in the republic, men of learning as well aspoliticians. This obliged him to en large the monotonous and limitedcircle to which his understanding had hitherto been confined. He beganto perceive the poverty and feebleness of his ideas, and to feel thewant of more elevated impressions. The old-fashioned turn of hisunderstanding, in spite of the many advantages with which it wasaccompanied, formed an unpleasing contrast with the current ideas ofsociety; his ignorance of the commonest things frequently exposed him toridicule, than which he dreaded nothing more. The unfortunate prejudicewhich attached to his native country appeared to him a challenge toovercome it in his own person. Besides this, there was a peculiarity inhis character; he was offended with every attention that he thought waspaid him on account of his rank rather than his personal qualities. Hefelt this humiliation principally in the company of persons who shone bytheir abilities, and triumphed, as it were, over their birth by theirmerit. To perceive himself distinguished as a prince, in such asociety, was always a deep humiliation to him, because he unfortunatelyfancied himself excluded by his rank from all competition. Thesecircumstances convinced him of the necessity of cultivating his mind, in order to raise it to a level with the thinking part of the world, from which he had hitherto been so separated; and for that purpose hechose the most modern books, and applied himself to them with all theardor with which he was accustomed to pursue every object to which hedevoted himself. But the unskilful hand that directed his choice alwaysprompted him to select such as were little calculated to improve eitherhis heart or his reason; besides that, he was influenced by a propensitywhich rendered everything irresistible which was incomprehensible. Hehad neither attention nor memory for anything that was not of thatcharacter, and both his reason and his heart remained untouched, whilehe was filling the vacuities of his brain with confused ideas. Thedazzling style of some writers captivated his imagination, while thesubtlety of others ensnared his reason. Together, they easily tookpossession of a mind which became the prey of whatever was obtruded uponit with a certain degree of dogmatism. A course of reading, which hadbeen continued with ardor for more than a year, had scarcely enrichedhim with one benevolent idea, but had filled his head with doubts, which, as a natural consequence with such a character, had almost foundan unfortunate road to his heart. In a word, he had entered thislabyrinth as a credulous enthusiast, had left it as a sceptic, and atlength became a perfect free-thinker. 

"Among the circles into which he had been introduced there was a privatesociety called the Bucentauro, which, under the mask of a noble andrational liberality of sentiment, encouraged the most unbridledlicentiousness of manners and opinion. As it enumerated many of theclergy among its members, and could even boast of some cardinals at itshead, the prince was the more easily induced to join it. He thoughtthat certain dangerous truths, which reason discovers, could be nowherebetter preserved than in the hands of such persons, whose rank compelledthem to moderation, and who had the advantage of hearing and examiningthe other side of the question. The prince did not recollect thatlicentiousness of sentiment and manners takes so much the stronger holdamong persons of this rank, inasmuch as they for that reason feel onecurb less; and this was the case with the Bucentauro, most of whosemembers, through an execrable philosophy, and manners worthy of such aguide, were not only a disgrace to their own rank, but even to humannature itself. The society had its secret degrees; and I will believe, for the credit of the prince, that they never thought him worthy ofadmission into the inmost sanctuary. Every one who entered this societywas obliged, at least so long as he continued to be a member of it, tolay aside all distinctions arising from rank, nation, or religion, inshort, every general mark or distinction whatever, and to submit himselfto the condition of universal equality. To be elected a member wasindeed a difficult matter, as superiority of understanding alone pavedthe way to it. The society boasted of the highest ton and the mostcultivated taste, and such indeed was its fame throughout all Venice. This, as well as the appearance of equality which predominated in it, attracted the prince irresistibly. Sensible conversations, set off bythe most admirable humor, instructive amusements, and the flower of thelearned and political world, which were all attracted to this point asto their common centre, concealed from him for a long time the dangerof this connection. As he by degrees discovered through its mask thespirit of the institution, as they grew tired of being any longer ontheir guard before him, to recede was dangerous, and false shame andanxiety for his safety obliged him to conceal the displeasure he felt. But he already began, merely from familiarity with men of this class andtheir sentiments, though they did not excite him to imitation, to losethe pure and charming simplicity of his character, and the delicacy ofhis moral feelings. His understanding, supported by real knowledge, could not without foreign assistance solve the fallacious sophisms withwhich he had been here ensnared; and this fatal poison had alreadydestroyed all, or nearly all, the basis on which his morality rested. He surrendered the natural and indispensable safeguards of his happinessfor sophisms which deserted him at the critical moment, and he wasconsequently left to the operation of any specious argument which camein his way. 

"Perhaps the hand of a friend might yet have been in time to extricatehim from this abyss; but, besides that I did not become acquainted withthe real character of the Bucentauro till long after the evil had takenplace, an urgent circumstance called me away from Venice just at thebeginning of this period. Lord Seymour, too, a valuable acquaintance ofthe prince, whose cool understanding was proof against every species ofdeception, and who would have infallibly been a secure support to him, left us at this time in order to return to his native country. Those inwhose hands I left the prince were indeed worthy men, but inexperienced, excessively narrow in their religious opinions, deficient in theirperception of the evil, and wanting in credit with the prince. They hadnothing to oppose to his captious sophisms except the maxims of a blindand uninquiring faith, which either irritated him or excited hisridicule. He saw through them too easily, and his superior reason soonsilenced those weak defenders of the good cause, as will be clearlyevinced from an instance which I shall introduce in the sequel. Thosewho, subsequent to this, possessed themselves of his confidence, weremuch more interested in plunging him deeper into error. When I returnedto Venice in the following year how great a change had already takenplace in everything!

"The influence of this new philosophy soon showed itself in the prince'sconduct. The more openly he pursued pleasure, and acquired new friends, the more did he lose in the estimation of his old ones. He pleased meless and less every day; we saw each other more seldom, and indeed hewas seldom accessible. He had launched out into the torrent of thegreat world. His threshold was eternally thronged when he was at home. Amusements, banquets, and galas followed each other in rapid succession. He was the idol whom every one courted, the great attraction of everycircle. In proportion as he, in his secluded life, had fancied livingin society to be difficult, did he to his astonishment find it easy. Everything met his wishes. Whatever he uttered was admirable, and whenhe remained silent it was like committing a robbery upon the company. They understood the art of drawing his thoughts insensibly from hissoul, and then with a little delicate management to surprise him withthem. This happiness, which accompanied him everywhere, and thisuniversal success, raised him indeed too much in his own ideas, becauseit gave him too much confidence and too much reliance upon himself. 

"The heightened opinion which he thus acquired of his own worth made himcredit the excessive and almost idolatrous adoration that was paid tohis understanding; which but for this increased self-complacency, musthave necessarily recalled him from his aberrations. For the present, however, this universal voice was only a confirmation of what hiscomplacent vanity whispered in his ear; a tribute which he felt entitledto by right. He would have infallibly disengaged himself from thissnare had they allowed him to take breath; had they granted him a momentof uninterrupted leisure to compare his real merit with the picture thatwas exhibited to him in this seducing mirror; but his existence was acontinued state of intoxication, a whirl of excitement. The higher hehad been elevated the more difficulty had he to support himself in hiselevation. This incessant exertion slowly undermined him; rest hadforsaken even his slumbers. His weakness had been discovered, and thepassion kindled in his breast turned to good account. 

"His worthy attendants soon found to their cost that their lord hadbecome a wit. That anxious sensibility, those glorious truths which hisheart once embraced with the greatest enthusiasm, now began to be theobjects of his ridicule. He revenged himself on the great truths ofreligion for the oppression which he had so long suffered frommisconception. But, since from too true a voice his heart combated theintoxication of his head, there was more of acrimony than of humor inhis jests. His disposition began to alter, and caprice to exhibititself. The most beautiful ornament of his character, his modesty, vanished; parasites had poisoned his excellent heart. That tenderdelicacy of address which frequently made his attendants forget that hewas their lord, now gave place to a decisive and despotic tone, whichmade the more sensible impression, because it was not founded upondistinction of rank, for the want of which they could have consoledthemselves, but upon an arrogant estimation of his own superior merit. When at home he was attacked by reflections that seldom made theirappearance in the bustle of company; his own people scarcely ever sawhim otherwise than gloomy, peevish, and unhappy, whilst elsewhere aforced vivacity made him the soul of every circle. With the sincerestsorrow did we behold him treading this dangerous path, but in the vortexin which he was involved the feeble voice of friendship was no longerheard, and he was too much intoxicated to understand it. 

"Just at the beginning of this epoch an affair of the greatestconsequence required my presence in the court of my sovereign, whichI dared not postpone even for the dearest interests of friendship. An invisible hand, the agency of which I did not discover till longafterwards, had contrived to derange my affairs, and to spread reportsconcerning me which I was obliged to contradict by my presence. Theparting from the prince was painful to me, but did not affect him. Theties which united us had been severed for some time, but his fate hadawakened all my anxiety. I, on that account, prevailed on Baron vonF------ to inform me by letter of every event, which he has done in themost conscientious manner. As I was for a considerable time no longeran eye-witness of these events, it will be allowable for me to introducethe Baron von F------ in my stead, and to fill up the gap in mynarrative by the contents of his letters. Notwithstanding that therepresentation of my friend F------ is not always what I should havegiven, I would not alter any of his expressions, so that the reader willbe enabled to discover the truth with very little trouble. "

LETTER I. 

BARON VON F----- TO COUNT VON O---------. 

May 17. 

I thank you, my most honored friend, for the permission you have givenme to continue in your absence that confidential intercourse with you, which during your stay here formed my great pleasure. You must be awarethat there is no one here with whom I can venture to open my heart oncertain private matters. Whatever you may urge to the contrary, Idetest the people here. Since the prince has become one of them, andsince we have lost your society, I feel solitary in the midst of thispopulous city. Z------ takes it less to heart, and the fair ones ofVenice manage to make him forget the mortifications he is compelled toshare with me at home. And why should he make himself unhappy? Hedesires nothing more in the prince than a master, whom he could alsofind elsewhere. But I!--you know how deep an interest I feel in ourprince's weal and woe, and how much cause I have for doing so; I havenow lived with him sixteen years, and seem to exist only for his sake. As a boy of nine years old I first entered his service, and since thattime we have never been separated. I have grown up under his eye--along intercourse has insensibly attached me more and more to him--I haveborne a part in all his adventures, great and small. Until this lastunhappy year I had been accustomed to look upon him in the light of afriend, or of an elder brother--I have basked in his smile as in thesunshine of a summer's day--no cloud hung over my happiness!--and allthis must now go to ruin in this unlucky Venice!

Since your departure several changes have taken place in ourestablishment. The Prince of --d----- arrived here last week, with anumerous and brilliant retinue, and has caused a new and tumultuous lifein our circle. As he is so nearly related to our prince, and as theyare moreover at present upon pretty good terms, they will be very littleapart during his sojourn, which I hear is to last until after the feastof the Ascension. A good beginning has already been made; for the lastten days our prince has hardly had time to breathe. The Prince of--d---- has all along been living in a very expensive way, which wasexcusable in him, as he will soon take his departure; but the worst ofthe business is that he has inoculated our prince with his extravagance, because he could not well withdraw himself from his company, and, in thepeculiar relation which exists between the two houses, thought itincumbent upon himself to assert the dignity of his own. We shall, moreover, depart from Venice in a few weeks, which will relieve theprince from the necessity of continuing for any length of time thisextraordinary expenditure. 

The Prince of --d-----, it is reported, is here on business of theOrder, in which he imagines that he plays an important part. That hehas taken advantage of all the acquaintances of our prince you mayreadily imagine. He has been introduced with distinguished honor intothe society of the Bucentauro, as he is pleased to consider himself awit, and a man of great genius, and allows himself to be styled in hiscorrespondences, which he keeps up throughout all parts of the world, the "prince philosophique. " I do not know whether you have ever had thepleasure of meeting him. He displays a promising exterior, piercingeyes, a countenance full of expression, much show of reading, muchacquired naturalness (if I may be allowed the expression), joined to aprincely condescension towards the human race, a large amount ofconfidence in himself, and an eloquence which talks down all opposition. Who could refuse to pay homage to such splendid qualities in a "RoyalHighness?" But to what advantage the quiet and sterling worth of ourprince will appear, when contrasted with these dazzling accomplishments, the event must show. 

In the arrangement of our establishment, various and important changeshave taken place. We have rented a new and magnificent house oppositethe new Procuracy, because the lodging at the Moor Hotel became tooconfined for the prince. Our suite has been augmented by twelvepersons, pages, Moors, guards, etc. During your stay here youcomplained of unnecessary expense--you should see us now!

Our internal arrangements remain the same as of old, except that theprince, no longer held in check by your presence, is, if possible, morereserved and distant towards us than ever; we see very little of him, except while dressing or undressing him. Under the pretext that wespeak the French language very badly, and the Italian not at all, he hasfound means to exclude us from most of his entertainments, which to mepersonally is not a very great grievance; but I believe I know the truereason of it--he is ashamed of us; and this hurts me, for we have notdeserved it of him. 

As you wish to know all our minor affairs, I must tell you, that of allhis attendants, the prince almost exclusively employs Biondello, whom hetook into his service, as you will recollect, on the disappearance ofhis huntsman, and who, in his new mode of life, has become quiteindispensable to him. This man knows Venice thoroughly, and turnseverything to some account. It is as though he had a thousand eyes, and could set a thousand hands in motion at once. This he accomplishes, as he says, by the help of the gondoliers. To the prince he rendershimself very useful by making him acquainted with all the strange facesthat present themselves at his assemblies, and the private informationhe gives his highness has always proved to be correct. Besides this, he speaks and writes both Italian and French excellently, and has inconsequence already risen to be the prince's secretary. I must, however, relate to you an instance of fidelity in him which is rarelyfound among people of his station. The other day a merchant of goodstanding from Rimini requested an audience of the prince. The objectof his visit was an extraordinary complaint concerning Biondello. Theprocurator, his former master, who must have been rather an odd fellow, had lived in irreconcilable enmity with his relations; this enmity hewished if possible to continue even after his death. Biondellopossessed his entire confidence, and was the repository of all hissecrets; while on his deathbed he obliged him to swear that he wouldkeep them inviolably, and would never disclose them for the benefit ofhis relations; a handsome legacy was to be the reward of his silence. When the deceased procurator's will was opened and his papers inspected, many blanks and irregularities were found to which Biondello alone couldfurnish a key. He persisted in denying that he knew anything about it, gave up his very handsome legacy to the heirs, and kept his secrets tohimself. Large offers were made to him by the relations, but all invain; at length, in order to escape from their importunities and theirthreats of legally prosecuting him he entered the service of the prince. The merchant, who was the chief heir, now applied to the prince, andmade larger offers than, before if Biondello would alter hisdetermination. But even the persuasions of the prince were fruitless. He admitted that secrets of consequence had really been confided to him;he did not deny that the deceased had perhaps carried his enmity towardshis relations too far; but, added he, he was my dear master andbenefactor, and died with a firm belief in my integrity. I was the onlyfriend he had left in the world, and will therefore never prove myselfunworthy of his confidence. At the same time he hinted that the avowalsthey wished him to make would not tend to the honor of the deceased. Was not that acting nobly and delicately? You may easily imagine thatthe prince did not renew his endeavors to shake so praiseworthy adetermination. The extraordinary fidelity which he has shown towardshis deceased master has procured him the unlimited confidence of hispresent one!

Farewell, my dear friend. How I sigh for the quiet life we led whenfirst you came amongst us, for the stillness of which your society soagreeably indemnified us. I fear my happy days in Venice are over, andshall be glad if the same remark does not also apply to the prince. Theelement in which he now lives is not calculated to render himpermanently happy, or my sixteen years' experience has deceived me. 

LETTER II. 

BARON VON F---- TO COUNT VON O------June 4. 

I should never have thought that our stay at Venice would have beenproductive of any good consequences. It has been the means of saving aman's life, and I am reconciled to it. 

Some few evenings ago the prince was being carried home late at nightfrom the Bucentauro; two domestics, of whom Biondello was one, accompanied him. By some accident it happened that the sedan, which hadbeen hired in haste, broke down, and the prince was obliged to proceedthe remainder of the way-on foot. Biondello walked in front; theircourse lay through several dark, retired streets, and, as daybreak wasat hand, the lamps were either burning dimly or had gone out altogether. They had proceeded about a quarter of an hour when Biondello discoveredthat he had lost his way. The similarity of the bridges had deceivedhim, and, instead of crossing that of St. Mark, they found themselves inSestiere di Castello. It was in a by-street, and not a soul wasstirring; they were obliged to turn back in order to gain a main streetby which to set themselves right. They had proceeded but a few paceswhen they heard cries of "murder" in a neighboring street. With hisusual determined courage, the prince, unarmed as he was, snatched astick from one of his attendants, and rushed forward in the directionwhence the sound came. Three ruffianly-looking fellows were just aboutto assassinate a man, who with his companion was feebly defendinghimself; the prince appeared just in time to arrest the fatal blow. Thevoices of the prince and his followers alarmed the murderers, who didnot expect any interruption in so lonely a place; after inflicting a fewslight wounds with their daggers, they abandoned their victim and tookto their heels. Exhausted with the unequal combat, the wounded man sunkhalf fainting into the arms of the prince; his companion informed mymaster that the man whose life he had saved was the Marquis Civitella, a nephew of the Cardinal A------. As the marquis' wounds bled freely, Biondello acted as surgeon to the best of his ability, and the princetook care to have him conveyed to the palace of his uncle, which wasnear at hand, and whither he himself accompanied him. This done, heleft the house without revealing his name. 

This, however, was discovered by a servant who had recognized Biondello. Already on the following morning the cardinal, an old acquaintance fromthe Bucentauro, waited upon the prince. The interview lasted an hour;the cardinal was much moved; tears stood in his eyes when they parted;the prince, too, was affected. The same evening a visit was paid to thesick man, of whose case the surgeon gives a very favorable report; themantle in which he was wrapped had rendered the thrusts unsteady, andweakened their force. Since this event not a day has passed without theprince's paying a visit at the cardinal's, or receiving one from him, and a close intimacy has begun to exist between him and the cardinal'sfamily. 

The cardinal is a venerable man of sixty, with a majestic aspect, butfull of gayety and good health. He is said to be the richest prelatethroughout all the dominions of the republic. He is reported to managehis immense fortune in a very liberal manner, and, although prudentlyeconomical, to despise none of the joys of this life. This nephew, whois his sole heir, is not always on the best of terms with his uncle. For, although the cardinal is anything but an enemy to youthfulpleasures, the conduct of the nephew must exhaust the utmost tolerance. His loose principles and dissipated manner of living, aided unhappily byall the attractions which can make vice tempting and excite sensuality, have rendered him the terror of all fathers and the bane of allhusbands; this last attack also was said to have been caused by anintrigue he had begun with the wife of the ambassador, without speakingof other serious broils from which the power and the money of thecardinal could scarcely extricate him. But for this the cardinal wouldbe the happiest man in Italy, for he possesses everything that can makelife agreeable; but by this one domestic misfortune all the gifts offortune are annulled, and the enjoyment of his wealth is embittered tothe cardinal by the continual fear of finding nobody to inherit it. 

The whole of this information I have obtained from Biondello. Theprince has found in this man a real treasure. Every day he becomes moreindispensable, and we are continually discovering in him some newtalent. Some days ago the prince felt feverish and could not sleep; thenight-lamp was extinguished, and all his ringing failed to arouse thevalet-de-chambre, who had gone to sleep out of the house with anopera-dancer. At length the prince determined to rise himself, and torouse one of his people. He had not proceeded far when a strain ofdelicious melody met his ear. Like one enchanted, he followed the sound, and found Biondello in his room playing upon the flute, with hisfellow-servants assembled around him. The prince could hardly believe hissenses, and commanded him to proceed. With a surprising degree offacility he began to vary a touching adagio air with some fine extemporevariations, which he executed with all the taste of a virtuoso. Theprince, who, as you know, is a judge of music, says that he might playwith confidence in the finest choir in Italy. 

"I must dismiss this man, " said he to me next morning, "for I am unableto reward him according to his merits. " Biondello, who had overheardthese words, came forward, "If you dismiss me, gracious prince, " saidhe, "you deprive me of my best reward. "

"You are born to something better than to serve, " answered my master. "I must not stand in the way of your fortune. "

"Do not press upon me any better fortune, gracious sir, than that whichI have chosen for myself. "

"To neglect talent like yours--No! I can never permit it. "

"Then permit me, gracious sir, sometimes to exercise it in yourpresence. "

Preparations were immediately made for carrying this proposition intoeffect. Biondello had a room assigned to him next the apartment of theprince, so that he can lull him to sleep with his strains, and wake himin the same manner. The prince wished to double his salary, butBiondello declined, requesting that this intended boon should beretained in his master's hands as a capital of which he might some daywish to avail himself. The prince expects that he will soon come to aska favor at his hands; and whatever it may be it is granted beforehand. Farewell, dearest friend. I am waiting with impatience for tidings fromK-----n. 

LETTER III. 

BARON VON F------ TO COUNT VON O-------June 4. 

The Marquis of Civitella, who is now entirely recovered from his wounds, was last week introduced to the prince by his uncle, the cardinal, andsince then he has followed him like his shadow. Biondello cannot havetold me the truth respecting this marquis, or at any rate his accountmust be greatly exaggerated. His mien is highly engaging, and hismanners irresistibly winning. 

It is impossible to be out of humor with him; the first sight of himhas disarmed me. Imagine a man of the most enchanting figure, withcorresponding grace and dignity, a countenance full of thought andgenius, an expression frank and inviting; a persuasive tone of voice, the most flowing eloquence, and a glow of youthful beauty, joined to allthe advantages of a most liberal education. He has none of thatcontemptuous pride, none of that solemn starchness, which we disliked somuch in all the other nobles. His whole being is redolent of youthfuljoyousness, benevolence, and warmth of feeling. His excesses must havebeen much exaggerated; I never saw a more perfect picture of health. Ifhe is really so wholly abandoned as Biondello represents him he is asyren whom none can resist. 

Towards me he behaved with much frankness. He confessed with the mostpleasing sincerity that he was by no means on the best of terms with hisuncle, the cardinal, and that it was his own fault. But he wasseriously resolved to amend his life, and the merit would be entirelythe prince's. At the same time he hoped through his instrumentality tobe reconciled to his uncle, as the prince's influence with the cardinalwas unbounded. The only thing he had wanted till now was a friend and aguide, and he trusted he should find both in the person of the prince. 

The prince has now assumed the authority of a preceptor towards him, andtreats him with all the watchfulness fulness and strictness of a Mentor. But this intimacy also gives the marquis a certain degree of influence, of which he well knows how to avail himself. He hardly stirs from hisside; he is present at all parties where the prince is one of theguests; for the Bucentauro alone he is fortunately as yet too young. Wherever be appears in public with the prince he manages to draw himaway from the rest of the company by the pleasing manner in which heengages him in conversation and arrests his attention. Nobody, theysay, has yet been able to reclaim him, and the prince will deserve tobe immortalized in an epic should he accomplish such an Herculean task. I am much afraid, however, that the tables may be turned, and the guidebe led away by the pupil, of which, in fact, there seems to be everyprospect. 

The Prince of ---d------ has taken his departure, much to thesatisfaction of us all, my master not excepted. What I predicted, mydear O-----, has come to pass. Two characters so widely opposed mustinevitably clash together, and cannot maintain a good understanding forany length of time. The Prince of ---d------ had not been long inVenice before a terrible schism took place in the intellectual world, which threatened to deprive our prince of one-half of his admirers. Wherever he went he was crossed by this rival, who possessed exactlythe requisite amount of small cunning to avail himself of every littleadvantage he gained. As he besides never scrupled to make use of anypetty manoeuvres to increase his consequence, he in a short time drewall the weak-minded of the community on his side, and shone at the headof a company of parasites worthy of such a leader. 

 [The harsh judgment which Baron F----- (both here and in some passages of his first letter) pronounces upon this talented prince will be found exaggerated by every one who has the good fortune to be acquainted with him, and must be attributed to the prejudiced views of the young observer. --Note of the Count von O------. ]

The wiser course would certainly have been not to enter into competitionat all with an adversary of this description, and a few months back thisis the part which the prince would have taken. But now he has launchedtoo far into the stream easily to regain the shore. These trifles have, perhaps by the circumstances in which he is placed, acquired a certaindegree of importance in his eyes, and had he even despised them hispride would not have allowed him to retire at a moment when his yieldingwould have been looked upon less as a voluntary act than as a confessionof inferiority. Added to this, an unlucky revival of forgottensatirical speeches had taken place, and the spirit of rivalry which tookpossession of his followers had affected the prince himself. In order, therefore, to maintain that position in society which public opinion hadnow assigned him, he deemed it advisable to seize every possibleopportunity of display, and of increasing the number of his admirers;but this could only be effected by the most princely expenditure;he was therefore eternally giving feasts, entertainments, and expensiveconcerts, making costly presents, and playing high. As this strangemadness, moreover, had also infected the prince's retinue, who aregenerally much more punctilious in respect to what they deem "the honorof the family" than their masters, the prince was obliged to assist thezeal of his followers by his liberality. Here, then, is a wholecatalogue of ills, all irremediable consequences of a sufficientlyexcusable weakness to which the prince in an unguarded moment gave way. 

We have, it is true, got rid of our rival, but the harm he has done willnot so soon be remedied. The finances of the prince are exhausted; allthat he had saved by the wise economy of years is spent; and he musthasten from Venice if he would escape plunging into debt, which till nowhe has most scrupulously avoided. It is decisively settled that weleave as soon as fresh remittances arrive. 

I should not have minded all this splendor if the prince had but reapedthe least real satisfaction from it. But he was never less happy thanat present. He feels that he is not what he formerly was; he seeks toregain his self-respect; he is dissatisfied with himself, and launchesinto fresh dissipation in order to drown the recollection of the last. One new acquaintance follows another, and each involves him more deeply. I know not where this will end. We must away--there is no other chanceof safety--we must away from Venice. 

But, my dear friend, I have not yet received a single line from you. How am I to interpret this long and obstinate silence?

LETTER IV. 

BARON VON F------ TO COUNT VON O------. June 12. 

I thank you, my dear friend, for the token of your remembrance whichyoung B---hl brought me. But what is it you say about letters I oughtto have received? I have received no letter from you; not a single one. What a circuitous route must they have taken. In future, dear O------, when you honor me with an epistle despatch it via Trent, under cover tothe prince, my master. 

We have at length been compelled, my dear friend, to resort to a measurewhich till now we had so happily avoided. Our remittances have failedto arrive--failed, for the first time, in this pressing emergency, andwe have been obliged to have recourse to a usurer, as the prince iswilling to pay handsomely to keep the affair secret. The worst of thisdisagreeable occurrence is, that it retards our departure. On thisaffair the prince and I have had an explanation. The whole transactionhad been arranged by Biondello, and the son of Israel was there before Ihad any suspicion of the fact. It grieved me to the heart to see theprince reduced to such an extremity, and revived all my recollections ofthe past, and fears for the future; and I suppose I may have lookedrather sorrowful and gloomy when the usurer left the room. The prince, whom the foregoing scene had left in not the happiest frame of mind, waspacing angrily up and down the room; the rouleaus of gold were stilllying on the table; I stood at the window, counting the panes of glassin the procurator's house opposite. There was a long pause. At lengththe prince broke silence. "F------!" he began, "I cannot bear to seedismal faces about me. "

I remained silent. 

"Why do you not answer me? Do I not perceive that your heart is almostbursting to vent some of its vexation? I insist on your speaking, otherwise you will begin to fancy that you are keeping some terriblymomentous secret. "

"If I am gloomy, gracious sir, " replied I, "it is only because I do notsee you cheerful. "

"I know, " continued he, "that you have been dissatisfied with me forsome time past--that you disapprove of every step I take--that--whatdoes Count O------ say in his letters?"

"Count O------ has not written to me. "

"Not written? Why do you deny it? You keep up a confidentialcorrespondence together, you and the count; I am quite aware of that. Come, you may confess it, for I have no wish to pry into your secrets. "

"Count O------, " replied I, "has not yet answered any of the threeletters which I have written to him. "

"I have done wrong, " continued he; "don't you think so?" (taking up oneof the rouleaus) "I should not have done this?"

"I see that it was necessary. "

"I ought not to have reduced myself to such a necessity?"

I did not answer. 

"Oh, of course! I ought never to have indulged my wishes, but havegrown gray in the same dull manner in which I was brought up! Because Ionce venture a step beyond the drear monotony of my past life, and lookaround me to see whether there be not some new source of enjoyment instore for me--because I--"

"If it was but a trial, gracious sir, I have no more to say; for theexperience you have gained would not be dearly bought at three times theprice it has cost. It grieves me, I confess, to think that the opinionof the world should be concerned in determining the question--how areyou to choose your own happiness. "

"It is well for you that you can afford to despise the world's opinion, "replied he, "I am its creature, I must be its slave. What are weprinces but opinion? With us it is everything. Public opinion is ournurse and preceptor in infancy, our oracle and idol in riper years, ourstaff in old age. Take from us what we derive from the opinion of theworld, and the poorest of the humblest class is in a better positionthan we, for his fate has taught him a lesson of philosophy whichenables him to bear it. But a prince who laughs at the world's opiniondestroys himself, like the priest who denies the existence of a God. "

"And yet, gracious prince--"

"I see what you would say; I can break through the circle which my birthhas drawn around me. But can I also eradicate from my memory all thefalse impressions which education and early habit have implanted, andwhich a hundred thousand fools have been continually laboring to impressmore and more firmly? Everybody naturally wishes to be what he is inperfection; in short, the whole aim of a prince's existence is to appearhappy. If we cannot be happy after your fashion, is that any reason whywe should discard all other means of happiness, and not be happy at all?If we cannot drink of joy pure from the fountain-head, can there be anyreason why we should not beguile ourselves with artificial pleasure--nay, even be content to accept a sorry substitute from the very handthat robs us of the higher boon?"

"You were wont to look for this compensation in your own heart. "

"But if I no longer find it there? Oh, how came we to fall on thissubject? Why did you revive these recollections in me? I had recourseto this tumult of the senses in order to stifle an inward voice whichembitters my whole life; in order to lull to rest this inquisitivereason, which, like a sharp sickle, moves to and fro in my brain, ateach new research lopping off another branch of my happiness. "

"My dearest prince"--He had risen, and was pacing up and down the roomin unusual agitation. 

 [I have endeavored, dearest O------, to relate to you this remarkable conversation exactly as it occurred; but this I found impossible, although I sat down to write it the evening of the day it took place. In order to assist my memory I was obliged to transpose the observation of the prince, and thus this compound of a conversation and a philosophical lecture, which is in some respects better and in others worse than the source from which I took it, arose; but I assure you that I have rather omitted some of the prince's words than ascribed to him any of my own; all that is mine is the arrangement, and a few observations, whose ownership you will easily recognize by their stupidity. --Note of the Baron von F------]

"When everything gives way before me and behind me; when the past liesin the distance in dreary monotony, like a city of the dead; when thefuture offers me naught; when I see my whole being enclosed within thenarrow circle of the present, who can blame me if I clasp this niggardlypresent of time in my arms with fiery eagerness, as though it were afriend whom I was embracing for the last time? Oh, I have learnt tovalue the present moment. The present moment is our mother; let us loveit as such. "

"Gracious sir, you were wont to believe in a more lasting good. "

"Do but make the enchantment last and fervently will I embrace it. Butwhat pleasure can it give to me to render beings happy who to-morrowwill have passed away like myself? Is not everything passing awayaround me? Each one bustles and pushes his neighbor aside hastily tocatch a few drops from the fountain of life, and then departs thirsting. At this very moment, while I am rejoicing in lily strength, some beingis waiting to start into life at my dissolution. Show me one being whowill endure, and I will become a virtuous man. "

"But what, then, has become of those benevolent sentiments which used tobe the joy and the rule of your life? To sow seeds for the future, toassist in carrying out the designs of a high and eternal Providence"--

"Future! Eternal Providence! If you take away from man all that hederives from his own heart, all that he associates with the idea of agodhead, and all that belongs to the law of nature, what, then, do youleave him?

"What has already happened to me, and what may still follow, I look uponas two black, impenetrable curtains hanging over the two extremities ofhuman life, and which no mortal has ever yet drawn aside. Many hundredgenerations have stood before the second of these curtains, casting thelight of their torches upon its folds, speculating and guessing as towhat it may conceal. Many have beheld themselves, in the magnifiedimage of their passions, reflected upon the curtain which hides futurityfrom their gaze, and have turned away shuddering from their own shadows. Poets, philosophers, and statesmen have painted their fancies on thecurtain in brighter or more sombre colors, according as their ownprospects were bright or gloomy. Many a juggler has also takenadvantage of the universal curiosity, and by well-managed deceptionsled astray the excited imagination. A deep silence reigns behind thiscurtain; no one who passes beyond it answers any questions; all thereply is an empty echo, like the sound yielded by a vault. 

"Sooner or later all must go behind this curtain, and they approach itwith fear and trembling, in doubt who may be waiting there behind toreceive them; _quid sit id, quod tanturn morituri vident_. There havebeen infidels who asserted that this curtain only deluded mankind, andthat we saw nothing behind it, because there was nothing there to see;but, to convince them, they were quickly sent behind it themselves. "

"It was indeed a rash conclusion, " said I, "if they had no better groundfor it than that they saw nothing themselves. "

"You see, my dear friend, I am modest enough not to wish to look behindthis curtain, and the wisest course will doubtless be to abstain fromall curiosity. But while I draw this impassable circle around me, andconfine myself within the bounds of present existence, this small pointof time, which I was in danger of neglecting in useless researches, becomes the more important to me. What you call the chief end and aimof my existence concerns me no longer. I cannot escape my destiny; Icannot promote its consummation; but I know, and firmly believe, that Iam here to accomplish some end, and that I do accomplish it. But themeans which nature has chosen to fulfil my destiny are so much the moresacred to me; to me it is everything; my morality, my happiness. Allthe rest I shall never learn. I am like a messenger who carries asealed letter to its place of destination. What the letter contains isindifferent to him; his business is only to earn his fee for carryingit. "

"Alas!" said I, "how poor a thing you would leave me!"

"But in what a labyrinth have we lost ourselves!" exclaimed the prince, looking with a smile at the table on which the rouleaus lay. "After allperhaps not far from the mark, " continued he; "you will now no doubtunderstand my reasons for this new mode of life. I could not sosuddenly tear myself away from my fancied wealth, could not so readilyseparate the props of my morality and happiness from the pleasing dreamwith which everything within me was so closely bound up. I longed forthe frivolity which seems to render the existence of most of those aboutme endurable to themselves. Everything which precluded reflection waswelcome to me. Shall I confess it to you? I wished to lower myself, inorder to destroy this source of my griefs, by deadening the power ofreflection. "

Here we were interrupted by a visit. In my next I shall have tocommunicate to you a piece of news, which, from the tenor of aconversation like the one of to-day, you would scarcely haveanticipated. 

LETTER V. 

BARON VON F------ TO COUNT VON O------. 

As the time of our departure from Venice is now approaching with rapidsteps, this week was to be devoted to seeing everything worthy of noticein pictures and public edifices; a task which, when one intends making along stay in a place, is always delayed till the last moment. 

The "Marriage at Cana, " by Paul Veronese, which is to be seen in aBenedictine convent in the Island of St. George, was in particularmentioned to us in high terms. Do not expect me to give you adescription of this extraordinary work of art, which, on the whole, made a very surprising, but not equally pleasing, impression on me. We should have required as many hours as we had minutes to study acomposition of one hundred and twenty figures, upon a ground thirty feetbroad. What human eye is capable of grasping so complicated a whole, orat once to enjoy all the beauty which the artist has everywherelavished, upon it! It is, however, to be lamented, that a work of somuch merit, which if exhibited in some public place, would command theadmiration of every one, should be destined merely to ornament therefectory of a few monks. The church of the monastery is no less worthyof admiration, being one of the finest in the whole city. Towardsevening we went in a gondola to the Guidecca, in order to spend thepleasant hours of evening in its charming garden. Our party, which wasnot very numerous, soon dispersed in various directions; and Civitella, who had been waiting all day for an opportunity of speaking to meprivately, took me aside into an arbor. 

"You are a friend to the prince, " he began, "from whom he is accustomedto keep no secrets, as I know from very good authority. As I enteredhis hotel to-day I met a man coming out whose occupation is well knownto me, and when I entered the room the prince's brow was clouded. "I wished to interrupt him, --"You cannot deny it, " continued he; "I knewthe man, I looked at him well. And is it possible that the princeshould have a friend in Venice--a friend who owes his life to him, andyet be reduced on an emergency to make use of such creatures?"

"Tell me frankly, Baron! Is the prince in difficulties? It is in vainyou strive to conceal it from me. What! you refuse to tell me! I caneasily learn from one who would sell any secret for gold. "

"My good Marquis!"

"Pardon me! I must appear intrusive in order not to be ungrateful. To the prince I am indebted for life, and what is still more, for areasonable use of it. Shall I stand idly by and see him take stepswhich, besides being inconvenient to him, are beneath his dignity?Shall I feel it in my power to assist him, and hesitate for a moment tostep forward?"

"The prince, " replied I, "is not in difficulties. Some remittanceswhich we expected via Trent have not yet arrived, most likely either byaccident, or because not feeling certain whether he had not already leftVenice, they waited for a communication from him. This has now beendone, and until their arrival--"

Civitella shook his head. "Do not mistake my motive, " said he; "in thisthere can be no question as to diminishing the extent of my obligationstowards the prince, which all my uncle's wealth would be insufficient tocancel. My object is simply to spare him a few unpleasant moments. Myuncle possesses a large fortune which I can command as freely as thoughit were my own. A fortunate circumstance occurs, which enables me toavail myself of the only means by which I can possibly be of theslightest use to your master. I know, " continued he, "how much delicacythe prince possesses, but the feeling is mutual, and it would be nobleon his part to afford me this slight gratification, were it only to makeme appear to feel less heavily the load of obligation under which Ilabor. "

He continued to urge his request, until I had pledged my word to assisthim to the utmost of my ability. I knew the prince's character, and hadbut small hopes of success. The marquis promised to agree to anyconditions the prince might impose, but added, that it would deeplywound him to be regarded in the light of a stranger. 

In the heat of our conversation we had strayed far away from the rest ofthe company, and were returning, when Z-------- came to meet us. 

"I am in search of the prince, " he cried; "is he not with you?"

"We were just going to him, " was our reply. "We thought to find himwith the rest of the party. "

"The company is all together, but he is nowhere to be found. I cannotimagine how we lost sight of him. "

It now occurred to Civitella that he might have gone to look at theadjoining church, which had a short time before attracted his attention. We immediately went to look for him there. As we approached, we foundBiondello waiting in the porch. On coming nearer, we saw the princeemerge hastily from a side door; his countenance was flushed, and helooked anxiously round for Biondello, whom he called. He seemed to begiving him very particular instructions for the execution of somecommission, while his eyes continued constantly fixed on the churchdoor, which had remained open. Biondello hastened into the church. Theprince, without perceiving us, passed through the crowd, and went backto his party, which he reached before us. 

We resolved to sup in an open pavilion of the garden, where the marquishad, without our knowledge, arranged a little concert, which was quitefirst-rate. There was a young singer in particular, whose deliciousvoice and charming figure excited general admiration. Nothing, however, seemed to make an impression on the prince; he spoke little, and gaveconfused answers to our questions; his eyes were anxiously fixed in thedirection whence he expected Biondello; and he seemed much agitated. Civitella asked him what he thought of the church; he was unable to giveany description of it. Some beautiful pictures, which rendered thechurch remarkable, were spoken of; the prince had not noticed them. Weperceived that our questions annoyed him, and therefore discontinuedthem. Hour after hour rolled on and still Biondello returned not. Theprince could no longer conceal his impatience; he rose from the table, and paced alone, with rapid strides, up and down a retired walk. Nobodycould imagine what had happened to him. I did not venture to ask himthe reason of so remarkable a change in his demeanor; I have for sometime past resigned my former place in his confidence. It was, therefore, with the utmost impatience that I awaited the return ofBiondello to explain this riddle to me. 

It was past ten o'clock when he made his appearance. The tidings hebrought did not make the prince more communicative. He returned in anill-humor to the company, the gondola was ordered, and we returned. Home. 

During the remainder of that evening I could find no opportunity ofspeaking to Biondello, and was, therefore, obliged to retire to mypillow with my curiosity unsatisfied. The prince had dismissed usearly, but a thousand reflections flitted across my brain, and kept meawake. For a long time I could hear him pacing up and down his room; atlength sleep overcame me. Late at midnight I was awakened by a voice, and I felt a hand passed across my face; I opened my eyes, and saw theprince standing at my bedside, with a lamp in his hand. He told me hewas unable to sleep, and begged me to keep him company through thenight. I was going to dress myself, but he told me to stay where I was, and seated himself at my bedside. 

"Something has happened to me to-day, " he began, "the impression ofwhich will never be effaced from my soul. I left you, as you know, tosee the church, respecting which Civitella had raised my curiosity, andwhich had already attracted my attention. As neither you nor he were athand, I walked the short distance alone, and ordered Biondello to waitfor me at the door. The church was quite empty; a dim and solemn lightsurrounded me as I entered from the blazing sultry day without. I stoodalone in the spacious building, throughout which there reigned thestillness of the grave. I placed myself in the centre of the church, and gave myself up to the feelings which the sight was calculated toproduce; by degrees the grand proportions of this majestic buildingexpanded to my gaze, and I stood wrapt in deep and pleasingcontemplation. Above me the evening bell was tolling; its tones diedsoftly away in the aisles, and found an echo in my heart. Somealtar-pieces at a distance attracted my attention. I approached to lookat them; unconsciously I had wandered through one side of the church, andwas now standing at the opposite end. Here a few steps, raised round apillar, led into a little chapel, containing several small altars, withstatues of saints in the niches above them. On entering the chapel on theright I heard a whispering, as though some one near was speaking in a lowvoice. I turned towards the spot whence the sound proceeded, and sawbefore me a female form. No! I cannot describe to you the beauty of thisform. My first feeling was one of awe, which, however, soon gave place toravishing surprise. "

"But this figure, your highness? Are you certain that it was somethingliving, something real, and not perhaps a picture, or an illusion ofyour fancy?"

"Hear me further. It was a lady. Surely, till that moment, I havenever seen her sex in its full perfection! All around was sombre; thesetting sun shone through a single window into the chapel, and its raysrested upon her figure. With inexpressible grace, half kneeling, halflying, she was stretched before an altar; one of the most striking, mostlovely, and picturesque objects in all nature. Her dress was of blackmoreen, fitting tightly to her slender waist and beautifully-formedarms, the skirts spreading around her like a Spanish robe; her longlight-colored hair was divided into two broad plaits, which, apparentlyfrom their own weight, had escaped from under her veil, and flowed incharming disorder down her back. One of her hands grasped the crucifix, and her head rested gracefully upon the other. But, where shall I findwords to describe to you the angelic beauty of her countenance, in whichthe charms of a seraph seemed displayed. The setting sun shone fullupon her face, and its golden beams seemed to surround it as with aglory. Can you recall to your mind the Madonna of our Florentinepainter? She was here personified, even to those few deviations fromthe studied costume which so powerfully, so irresistibly attracted me inthe picture. "

With regard to the Madonna, of whom the prince spoke, the case is this:Shortly after your departure he made the acquaintance of a Florentinepainter, who had been summoned to Venice to paint an altar-piece forsome church, the name of which I do not recollect. He had brought withhim three paintings, which had been intended for the gallery in theCornari palace. They consisted of a Madonna, a Heloise, and a Venus, very lightly apparelled. All three were of great beauty; and, althoughthe subjects were quite different, they were so intrinsically equal thatit seemed almost impossible to determine which to prefer. The princealone did not hesitate for a moment. As soon as the pictures wereplaced before him the Madonna absorbed his whole attention; in the twoothers he admired the painter's genius; but in this he forgot the artistand his art, his whole soul being absorbed in the contemplation of thework. He was quite moved, and could scarcely tear himself away from it. We could easily see by the artist's countenance that in his heart hecoincided with the prince's judgment; he obstinately refused to separatethe pictures, and demanded fifteen hundred zechins for the three. Theprince offered him half that sum for the Madonna alone, but in vain. The artist insisted on his first demand, and who knows what might havebeen the result if a ready purchaser had not stepped forward. 

Two hours afterwards all three pictures were sold, and we never saw themagain. It was this Madonna which now recurred to the prince's mind. 

"I stood, " continued he, "gazing at her in silent admiration. She didnot observe me; my arrival did not disturb her, so completely was sheabsorbed in her devotion. She prayed to her Deity, and I prayed to her--yes, I adored her! All the pictures of saints, all the altars and theburning tapers around me had failed to remind me of what now for thefirst time burst upon me, that I was in a sacred place. Shall I confessit to you? In that moment I believed firmly in Him whose image wasclasped in her beautiful hand. I read in her eyes that he answered herprayers. Thanks be to her charming devotion, it had revealed him to me. I wandered with her through all the paradise of prayer. 

"She rose, and I recollected myself. I stepped aside confused; but thenoise I made in moving discovered me. I thought that the unexpectedpresence of a man might alarm, that my boldness would offend her; butneither of these feelings were expressed in the look with which sheregarded me. Peace, benign peace, was portrayed in her countenance, anda cheerful smile played upon her lips. She was descending from herheaven; and I was the first happy mortal who met her benevolent look. Her mind was still wrapt in her concluding prayer; she had not yet comein contact with earth. 

"I now heard something stir in the opposite corner of the chapel. Itwas an elderly lady, who rose from a cushion close behind me. Till nowI had not observed her. She had been distant only a few steps from me. And must have seen my every motion. This confused me. I cast my eyesto the earth, and both the ladies passed by me. "

On this last point I thought myself able to console the prince. 

"Strange, " continued he, after a long silence, "that there should besomething which one has never known--never missed; and that yet on asudden one should seem to live and breathe for that alone. Can onesingle moment so completely metamorphose a human being? It would now beas impossible for me to indulge in the wishes or enjoy the pleasures ofyesterday as it would be to return to the toys of my childhood, and allthis since I have seen this object which lives and rules in the inmostrecesses of my soul. It seems to say that I can love nothing else, andthat nothing else in this world can produce an impression on me. "

"But consider, gracious prince, " said I, "the excitable mood you were inwhen this apparition surprised you, and how all the circumstancesconspired to inflame your imagination. Quitting the dazzling light ofday and the busy throng of men, you were suddenly surrounded by twilightand repose. You confess that you had quite given yourself up to thosesolemn emotions which the majesty of the place was calculated to awaken;the contemplation of fine works of art had rendered you more susceptibleto the impressions of beauty in any form. You supposed yourself alone--when you saw a maiden who, I will readily allow, may have been verybeautiful, and whose charms were heightened by a favorable illuminationof the setting sun, a graceful attitude, and an expression of ferventdevotion--what is more natural than that your vivid fancy should lookupon such a form as something supernaturally perfect?"

"Can the imagination give what it never received?" replied he. "In thewhole range of my fancy there is nothing which I can compare with thatimage. It is impressed on my mind distinctly and vividly as in themoment when I beheld it. I can think of nothing but that picture; butyou might offer me whole worlds for it in vain. "

"My gracious prince, this is love. "

"Must the sensation which makes me happy necessarily have a name?Love! Do not degrade my feeling by giving it a name which is so oftenmisapplied by the weak-minded. Who ever felt before what I do now?Such a being never before existed; how then can the name be admittedbefore the emotion which it is meant to express? Mine is a novel andpeculiar feeling, connected only with this being, and capable of beingapplied to her alone. Love! From love I am secure!"

"You sent away Biondello, no doubt, to follow in the steps of thesestrangers, and to make inquiries concerning them. What news did hebring you?"

"Biondello discovered nothing; or, at least, as good as nothing. Anaged, respectably dressed man, who looked more like a citizen than aservant, came to conduct them to their gondola. A number of poor peopleplaced themselves in a row, and quitted her, apparently well satisfied. Biondello said he saw one of her hands, which was ornamented withseveral precious stones. She spoke a few words, which Biondello couldnot comprehend, to her companion; he says it was Greek. As she had somedistance to walk to the canal, the people began to throng together, attracted by the strangeness of her appearance. Nobody knew her--butbeauty seems born to rule. All made way for her in a respectful manner. She let fall a black veil, that covered half of her person, over herface, and hastened into the gondola. Along the whole Giudecca Biondellomanaged to keep the boat in view, but the crowd prevented his followingit further. "

"But surely he took notice of the gondolier so as to be able torecognize him again. "

"He has undertaken to find out the gondolier, but he is not one of thosewith whom he associates. The mendicants, whom he questioned, could givehim no further information than that the signora had come to the churchfor the last few Saturdays, and had each time divided a gold-piece amongthem. It was a Dutch ducat, which Biondello changed for them, andbrought to me. "

"It appears, then, that she is a Greek--most likely of rank; at anyrate, rich and charitable. That is as much as we dare venture toconclude at present, gracious sir; perhaps too much. But a Greek ladyin a Catholic church?"

"Why not? She may have changed her religion. But there is certainlysome mystery in the affair. Why should she go only once a week? Whyalways on Saturday, on which day, as Biondello tells me, the church isgenerally deserted. Next Saturday, at the latest, must decide thisquestion. Till then, dearest friend, you must help me to while away thehours. But it is in vain. They will go their lingering pace, though mysoul is burning with expectation!"

"And when this day at length arrives--what, then, gracious prince? Whatdo you purpose doing?"

"What do I purpose doing? I shall see her. I will discover where shelives and who she is. But to what does all this tend? I hear you ask. What I saw made me happy; I therefore now know wherein my happinessconsists!

"And our departure from Venice, which is fixed for next Monday?"

"How could I know that Venice still contained such a treasure for me?You ask me questions of my past life. I tell you that from this dayforward I will begin a new existence. "

I thought that now was the opportunity to keep my word to the marquis. I explained to the prince that a protracted stay in Venice wasaltogether incompatible with the exhausted state of his finances, andthat, if he extended his sojourn here beyond the appointed time, hecould not reckon on receiving funds from his court. On this occasion, I learned what had hitherto been a secret to me, namely, that the princehad, without the knowledge of his other brothers, received from hissister, the reigning ----- of --------, considerable loans, which shewould gladly double if his court left him in the lurch. This sister, who, as you know, is a pious enthusiast, thinks that the large savingswhich she makes at a very economical court cannot be deposited in betterhands than in those of a brother whose wise benevolence she well knows, and whose character she warmly honors. I have, indeed, known for sometime that a very close intercourse has been kept up between the two, and that many letters have been exchanged; but, as the prince's ownresources have hitherto always been sufficient to cover his expenditure, I had never guessed at this hidden channel. It is clear, therefore, that the prince must have had some expenses which have been and stillare unknown to me; but if I can judge of them by his general character, they will certainly not be of such a description as to tend to hisdisgrace. And yet I thought I understood him thoroughly. After thisdisclosure, I of course did not hesitate to make known to him themarquis' offer, which, to my no small surprise, he immediately accepted. He gave me the authority to transact the business with the marquis inwhatever way I thought most advisable, and then immediately to settlethe account with the usurer. To his sister he proposed to write withoutdelay. 

It was morning when we separated. However disagreeable this affair isto me for more than one reason, the worst of it is that it seems tothreaten a longer residence in Venice. From the prince's passion Irather augur good than evil. It is, perhaps, the most powerful methodof withdrawing him from his metaphysical dreams to the concerns andfeelings of real life. It will have its crisis, and, like an illnessproduced by artificial means, will eradicate the natural disorder. 

Farewell, my dear friend. I have written down these incidentsimmediately upon their occurrence. The post starts immediately; youwill receive this letter on the same day as my last. 

LETTER VI. 

BARON F------ TO COUNT O-------. June 20. 

This Civitella is certainly one of the most obliging personages in theworld. The prince had scarcely left me the other day before I receiveda note from the marquis enforcing his former offers with renewedearnestness. I instantly forwarded, in the prince's name, a bond forsix thousand zechins; in less than half an hour it was returned, withdouble the sum required, in notes and gold. The prince at lengthassented to this increase, but insisted that the bond, which was drawnonly for six weeks, should be accepted. 

The whole of the present week has been consumed in inquiries after themysterious Greek. Biondello set all his engines to work, but until nowin vain. He certainly discovered the gondolier; but from him he couldlearn nothing, save that the ladies had disembarked on the island ofMurano, where they entered two sedan chairs which were waiting for them. He supposed them to be English because they spoke a foreign language, and had paid him in gold. He did not even know their guide, butbelieved him to be a glass manufacturer from Murano. We were now, atleast, certain that we must not look for her in the Giudecca, and thatin all probability she lived in the island of Murano; but, unluckily, the description the prince gave of her was not such as to make herrecognizable by a third party. The passionate interest with which hehad regarded her had hindered him from observing her minutely; for allthe minor details, which other people would not have failed to notice, had escaped his observation; from his description one would have soonerexpected to find her prototype in the works of Ariosto or Tasso than ona Venetian island. Besides, our inquiries had to be conducted with theutmost caution, in order not to become prejudicial to the lady, or toexcite undue attention. As Biondello was the only man besides theprince who had seen her, even through her veil, and could thereforerecognize her, he strove to be as much as possible in all the placeswhere she was likely to appear; the life of the poor man, during thewhole week, was a continual race through all the streets of Venice. Inthe Greek church, particularly, every inquiry was made, but always withthe same ill-success; and the prince, whose impatience increased withevery successive failure, was at last obliged to wait till Saturday, with what patience he might. His restlessness was excessive. Nothinginterested him, nothing could fix his attention. He was in constantfeverish excitement; he fled from society, but the evil increased insolitude. He had never been so much besieged by visitors as in thisweek. His approaching departure had been announced, and everybodycrowded to see him. It was necessary to occupy the attention of thepeople in order to lull their suspicions, and to amuse the prince withthe view of diverting his mind from its all-engrossing object. In thisemergency Civitella hit upon play; and, for the purpose of driving awaymost of the visitors, proposed that the stakes should be high. He hopedby awakening in the prince a transient liking for play, from which itwould afterwards be easy to wean him, to destroy the romantic bent ofhis passion. "The cards, " said Civitella, "have saved me from many afolly which I had intended to commit, and repaired many which I hadalready perpetrated. At the faro table I have often recovered mytranquillity of mind, of which a pair of bright eyes had robbed me, andwomen never had more power over me than when I had not money enough toplay. "

I will not enter into a discussion as to how far Civitella was right;but the remedy we had hit upon soon began to be worse than the diseaseit was intended to cure. The prince, who could only make the game atall interesting to himself by staking extremely high, soon oversteppedall bounds. He was quite out of his element. Everything he did seemedto be done in a passion; all his actions betrayed the uneasiness of hismind. You know his general indifference to money; he seemed now to havebecome totally insensible to its value. Gold flowed through his handslike water. As he played without the slightest caution he lost almostinvariably. He lost immense sums, for he staked like a desperategamester. Dearest O-------, with an aching heart I write it, in fourdays he had lost above twelve thousand zechins. 

Do not reproach me. I blame myself sufficiently. But how could Iprevent it? Could I do more than warn him? I did all that was in mypower, and cannot find myself guilty. Civitella, too, lost not alittle; I won about six hundred zechins. The unprecedented ill-luck ofthe prince excited general attention, and therefore he would not leaveoff playing. Civitella, who is always ready to oblige him, immediatelyadvanced him the required sum. The deficit is made up; but the princeowes the marquis twenty-four thousand zechins. Oh, how I long for thesavings of his pious sister. Are all sovereigns so, my dear friend?The prince behaves as though he had done the marquis a great honor, andhe, at any rate, plays his part well. 

Civitella sought to quiet me by saying that this recklessness, thisextraordinary ill-luck, would be most effectual in bringing the princeto his senses. The money, he said, was of no consequence. He himselfwould not feel the loss in the least, and would be happy to serve theprince, at any moment, with three times the amount. The cardinal alsoassured me that his nephew's intentions were honest, and that he shouldbe ready to assist him in carrying them out. 

The most unfortunate thing was that these tremendous sacrifices did noteven effect their object. One would have thought that the prince wouldat least feel some interest in his play. But such was not the case. His thoughts were wandering far away, and the passion which we wished tostifle by his ill-luck in play seemed, on the contrary, only to gatherstrength. When, for instance, a decisive stroke was about to be played, and every one's eyes were fixed, full of expectation, on the board, hiswere searching for Biondello, in order to catch the news he might havebrought him, from the expression of his countenance. Biondello broughtno tidings, and his master's losses continued. 

The gains, however, fell into very needy hands. A few "yourexcellencies, " whom scandal reports to be in the habit of carrying hometheir frugal dinner from the market in their senatorial caps, enteredour house as beggars, and left it with well-lined purses. Civitellapointed them out to me. "Look, " said he, "how many poor devils maketheir fortunes by one great man taking a whim into his head. This iswhat I like to see. It is princely and royal. A great man must, evenby his failings, make some one happy, like a river which by itsoverflowing fertilizes the neighboring fields. "

Civitella has a noble and generous way of thinking, but the prince oweshim twenty-four thousand zechins. 

At length the long-wished-for Saturday arrived, and my master insistedupon going, directly after dinner, to the church. He stationed himselfin the chapel where he had first seen the unknown, but in such a way asnot to be immediately observed. Biondello had orders to keep watch atthe church door, and to enter into conversation with the attendant ofthe ladies. I had taken upon myself to enter, like a chance passenger, into the same gondola with them on their return, in order to followtheir track if the other schemes should fail. At the spot where thegondolier said he had landed them the last time two sedans werestationed; the chamberlain, Z------, was ordered to follow in a separategondola, in order to trace the retreat of the unknown, if all elseshould fail. The prince wished to give himself wholly up to thepleasure of seeing her, and, if possible, try to make her acquaintancein the church. Civitella was to keep out of the way altogether, as hisreputation among the women of Venice was so bad that his presence couldnot have failed to excite the suspicions of the lady. You see, dearcount, it was not through any want of precaution on our part that thefair unknown escaped us. 

Never, perhaps, was there offered up in any church such ardent prayersfor success, and never were hopes so cruelly disappointed. The princewaited till after sunset, starting in expectation at every sound whichapproached the chapel, and at every creaking of the church door. Sevenfull hours passed, and no Greek lady. I need not describe his state ofmind. You know what hope deferred is, hope which one has nourishedunceasingly for seven days and nights. 

LETTER VII. 

BARON VON F------ TO COUNT VON O-------July. 

The mysterious unknown of the prince reminded Marquis Civitella of aromantic incident which happened to himself a short time since, and, todivert the prince, he offered to relate it. I will give it you in hisown words; but the lively spirit which he infuses into all he tells willbe lost in my narration. 

(Here follows the subjoined fragment, which appeared in the eighth partof the Thalia, and was originally intended for the second volume of theGhost-Seer. It found a place here after Schiller had given up the ideaof completing the Ghost-Seer. )

"In the spring of last year, " began Civitella, "I had the misfortune toembroil myself with the Spanish ambassador, a gentleman who, in hisseventieth year, had been guilty of the folly of wishing to marry aRoman girl of eighteen. His vengeance pursued me, and my friendsadvised me to secure my safety by a timely flight, and to keep out ofthe way until the hand of nature, or an adjustment of differences, hadsecured me from the wrath of this formidable enemy. As I felt it toosevere a punishment to quit Venice altogether, I took up my abode in adistant quarter of the town, where I lived in a lonely house, under afeigned name, keeping myself concealed by day, and devoting the night tothe society of my friends and of pleasure. 

"My windows looked upon a garden, the west side of which was bounded bythe walls of a convent, while towards the east it jutted out into theLaguna in the form of a little peninsula. The garden was charminglysituated, but little frequented. It was my custom every morning, aftermy friends had left me, to spend a few moments at the window beforeretiring to rest, to see the sun rise over the Adriatic, and then to bidhim goodnight. If you, my dear prince, have not yet enjoyed thispleasure, I recommend exactly this station, the only eligible oneperhaps in all Venice to enjoy so splendid a prospect in perfection. A purple twilight hangs over the deep, and a golden mist on the Lagunaannounces the sun's approach. The heavens and the sea are wrapped inexpectant silence. In two seconds the orb of day appears, casting aflood of fiery light on the waves. It is an enchanting sight. 

"One morning, when I was, according to custom, enjoying the beauty ofthis prospect, I suddenly discovered that I was not the only spectatorof the scene. I fancied I heard voices in the garden, and turning tothe quarter whence the sound proceeded, I perceived a gondola steeringfor the land. In a few moments I saw figures walking at a slow pace upthe avenue. They were a man and a woman, accompanied by a little negro. The female was clothed in white, and had a brilliant on her finger. Itwas not light enough to perceive more. 

"My curiosity was raised. Doubtless a rendezvous of a pair of lovers--but in such a place, and at so unusual an hour! It was scarcely threeo'clock, and everything was still veiled in dusky twilight. Theincident seemed to me novel and proper for a romance, and I waited tosee the end. 

"I soon lost sight of them among the foliage of the garden, and sometime elapsed before they again emerged to view. Meanwhile a delightfulsong was heard. It proceeded from the gondolier, who was in this mannershortening the time, and was answered by a comrade a short way off. They sang stanzas from Tasso; time and place were in unison, and themelody sounded sweetly, in the profound silence around. 

"Day in the meantime had dawned, and objects were discerned moreplainly. I sought my people, whom I found walking hand-in-hand up abroad walk, often standing still, but always with their backs turnedtowards me, and proceeding further from my residence. Their noble, easycarriage convinced me at once that they were people of rank, and thesplendid figure of the lady made me augur as much of her beauty. Theyappeared to converse but little; the lady, however, more than hercompanion. In the spectacle of the rising sun, which now burst out inall its splendor, they seemed to take not the slightest interest. 

"While I was employed in adjusting my glass, in order to bring them intoview as closely as possible, they suddenly disappeared down a side path, and some time elapsed before I regained sight of them. The sun had nowfully risen; they were approaching straight towards me, with their eyesfixed upon where I stood. What a heavenly form did I behold! Was itillusion, or the magic effect of the beautiful light? I thought Ibeheld a supernatural being, for my eyes quailed before the angelicbrightness of her look. So much loveliness combined with so muchdignity!--so much mind, and so much blooming youth! It is in vain Iattempt to describe it. I had never seen true beauty till that moment. 

"In the heat of conversation they lingered near me, and I had fullopportunity to contemplate her. Scarcely, however, had I cast my eyesupon her companion, but even her beauty was not powerful enough to fixmy attention. He appeared to be a man still in the prime of life, rather slight, and of a tall, noble figure. Never have I beheld so muchmind, so much noble expression, in a human countenance. Thoughperfectly secured from observation, I was unable to meet the lightningglance that shot from beneath his dark eyebrows. There was a movingexpression of sorrow about his eyes, but an expression of benevolenceabout the mouth which relieved the settled gravity spread over his wholecountenance. A certain cast of features, not quite European, togetherwith his dress, which appeared to have been chosen with inimitable goodtaste from the most varied costumes, gave him a peculiar air, which nota little heightened the impression produced by his appearance. A degreeof wildness in his looks warranted the supposition that he was anenthusiast, but his deportment and carriage showed that his characterhad been formed by mixing in society. "

Z--------, who you know must always give utterance to what he thinks, could contain himself no longer. "Our Armenian!" cried he. "Our veryArmenian, and nobody else. "

"What Armenian, if one may ask?" inquired Civitella. 

"Has no one told you of the farce?" replied the prince. "But nointerruption! I begin to feel interested in your hero. Pray continueyour narrative. "

"There was something inexplicable in his whole demeanor, " continuedCivitella. "His eyes were fixed upon his companion with an expressionof anxiety and passion, but the moment they met hers he looked downabashed. 'Is the man beside himself!' thought I. I could stand forages and gaze at nothing else but her. 

"The foliage again concealed them from my sight. Long, long did I lookfor their reappearance, but in vain. At length I caught sight of themfrom another window. 

"They were standing before the basin of a fountain at some distanceapart, and both wrapped in deep silence. They had, probably, remainedsome time in the same position. Her clear and intelligent eyes wereresting inquiringly on his, and seemed as if they would imbibe everythought from him as it revealed itself in his countenance. He, as if hewanted courage to look directly into her face, furtively sought itsreflection in the watery mirror before him, or gazed steadfastly at thedolphin which bore the water to the basin. Who knows how long thissilent scene might have continued could the lady have endured it? Withthe most bewitching grace the lovely girl advanced towards him, andpassing her arm round his neck, raised his hand to her lips. Calmly andunmoved the strange being suffered her caresses, but did not returnthem. 

"This scene moved me strangely. It was the man that chiefly excited mysympathy and interest. Some violent emotion seemed to struggle in hisbreast; it was as if some irresistible force drew him towards her, whilean unseen arm held him back. Silent, but agonizing, was the struggle, and beautiful the temptation. 'No, ' I thought, 'he attempts too much;he will, he must yield. '

"At his silent intimation the young negro disappeared. I now expectedsome touching scene--a prayer on bended knees, and a reconciliationsealed with glowing kisses. But no! nothing of the kind occurred. Theincomprehensible being took from his pocketbook a sealed packet, andplaced it in the hands of the lady. Sadness overcast her face as sheshe looked at it, and a tear bedewed her eye. 

"After a short silence they separated. At this moment an elderly ladyadvanced from one of the sidewalks, who had remained at a distance, andwhom I now first discovered. She and the fair girl slowly advancedalong the path, and, while they were earnestly engaged in conversation, the stranger took the opportunity of remaining behind. With his eyesturned towards her, he stood irresolute, at one instant making a rapidstep forward, and in the next retreating. In another moment he haddisappeared in the copse. 

"The women at length look round, seem uneasy at not finding him, andpause as if to await his coming. He comes not. Anxious glances arecast around, and steps are redoubled. My eyes aid in searching throughthe garden; he comes not, he is nowhere to be seen. 

"Suddenly I see a plash in the canal, and see a gondola moving from theshore. It is he, and I scarcely can refrain from calling to him. Nowthe whole thing is clear--it was a parting. 

"She appears to have a presentiment of what has happened. With a speedthat her companion cannot use she hastens to the shore. Too late!Quick as the arrow in its flight the gondola bounds forward, and soonnothing is visible but a white handkerchief fluttering in the air fromafar. Soon after this I saw the fair incognita and her companion crossthe water. 

"When I awoke from a short sleep I could not help smiling at mydelusion. My fancy had incorporated these events in my dreams untiltruth itself seemed a dream. A maiden, fair as an houri, wanderingbeneath my windows at break of day with her lover--and a lover who didnot know how to make a better use of such an hour. Surely thesesupplied materials for the composition of a picture which might welloccupy the fancy of a dreamer! But the dream had been too lovely for menot to desire its renewal again and again; nay, even the garden hadbecome more charming in my sight since my imagination had peopled itwith such attractive forms. Several cheerless days that succeeded thiseventful morning drove me from the window, but the first fine eveninginvoluntarily drew me back to my post of observation. Judge of mysurprise when after a short search I caught sight of the white dress ofmy incognita! Yes, it was she herself. I had not dreamed!

"Her former companion was with her, and led by the hand a little boy;but the fair girl herself walked apart, and seemed absorbed in thought. All spots were visited that had been rendered memorable by the presenceof her friend. She paused for a long time before the basin, and herfixed gaze seemed to seek on its crystal mirror the reflection of onebeloved form. 

"Although her noble beauty had attracted me when I first saw her theimpression produced was even stronger on this occasion, although perhapsat the same time more conducive to gentler emotions. I had now ampleopportunity of considering this divine form; the surprise of the firstimpression gradually gave place to softer feelings. The glory thatseemed to invest her had departed, and I saw before me the loveliest ofwomen, and felt my senses inflamed. In a moment the resolution wasformed that she must be mine. 

"While I was deliberating whether I should descend and approach her, orwhether before I ventured on such a step it would not be better toobtain information regarding her, a door opened in the convent wall, through which there advanced a Carmelite monk. The sound of hisapproach roused the lady, and I saw her advance with hurried stepstowards him. He drew from his bosom a paper, which she eagerly grasped, while a vivid color instantaneously suffused her countenance. 

"At this moment I was called from the window by the arrival of my usualevening visitor. I carefully avoided approaching the spot again as Ihad no desire to share my conquest with another. For a whole hour I wasobliged to endure this painful constraint before I could succeed infreeing myself from my importunate guest, and when I hastened to thewindow all had disappeared. 

"The garden was empty when I entered it; no vessel of any kind wasvisible in the canal; no trace of people on any side; I neither knewwhence she had come nor whither she had gone. While I was looking roundme in all directions I observed something white upon the ground. Ondrawing near I found it was a piece of paper folded in the shape of anote. What could it be but the letter which the Carmelite had brought?'Happy discovery!' I exclaimed; 'this will reveal the whole secret, andmake me master of her fate. '

"The letter was sealed with a sphinx, had no superscription, and waswritten in cyphers; this, however, did not discourage me, for I havesome knowledge of this mode of writing. I copied it hastily, as therewas every reason to expect that she would soon miss it and return insearch of it. If she should not find it she would regard its loss as anevidence that the garden was resorted to by different persons, and sucha discovery might easily deter her from visiting it again. And whatworse fortune could attend my hopes. 

"That which I had conjectured actually took place, and I had scarcelyended my copy when she reappeared with her former companion, anxiouslyintent on the search. I attached the note to a tile which I haddetached from the roof, and dropped it at a spot which she would pass. Her gracefully expressed joy at finding it rewarded me for mygenerosity. She examined it in every part with keen, searching glances, as if she were seeking to detect the unhallowed hands that might havetouched it; but the contented look with which she hid it in her bosomshowed that she was free from all suspicion. She went, and the partingglance she threw on the garden seemed expressive of gratitude to theguardian deities of the spot, who had so faithfully watched over thesecret of her heart. 

"I now hastened to decipher the letter. After trying several languages, I at length succeeded by the use of English. Its contents were soremarkable that my memory still retains a perfect recollection of them. "

I am interrupted, and must give you the conclusion on a future occasion. 

LETTER VIII. 

BARON F------ TO COUNT O-------August. 

In truth, my dearest friend, you do the good Biondello injustice. Thesuspicion you entertain against him is unfounded, and while I allow youfull liberty to condemn all Italians generally, I must maintain thatthis one at least is an honest man. 

You think it singular that a person of such brilliant endowments andsuch exemplary conduct should debase himself to enter the service ofanother if he were not actuated by secret motives; and these, youfurther conclude, must necessarily be of a suspicious character. Butwhere is the novelty of a man of talent and of merit endeavoring to winfavor with a prince who has the power of establishing his fortune? Isthere anything derogatory in serving the prince? and has not Biondelloclearly shown that his devotion is purely personal by confessing that heearnestly desired to make a certain request of the prince? The wholemystery will, therefore, no doubt be revealed when he acquaints him ofhis wishes. He may certainly be actuated by secret motives, but why maythese not be innocent in their nature?

You think it strange that this Biondello should have kept all his greattalents concealed, and in no way have attracted attention during theearly months of our acquaintance with him, when you were still with us. This I grant; but what opportunity had he then of distinguishinghimself? The prince had not yet called his powers into requisition, andchance, therefore, could alone aid us in discovering his talents. 

He very recently gave a proof of his devotion and honesty of purposewhich must at once annihilate all your doubts. The prince was watched;measures were being taken to gain information regarding his mode oflife, associates, and general habits. I know not with whom thisinquisitiveness originated. Let me beg your attention, however, to whatI am about to relate:--

There is a house in St. George's which Biondello is in the habit offrequenting. He probably finds some peculiar attractions there, but ofthis I know nothing. It happened a few days ago that he there metassembled together a party of civil and military officers in the serviceof the government, old acquaintances and jovial comrades of his own. Surprise and pleasure were expressed on all sides at this meeting. Their former good-fellowship was re-established; and after each in turnhad related his own history up to the present time, Biondello was calledupon to give an account of his life; this he did in a few words. He wascongratulated on his new position; his companions had heard accounts ofthe splendid footing on which the Prince of -------'s establishment wasmaintained; of his liberality, especially to persons who showeddiscretion in keeping secrets; the prince's connection with the CardinalA------i was well known, he was said to be addicted to play, etc. Biondello's surprise at this is observed, and jokes are passed upon themystery which he tries to keep up, although it is well known that he isthe emissary of the Prince of ------. The two lawyers of the party makehim sit down between them; their glasses are repeatedly emptied, he isurged to drink, but excuses himself on the grounds of inability to bearwine; at last, however, he yields to their wishes, in order that he maythe better pretend intoxication. 

"Yes!" cried one of the lawyers, "Biondello understands his business, but he has not yet learned all the tricks of the trade; he is but anovice. "

"What have I still to learn?" ask Biondello. 

"You understand the art of keeping a secret, " remarked the other; "butyou have still to learn that of parting with it to advantage. "

"Am I likely to find a purchaser for any that I may have to dispose of?"asked Biondello. 

On this the other guests withdrew from the apartment, and left him alonewith his two neighbors, who continued the conversation in the samestrain. The substance of the whole was, however, briefly as follows:Biondello was to procure them certain information regarding theintercourse of the prince with the cardinal and his nephew, acquaintthem with the source from whence the prince derived his money, and tointercept all letters written to Count O------. Biondello put them offto a future occasion, but he was unsuccessful in his attempts to drawfrom them the name of the person by whom they were employed. From thesplendid nature of the proposals made to him it was evident, however, that they emanated from some influential and extremely wealthy party. 

Last night he related the whole occurrence to the prince, whose firstimpulse was without further ceremony to secure the maneuverers at once, but to this Biondello strongly objected. He urged that he would beobliged to set them at liberty again, and that, in this case, he shouldendanger not only his credit among this class of men, but even his life. All these men were connected together, and bound by one common interest, each one making the cause of the others his own; in fact, he wouldrather make enemies of the senate of Venice than be regarded by thesemen as a traitor--and, besides, he could no longer be useful to theprince if he lost the confidence of this class of people. 

We have pondered and conjectured much as to the source of all this. Whois there in Venice that can care to know what money my master receivesor pays out, what passess between Cardinal A-----i and himself, and whatI write to you? Can it be some scheme of the Prince of ---d-----, or isthe Armenian again on the alert?

LETTER IX. 

BARON F------ TO COUNT O-------. August. 

The prince is revelling in love and bliss. He has recovered his fairGreek. I must relate to you how this happened. 

A traveller, who had crossed from Chiozza, gave the prince so animatedan account of the beauty of this place, which is charmingly situated onthe shores of the gulf, that he became very anxious to see it. Yesterday was fixed upon for the excursion; and, in order to avoid allrestraint and display, no one was to accompany him but Z------- andmyself, together with Biondello, as my master wished to remain unknown. We found a vessel ready to start, and engaged our passage at once. Thecompany was very mixed but not numerous, and the passage was madewithout the occurrence of any circumstance worthy of notice. 

Chiozza is built, like Venice, on a foundation of wooden piles, and issaid to contain about forty thousand inhabitants. There are but few ofthe higher classes resident there, but one meets sailors and fishermenat every step. Whoever appears in a peruke, or a cloak, is regarded asan aristocrat--a rich man; the cap and overcoat are here the insignia ofthe poor. The situation is certainly very lovely, but it will not beara comparison with Venice. 

We did not remain long, for the captain, who had more passengers for thereturn voyage, was obliged to be in Venice at an early hour, and therewas nothing at Chiozza to make the prince desirous of remaining. Allthe passengers were on board when we reached the vessel. As we hadfound it so difficult to place ourselves on a social footing with thecompany on the outward passage, we determined on this occasion to securea cabin to ourselves. The prince inquired who the new-comers were, andwas informed that they were a Dominican and some ladies, who werereturning to Venice. My master evincing no curiosity to see them, weimmediately betook ourselves to our cabin. 

The Greek was the subject of our conversation throughout the wholepassage, as she had been during our former transit. The prince dweltwith ardor on her appearance in the church; and whilst numerous planswere in turn devised and rejected, hours passed like a moment of time, and we were already in sight of Venice. Some of the passengers nowdisembarked, the Dominican amongst the number. The captain went to theladies, who, as we now first learned, had been separated from us by onlya thin wooden partition, and asked them where they wished to land. Theisland of Murano was named in reply to his inquiry, and the houseindicated. "The island of Murano!" exclaimed the prince, who seemedsuddenly struck by a startling presentiment. Before I could reply tohis exclamation, Biondello rushed into the cabin. "Do you know, " askedhe eagerly, "who is on board with us?" The prince started to his feet, as Biondello continued, "She is here! she herself! I have just spokento her companion!"

The prince hurried out. He felt as if he could not breathe in ournarrow cabin, and I believe at that moment as if the whole world wouldhave been too narrow for him. A thousand conflicting feelings struggledfor the mastery in his heart; his knees trembled, and his countenancewas alternately flushed and pallid. I sympathized and participated inhis emotion, but I cannot by words convey to your mind any idea of thestate in which he was. 

When we stopped at Murano, the prince sprang on shore. She advancedfrom her cabin. I read in the face of the prince that it was indeedthe Greek. One glance was sufficient to dispel all doubt on that point. A more lovely creature I have never seen. Even the prince's glowingdescriptions fell far short of the reality. A radiant blush suffusedher face when she saw my master. She must have heard all we said, andcould not fail to know that she herself had been the subject of ourconversation. She exchanged a significant glance with her companion, which seemed to say, "That is he;" and then cast her eyes to the groundwith diffident confusion. On placing her foot on the narrow plank, which had been thrown from the vessel to the shore, she seemed anxiouslyto hesitate, less, as it seemed to me, from the fear of falling thanfrom her inability to cross the board without assistance, which wasproffered her by the outstretched arm of the prince. Necessity overcameher reluctance, and, accepting the aid of his hand, she stepped onshore. Excessive mental agitation had rendered the prince uncourteous, and he wholly forgot to offer his services to the other lady--but whatwas there that he would not have forgotten at this moment? My attentionin atoning for the remissness of the prince prevented my hearing thecommencement of a conversation which had begun between him and the youngGreek, while I had been helping the other lady on shore. 

He was still holding her hand in his, probably from absence of mind, andwithout being conscious of the fact. 

"This is not the first time, Signora, that--that"--he stopped short, unable to finish the sentence. 

"I think I remember" she faltered. 

"We met in the church of ---------, " said he, quickly. 

"Yes, it was in the church of ---------, " she rejoined. 

"And could I have supposed that this day would have brought me--"

Here she gently withdrew her hand from his--he was evidentlyembarrassed; but Biondello, who had in the meantime been speaking to theservant, now came to his aid. 

"Si-nor, " said he, "the ladies had ordered sedans to be in readiness forthem; they have not yet come, for we are here before the expected time. But there is a garden close by in which you may remain until the crowdhas dispersed. "

The proposal was accepted; you may conceive with what alacrity on thepart of the prince! We remained in the garden till late in the evening;and, fortunately, Z-------- and myself so effectually succeeded inoccupying the attention of the elder lady that the prince was enabled, undisturbed, to carry on his conversation with the fair Greek. You willeasily believe that he made good use of his time, when I tell you thathe obtained permission to visit her. At the very moment that I am nowwriting he is with her; on his return I shall be able to give youfurther particulars regarding her. 

When we got home yesterday we found that the long-expected remittanceshad arrived from our court; but at the same time the prince received aletter which excited his indignation to the highest pitch. He has beenrecalled, and that in a tone and manner to which he is whollyunaccustomed. He immediately wrote a reply in a similar spirit, andintends remaining. The remittances are only just sufficient to pay theinterest on the capital which he owes. We are looking with impatiencefor a reply from his sister. 

LETTER X. 

BARON F------ TO COUNT O-------September. 

The prince has fallen out with his court, and all resources haveconsequently been cut off from home. 

The term of six weeks, at the end of which my master was to pay themarquis, has already elapsed several days; but still no remittanceshave been forwarded, either from his cousin, of whom he had earnestlyrequested an additional allowance in advance, or from his sister. Youmay readily suppose that Civitella has not reminded him of his debt; theprince's memory is, however, all the more faithful. Yesterday morningat length brought an answer from the seat of government. 

We had shortly before concluded a new arrangement with the master of ourhotel, and the prince had publicly announced his intention to remainhere sometime longer. Without uttering a word my master put the letterinto my hand. His eyes sparkled, and I could read the contents in hisface. 

Can you believe it, dear O; all my master's proceedings here are knownat and have been most calumniously misrepresented by an abominabletissue of lies? "Information has been received, " says the letter, amongst other things, "to the effect that the prince has for some timepast belied his former character, and adopted a node of conduct totallyat variance with his former exemplary manner of acting and thinking. ""It is known, " the writer says, "that he has addicted himself with thegreatest excess to women and play; that he is overwhelmed with debts;puts his confidence in visionaries and charlatans, who pretend to havepower over spirits; maintains suspicious relations with Roman Catholicprelates, and keeps up a degree of state which exceeds both his rank andhis means. Nay, it is even said, that he is about to bring this highlyoffensive conduct to a climax by apostacy to the Church of Rome! and inorder to clear himself from this last charge he is required to returnimmediately. A banker at Venice, to whom he must make known the trueamount of his debts, has received instructions to satisfy his creditorsimmediately after his departure; for, under existing circumstances, itdoes not appear expedient to remit the money directly into his hands. "

What accusations, and what a mode of preferring them. I read the letteragain and again, in the hope of discovering some expression thatadmitted of a milder construction, but in vain; it was whollyincomprehensible. 

Z------- now reminded me of the secret inquiries which had been madesome time before of Biondello. The true nature of the inquiries andcircumstances all coincided. He had falsely ascribed them to theArmenian; but now the source from whence the came was very evident. Apostacy! But who can have any interest in calumniating my master soscandalously? I should fear it was some machination of the Prince of---d-----, who is determined on driving him from Venice. 

In the meantime the prince remained absorbed in thought, with his eyesfixed on the ground. His continued silence alarmed me. I threw myselfat his feet. "For God's sake, your highness, " I cried, "moderate yourfeelings--you will--nay, you shall have satisfaction. Leave the wholeaffair to me. Let me be your emissary. It is beneath your dignity toreply to such accusations; but you will not, I know, refuse me theprivilege of doing so for you. The name of your calumniator must begiven up, and -------'s eyes must be opened. "

At this moment we were interrupted by the entrance of Civitella, whoinquired with surprise into the cause of our agitation. Z------- andI did not answer; but the prince, who had long ceased to make anydistinction between him and us, and who, besides, was too much excitedto listen to the dictates of prudence, desired me to communicate thecontents of the letter to him. On my hesitating to obey him, hesnatched the letter from my hand and gave it to the marquis. 

"I am in your debt, marquis, " said he, as Civitella gave him back theletter, after perusing it, with evident astonishment, "but do not letthat circumstance occasion you any uneasiness; grant me but a respite oftwenty days, and you shall be fully satisfied. "

"Do I deserve this at your hands, gracious prince?" exclaimedCivitella, with extreme emotion. 

"You have refrained from pressing me, and I gratefully appreciate yourdelicacy. In twenty days, as I before said, you shall be fullysatisfied. "

"But how is this?" asked Civitella, with agitation and surprise. "Whatmeans all this? I cannot comprehend it. "

We explained to him all that we knew, and his indignation was unbounded. The prince, he asserted, must insist upon full satisfaction; the insultwas unparalleled. 

In the meanwhile he implored him to make unlimited use of his fortuneand his credit. 

When the marquis left us the prince still continued silent. He pacedthe apartment with quick and determined steps, as if some strange andunusual emotion were agitating his frame. At length he paused, muttering between his teeth, "Congratulate yourself; he died at teno'clock. "

We looked at him in terror. 

"Congratulate yourself, " he repeated. "Did he not say that I shouldcongratulate myself? What could he have meant?"

"What has reminded you of those words?" I asked; "and what have they todo with the present business?"

"I did not then understand what the man meant, but now I do. Oh, it isintolerable to be subject to a master. "

"Gracious prince!"

"Who can make us feel our dependence. Ha! it must be sweet, indeed. "

He again paused. His looks alarmed me, for I had never before seen himthus agitated. 

"Whether a man be poorest of the poor, " he continued, "or the next heirto the throne, it is all one and the same thing. There is but onedifference between men--to obey or to command. "

He again glanced over the letter. 

"You know the man, " he continued, "who has dared to write these words tome. Would you salute him in the street if fate had not made him yourmaster? By Heaven, there is something great in a crown. "

He went on in this strain, giving expression to many things which I darenot trust to paper. On this occasion the prince confided a circumstanceto me which alike surprised and terrified me, and which may be followedby the most alarming consequences. We have hitherto been entirelydeceived regarding the family relations of the court of --------. 

He answered the letter on the spot, notwithstanding my earnest entreatythat he should postpone doing so; and the strain in which he wroteleaves no ground to hope for a favorable settlement of thosedifferences. 

You are no doubt impatient, dear O------, to hear something definitewith respect to the Greek; but in truth I have very little to tell you. From the prince I can learn nothing, as he has been admitted into herconfidence, and is, I believe, bound to secrecy. The fact has, however, transpired that she is not a Greek, as we supposed, but a German of thehighest descent. From a certain report that has reached me, it wouldappear that her mother is of the most exalted rank, and that she is thefruit of an unfortunate amour which was once talked of all over Europe. A course of secret persecution to which she had been exposed, inconsequence of her origin, compelled her to seek protection in Venice, and to adopt that concealment which had rendered it impossible for theprince to discover her retreat. The respect with which the princespeaks of her, and a certain deferential deportment which he maintainstowards her, appear to corroborate the truth of this report. 

He is devoted to her with a fearful intensity of passion which increasesday by day. In the earliest stage of their acquaintance but fewinterviews were granted; but after the first week the separations wereof shorter duration, and now there is scarce a day on which the princeis not with her. Whole evenings pass without our even seeing him, andwhen he is not with her she appears to form the sole object of histhoughts. His whole being seems metamorphosed. He goes about as ifwrapped in a dream, and nothing that formerly interested him has nowpower to arrest his attention even for a moment. 

How will this end, my dear friend? I tremble for the future. Therupture with his court has placed my master in a state of humiliatingdependence on one sole person--the Marquis Civitella. This man is nowmaster of our secrets--of our whole fate. Will he always conducthimself as nobly as he does now? Are his good intentions to be reliedupon; and is it expedient to confide so much weight and power to oneperson--even were he the best of men? The prince's sister has againbeen written to--the result of this fresh appeal you shall learn in mynext letter. 

COUNT O------- IN CONTINUATION. 

This letter never reached me. Three months passed without my receivingany tidings from Venice, --an interruption to our correspondence whichthe sequel but too clearly explained. All my friend's letters to me hadbeen kept back and suppressed. My emotion may be conceived when, in theDecember of the same year, the following letter reached me by mereaccident (as it afterwards appeared), owing to the sudden illness ofBiondello, into whose hands it had been committed. 

"You do not write; you do not answer me. Come, I entreat you, come onthe wings of friendship! Our hopes are fled! Read the enclosed, --allour hopes are at an end!

"The wounds of the marquis are reported mortal. The cardinal vowsvengeance, and his bravos are in pursuit of the prince. My master--oh!my unhappy master! Has it come to this! Wretched, horrible fate! Weare compelled to hide ourselves, like malefactors, from assassins andcreditors. 

"I am writing to you from the convent of --------, where the prince hasfound an asylum. At this moment he is resting on his hard couch by myside, and is sleeping--but, alas! it is only the sleep of deadlyexhaustion, that will but give him new strength for new trials. Duringthe ten days that she was ill no sleep closed his eyes. I was presentwhen the body was opened. Traces of poison were detected. To-day sheis to be buried. 

"Alas! dearest O------, my heart is rent. I have lived through scenesthat can never be effaced from my memory. I stood beside her deathbed. She departed like a saint, and her last strength was spent in tryingwith persuasive eloquence to lead her lover into the path that she wastreading in her way to heaven. Our firmness was completely gone--theprince alone maintained his fortitude, and although he suffered a tripleagony of death with her, he yet retained strength of mind sufficient torefuse the last prayer of the pious enthusiast. "

This letter contained the following enclosure:

TO THE PRINCE OF --------, FROM HIS SISTER. 

"The one sole redeeming church which has made so glorious a conquest ofthe Prince of -------- will surely not refuse to supply him with meansto pursue the mode of life to which she owes this conquest. I havetears and prayers for one that has gone astray, but nothing further tobestow on one so worthless! HENRIETTE. "

I instantly threw myself into a carriage--travelled night and day, andin the third week I was in Venice. My speed availed nothing. I hadcome to bring comfort and help to an unhappy one, but I found a happyone who needed not my weak aid. F------- was ill when I arrived, andunable to see me, but the following note was brought to me from him. 

"Return, dearest O-----, to whence you came. The prince no longer needsyou or me. His debts have been paid; the cardinal is reconciled to him, and the marquis has recovered. Do you remember the Armenian whoperplexed us so much last year? In his arms you will find the prince, who five days since attended mass for the first time. "

Notwithstanding all this I earnestly sought an interview with theprince, but was refused. By the bedside of my friend I learnt theparticulars of this strange story. 

 THE SPORT OF DESTINY

ALOYSIUS VON G------ was the son of a citizen of distinction, in theservice of -------, and the germs of his fertile genius had been earlydeveloped by a liberal education. While yet very young, but alreadywell grounded in the principles of knowledge, he entered the militaryservice of his sovereign, to whom he soon made himself known as a youngman of great merit and still greater promise. G------ was now in thefull glow of youth, so also was the prince. G------ was ardent andenterprising; the prince, of a similar disposition, loved suchcharacters. Endued with brilliant wit and a rich fund of information, G------ possessed the art of ingratiating himself with all around him;he enlivened every circle in which he moved by his felicitous humor, andinfused life and spirit into every subject that came before him. Theprince had discernment enough to appreciate in another those virtueswhich he himself possessed in an eminent degree. Everything whichG------ undertook, even to his very sports, had an air of grandeur; nodifficulties could daunt him, no failures vanquish his perseverance. The value of these qualities was increased by an attractive person, theperfect image of blooming health and herculean strength, and heightenedby the eloquent expression natural to an active mind; to these was addeda certain native and unaffected dignity, chastened and subdued by anoble modesty. If the prince was charmed with the intellectualattractions of his young companion, his fascinating exteriorirresistibly captivated his senses. Similarity of age, of tastes, andof character soon produced an intimacy between them, which possessed allthe strength of friendship and all the warmth and fervor of the mostpassionate love. G------ rose with rapidity from one promotion toanother; but whatever the extent of favors conferred they still seemedin the estimation of the prince to fall short of his deserts. Hisfortune advanced with gigantic strides, for the author of his greatnesswas his devoted admirer and his warmest friend. Not yet twenty-twoyears of age, he already saw himself placed on an eminence hithertoattained only by the most fortunate at the close of their career. Buthis active spirit was incapable of reposing long in the lap of indolentvanity, or of contenting itself with the glittering pomp of an elevatedoffice, to perform the behests of which he was conscious of possessingboth the requisite courage and the abilities. Whilst the prince wasengaged in rounds of pleasure, his young favorite buried himself amongarchives and books, and devoted himself with laborious assiduity toaffairs of state, in which he at length became so expert that everymatter of importance passed through his hands. From the companion ofhis pleasures he soon became first councillor and minister, and finallythe ruler of his sovereign. In a short time there was no road to theprince's favor but through him. He disposed of all offices anddignities; all rewards were received from his hands. 

G------ had attained this vast influence at too early an age, and hadrisen by too rapid strides to enjoy his power with moderation. Theeminence on which he beheld himself made his ambition dizzy, and nosooner was the final object of his wishes attained than his modestyforsook him. The respectful deference shown him by the first nobles ofthe land, by all who, in birth, fortune, and reputation, so farsurpassed him, and which was even paid to him, youth as he was, by theoldest senators, intoxicated his pride, while his unlimited power servedto develop a certain harshness which had been latent in his character, and which, throughout all the vicissitudes of his fortune, remained. There was no service, however considerable or toilsome, which hisfriends might not safely ask at his hands; but his enemies might welltremble! for, in proportion as he was extravagant in rewards, so was heimplacable in revenge. He made less use of his influence to enrichhimself than to render happy a number of beings who should pay homageto him as the author of their prosperity; but caprice alone, and notjustice, dictated the choice of his subjects. By a haughty, imperiousdemeanor he alienated the hearts even of those whom he had mostbenefited; while at the same time he converted his rivals and secretenviers into deadly enemies. 

Amongst those who watched all his movements with jealousy and envy, andwho were silently preparing instruments for his destruction, was JosephMartinengo, a Piedmontese count belonging to the prince's suite, whomG------ himself had formerly promoted, as an inoffensive creature, devoted to his interests, for the purpose of supplying his own place inattending upon the pleasures of the prince--an office which he began tofind irksome, and which he willingly exchanged for more usefulemployment. Viewing this man merely as the work of his own hands, whomhe might at any period consign to his former insignificance, he feltassured of the fidelity of his creature from motives of fear no lessthan of gratitude. He fell thus into the error committed by Richelieu, when he made over to Louis XII. , as a sort of plaything, the young LeGrand. Without Richelieu's sagacity, however, to repair his error, hehad to deal with a far more wily enemy than fell to the lot of theFrench minister. Instead of boasting of his good fortune, or allowinghis benefactor to feel that he could now dispense with his patronage, Martinengo was, on the contrary, the more cautious to maintain a show ofdependence, and with studied humility affected to attach himself moreand more closely to the author of his prosperity. Meanwhile, he did notomit to avail himself, to its fullest extent, of the opportunitiesafforded him by his office, of being continually about the prince'sperson, to make himself daily more useful, and eventually indispensableto him. In a short time he had fathomed the prince's sentimentsthoroughly, had discovered all the avenues to his confidence, andimperceptibly stolen himself into his favor. All those arts which anoble pride, and a natural elevation of character, had taught theminister to disdain, were brought into play by the Italian, who scruplednot to avail himself of the most despicable means for attaining hisobject. Well aware that man never stands so much in need of a guide andassistant as in the paths of vice, and that nothing gives a strongertitle to bold familiarity than a participation in secret indiscretions, he took measures for exciting passions in the prince which had hithertolain dormant, and then obtruded himself upon him as a confidant and anaccomplice. He plunged him especially into those excesses which leastof all endure witnesses, and imperceptibly accustomed the prince to makehim the depository of secrets to which no third person was admitted. Upon the degradation of the prince's character he now began to found hisinfamous schemes of aggrandizement, and, as he had made secrecy a meansof success, he had obtained entire possession of his master's heartbefore G------ even allowed himself to suspect that he shared it withanother. 

It may appear singular that so important a change should escape theminister's notice; but G------ was too well assured of his own worthever to think of a man like Martinengo in the light of a competitor;while the latter was far too wily, and too much on his guard, to committhe least error which might tend to rouse his enemy from his fatalsecurity. That which has caused thousands of his predecessors tostumble on the slippery path of royal favor was also the cause ofG------'s fall, immoderate self-confidence. The secret intimacy betweenhis creature, Martinengo, and his royal master gave him no uneasiness;he readily resigned a privilege which he despised and which had neverbeen the object of his ambition. It was only because it smoothed hisway to power that he had ever valued the prince's friendship, and heinconsiderately threw down the ladder by which he had risen as soon ashe had attained the wished-for eminence. 

Martinengo was not the man to rest satisfied with so subordinate a part. At each step which he advanced in the prince's favor his hopes rosehigher, and his ambition began to grasp at a more substantialgratification. The deceitful humility which he had hitherto found itnecessary to maintain towards his benefactor became daily more irksometo him, in proportion as the growth of his reputation awakened hispride. On the other hand, the minister's deportment toward him by nomeans improved with his marked progress in the prince's favor, but wasoften too visibly directed to rebuke his growing pride by reminding himof his humble origin. This forced and unnatural position having becomequite insupportable, he at length formed the determination of putting anend to it by the destruction of his rival. Under an impenetrable veilof dissimulation he brought his plan to maturity. He dared not ventureas yet to come into open conflict with his rival; for, although thefirst glow of the minister's favor was at an end, it had commenced tooearly, and struck root too deeply in the bosom of the prince, to be tornfrom it abruptly. The slightest circumstance might restore it to allits former vigor; and therefore Martinengo well understood that the blowwhich he was about to strike must be a mortal one. Whatever groundG------ might have lost in the prince's affections he had gained in hisrespect. The more the prince withdrew himself from the affairs ofstate, the less could he dispense with the services of a man, who withthe most conscientious devotion and fidelity had consulted his master'sinterests, even at the expense of the country, --and G------ was now asindispensable to him as a minister as he had formerly been dear to himas a friend. 

By what means the Italian accomplished his purpose has remained a secretbetween those on whom the blow fell and those who directed it. It wasreported that he laid before the prince the original draughts of asecret and very suspicious correspondence which G------ is said to havecarried on with a neighboring court; but opinions differ as to whetherthe letters were authentic or spurious. Whatever degree of truth theremay have been in the accusation it is but too certain that it fearfullyaccomplished the end in view. In the eyes of the prince G-----appeared the most ungrateful and vilest of traitors, whose treasonablepractices were so thoroughly proved as to warrant the severest measureswithout further investigation. The whole affair was arranged with themost profound secrecy between Martinengo and his master, so that G------had not the most distant presentiment of the impending storm. Hecontinued wrapped in this fatal security until the dreadful moment inwhich he was destined, from being the object of universal homage andenvy, to become that of the deepest commiseration. 

When the decisive day arrived, G------ appeared, according to custom, upon the parade. He had risen in a few years from the rank of ensign tothat of colonel; and even this was only a modest name for that of primeminister, which he virtually filled, and which placed him above theforemost of the land. The parade was the place where his pride wasgreeted with universal homage, and where he enjoyed for one short hourthe dignity for which he endured a whole day of toil and privation. Those of the highest rank approached him with reverential deference, and those who were not assured of his favor with fear and trembling. Even the prince, whenever he visited the parade, saw himself neglectedby the side of his vizier, inasmuch as it was far more dangerous toincur the displeasure of the latter than profitable to gain thefriendship of the former. This very place, where he was wont to beadored as a god, had been selected for the dreadful theatre of hishumiliation. 

With a careless step he entered the well-known circle of courtiers, who, as unsuspicious as himself of what was to follow, paid their usualhomage, awaiting his commands. After a short interval appearedMartinengo, accompanied by two adjutants, no longer the supple, cringing, smiling courtier, but overbearing and insolent, like a lackeysuddenly raised to the rank of a gentleman. With insolence andeffrontery he strutted up to the prime minister, and, confronting himwith his head covered, demanded his sword in the prince's name. Thiswas handed to him with a look of silent consternation; Martinengo, resting the naked point on the ground, snapped it in two with his foot, and threw the fragments at G-----'s feet. At this signal the twoadjutants seized him; one tore the Order of the Cross from his breast;the other pulled off his epaulettes, the facings of his uniform, andeven the badge and plume of feathers from his hat. During the whole ofthe appalling operation, which was conducted with incredible speed, nota sound nor a respiration was heard from more than five hundred personswho were present; but all, with blanched faces and palpitating hearts, stood in deathlike silence around the victim, who in his strangedisarray--a rare spectacle of the melancholy and the ridiculous--underwent a moment of agony which could only be equalled by feelingsengendered on the scaffold. Thousands there are who in his situationwould have been stretched senseless on the ground by the first shock;but his firm nerves and unflinching spirit sustained him through thisbitter trial, and enabled him to drain the cup of bitterness to itsdregs. 

When this procedure was ended he was conducted through rows of throngingspectators to the extremity of the parade, where a covered carriage wasin waiting. He was motioned to ascend, an escort of hussars beingready-mounted to attend to him. Meanwhile the report of this event hadspread through the whole city; every window was flung open, every streetlined with throngs of curious spectators, who pursued the carriage, shouting his name, amid cries of scorn and malicious exultation, or ofcommiseration more bitter to bear than either. At length he cleared thetown, but here a no less fearful trial awaited him. The carriage turnedout of the high road into a narrow, unfrequented path--a path which ledto the gibbet, and alongside which, by command of the prince, he wasborne at a slow pace. After he had suffered all the torture ofanticipated execution the carriage turned off into the public road. Exposed to the sultry summer-heat, without refreshment or humanconsolation, he passed seven dreadful hours in journeying to the placeof destination--a prison fortress. It was nightfall before he arrived;when, bereft of all consciousness, more dead than alive, his giantstrength having at length yielded to twelve hours' fast and consumingthirst, he was dragged from the carriage; and, on regaining his senses, found himself in a horrible subterraneous vault. The first object thatpresented itself to his gaze was a horrible dungeon-wall, feeblyilluminated by a few rays of the moon, which forced their way throughnarrow crevices to a depth of nineteen fathoms. At his side he found acoarse loaf, a jug of water, and a bundle of straw for his couch. Heendured this situation until noon the ensuing day, when an iron wicketin the centre of the tower was opened, and two hands were seen loweringa basket, containing food like that he had found the preceding night. For the first time since the terrible change in his fortunes did painand suspense extort from him a question or two. Why was he broughthither? What offence had he committed? But he received no answer; thehands disappeared; and the sash was closed. Here, without beholding theface, or hearing the voice of a fellow-creature; without the least clueto his terrible destiny; fearful doubts and misgivings overhanging alikethe past and the future; cheered by no rays of the sun, and soothed byno refreshing breeze; remote alike from human aid and human compassion;--here, in this frightful abode of misery, he numbered four hundred andninety long and mournful days, which he counted by the wretched loavesthat, day after day, with dreary monotony, were let down into hisdungeon. But a discovery which he one day made early in his confinementfilled up the measure of his affliction. He recognized the place. Itwas the same which he himself, in a fit of unworthy vengeance against adeserving officer, who had the misfortune to displease him, had orderedto be constructed only a few months before. With inventive cruelty hehad even suggested the means by which the horrors of captivity might beaggravated; and it was but recently that he had made a journey hither inorder personally to inspect the place and hasten its completion. Whatadded the last bitter sting to his punishment was that the same officerfor whom he had prepared the dungeon, an aged and meritorious colonel, had just succeeded the late commandant of the fortress, recentlydeceased, and, from having been the victim of his vengeance, had becomethe master of his fate. He was thus deprived of the last melancholysolace, the right of compassionating himself, and of accusing destiny, hardly as it might use him, of injustice. To the acuteness of his othersuffering was now added a bitter self-contempt, contempt, and the painwhich to a sensitive mind is the severest--dependence upon thegenerosity of a foe to whom he had shown none. 

But that upright man was too noble-minded to take a mean revenge. It pained him deeply to enforce the severities which his instructionsenjoined; but as an old soldier, accustomed to fulfil his orders tothe letter with blind fidelity, he could do no more than pity, compassionate. The unhappy man found a more active assistant in thechaplain of the garrison, who, touched by the sufferings of theprisoner, which had just reached his ears, and then only through vagueand confused reports, instantly took a firm resolution to do somethingto alleviate them. This excellent man, whose name I unwillinglysuppress, believed he could in no way better fulfil his holy vocationthan by bestowing his spiritual support and consolation upon a wretchedbeing deprived of all other hopes of mercy. 

As he could not obtain permission from the commandant himself to visithim he repaired in person to the capital, in order to urge his suitpersonally with the prince. He fell at his feet, and implored mercy forthe unhappy man, who, shut out from the consolations of Christianity, aprivilege from which even the greatest crime ought not to debar him, waspining in solitude, and perhaps on the brink of despair. With all theintrepidity and dignity which the conscious discharge of duty inspires, he entreated, nay demanded, free access to the prisoner, whom he claimedas a penitent for whose soul he was responsible to heaven. The goodcause in which he spoke made him eloquent, and time had already somewhatsoftened the prince's anger. He granted him permission to visit theprisoner, and administer to his spiritual wants. 

After a lapse of sixteen months, the first human face which the unhappyG------ beheld was that of his new benefactor. The only friend he hadin the world he owed to his misfortunes, all his prosperity had gainedhim none. The good pastor's visit was like the appearance of an angel--it would be impossible to describe his feelings, but from that day forthhis tears flowed more kindly, for he had found one human being whosympathized with and compassionated him. 

The pastor was filled with horror on entering the frightful vault. Hiseyes sought a human form, but beheld, creeping towards him from a corneropposite, which resembled rather the lair of a wild beast than the abodeof anything human, a monster, the sight of which made his blood runcold. A ghastly deathlike skeleton, all the hue of life perished from aface on which grief and despair had traced deep furrows--his beard andnails, from long neglect, grown to a frightful length-his clothes rottenand hanging about him in tatters; and the air he breathed, for want ofventilation and cleansing, foul, fetid, and infectious. In this statebe found the favorite of fortune;--his iron frame had stood proofagainst it all! Seized with horror at the sight, the pastor hurriedback to the governor, in order to solicit a second indulgence for thepoor wretch, without which the first would prove of no avail. 

As the governor again excused himself by pleading the imperative natureof his instructions, the pastor nobly resolved on a second journey tothe capital, again to supplicate the prince's mercy. There he protestedsolemnly that, without violating the sacred character of the sacrament, he could not administer it to the prisoner until some resemblance of thehuman form was restored to him. This prayer was also granted; and fromthat day forward the unfortunate man might be said to begin a newexistence. 

Several long years were spent by him in the fortress, but in a much moresupportable condition, after the short summer of the new favorite'sreign had passed, and others succeeded in his place, who eitherpossessed more humanity or no motive for revenge. At length, after tenyears of captivity, the hour of his delivery arrived, but without anyjudicial investigation or formal acquittal. He was presented with hisfreedom as a boon of mercy, and was, at the same time, ordered to quithis native country forever. 

Here the oral traditions which I have been able to collect respectinghis history begin to fail; and I find myself compelled to pass insilence over a period of about twenty years. During the intervalG------ entered anew upon his military career, in a foreign service, which eventually brought him to a pitch of greatness quite equal to thatfrom which he had, in his native country, been so awfully precipitated. At length time, that friend of the unfortunate, who works a slow butinevitable retribution, took into his hands the winding up of thisaffair. The prince's days of passion were over; humanity graduallyresumed its sway over him as his hair whitened with age. At the brinkof the grave he felt a yearning towards the friend of his early youth. In order to repay, as far as possible, the gray-headed old man, for theinjuries which had been heaped upon the youth, the prince, with friendlyexpressions, invited the exile to revisit his native land, towards whichfor some time past G------'s heart had secretly yearned. The meetingwas extremely trying, though apparently warm and cordial, as if they hadonly separated a few days before. The prince looked earnestly at hisfavorite, as if trying to recall features so well known to him, and yetso strange; he appeared as if numbering the deep furrows which he hadhimself so cruelly traced there. He looked searchingly in the old man'sface for the beloved features of the youth, but found not what hesought. The welcome and the look of mutual confidence were evidentlyforced on both sides; shame on one side and dread on the other hadforever separated their hearts. A sight which brought back to theprince's soul the full sense of his guilty precipitancy could not begratifying to him, while G------ felt that he could no longer love theauthor of his misfortunes. Comforted, nevertheless, and intranquillity, he looked back upon the past as the remembrance of afearful dream. 

In a short time G------ was reinstated in all his former dignities, andthe prince smothered his feelings of secret repugnance by showering uponhim the most splendid favors as some indemnification for the past. Butcould he also restore to him the heart which he had forever untuned forthe enjoyment of life? Could he restore his years of hope? or makeeven a shadow of reparation to the stricken old man for what he hadstolen from him in the days of his youth?

For nineteen years G------- continued to enjoy this clear, unruffledevening of his days. Neither misfortune nor age had been able to quenchin him the fire of passion, nor wholly to obscure the genial humor ofhis character. In his seventieth year he was still in pursuit of theshadow of a happiness which he had actually possessed in his twentieth. He at length died governor of the fortress where state prisoners areconfined. One would naturally have expected that towards these he wouldhave exercised a humanity, the value of which he had been so thoroughlytaught to appreciate in his own person; but he treated them withharshness and caprice; and a paroxysm of rage, in which he broke outagainst one of his prisoners, laid him in his coffin, in his eightiethyear.