A Creature of the Night

t calling in the services of Peppino. I was unwilling to drive there, as the presence of a fiacre even in that deserted piazza might

asa Angello, being apparently occupied with her own reflections, I walked down the gloomy, narrow st

isted carelessly round her head, leaning from a high balcony, on the iron railings of which was displayed the family washing; a purple cloud of wisteria blooming in some pergola near the red roof-tops; sleek grey donkeys laden with panniers, stepping complacently along the narrow way; slender Italian men presiding over fruit-stalls, piled high with their picturesque contents; and over all, the vivacious clatter and din of voices, struck through at times with the sharp, metallic notes of the mandolin. It was very charming, and, I would have enjoyed it thoroughly,

f to think idly of anything and any one. Not so Bianca; even through her veil I could see the glisten of tears, and catch the sound of her quick indrawn breath as she strove

not well. Do not g

ther night in this state of suspense. I must know

st at it,

alls, and general air of weird solitude. Some swallows were shooting through the still air and twittering round the rich sculptures of the fa?ade, but their merry chirpings only added to the eerie fe

lf, with a look of fear in her eyes. "Desolate as it is in the sun, what must it b

yourself thus! Things may

fear; but I will not go back! I must find Guiseppe, even if it

less-winged bird, upon which I hastily followed her, and we stood for a moment in the lonely

to the room. You are not a

but lead on, love will make me strong, and you will protect me.

rl was of this unholy place. But for the resolute look on her pallid face, I would have insisted upon her turning back; but it was useless to urge retreat now, s

ary, it is li

marble, made me think of those God-cursed cities of the "Thousand and One Nights," whose silence is only broken by the voice of the one survivor chanting the melancholy verses of the Koran. Bianca, overpowered by this mute spectacle of a dead past, clung convul

not be afraid. You ar

Guiseppe!

grim Italian superstitions, she beheld unseen terrors in every shadowy corner. I again wanted her to return, but with wilful obstinacy she refused, so, as I luckily had a pocket-flask of brandy with me, I made her take a little to re

Signo

es

h I at once put into execution, and lighted all the tapers yet remaining in the candelabra on the table. To the darkness succeeded a blaze of mellow light, and Bianca, with a look of surp

he said timidly. "Signor

r was lured to this room. I saw him pass through

en see who rece

I did

on account of a choking feeling in my throat, but

hink Guiseppe lef

id not, S

e?" she asked with an

me secret cell, the entrance t

o, let us look

tain

this gold and silver. It i

-I supp

uick then, or the

r, but I, taking a candle off the ta

gnorina. No one comes

what is

gave a jump, and I listened in

ignorina. Your ne

ar it. Some one i

with a feeling of dread I heard the sound. The light fall of footsteps, the rustle

the Contes

, retreated in the darkness to the far end of the room. The girl gave a l

norina. No

side on our entrance, it was for this reason we had heard them so clearly. The steps recommenced. I heard their soft, light fall on the marble floor, the rustle of the silken gown, lik

Signor Hugo, and

us from the eyes of this nyctalopist. Bianca, however, knew nothing of this woman, or of her gift of seeing in the dark; so, ove

oes thi

h not possessing the terrible attribute of this woman, I staggered forward and lighted the candles. At once out of the gloom spr

old at the horror of that Medusa-like countenance, and I stood before this

ble and looked at me steadily, with

go; but I begin to understan

es

ng in a whisper from between my dry lips. She still looked at me steadily,

e you her

nday n

hing," she said i

, "I saw you receive Guiseppe Pallanza,

to a chair and leaned her elbow on the table. Dressed in heavy black garments of velvet and silk, she looked more like the Bor

e said with a scornful smile. "I thought last night you knew more than yo

it w

e, do you not fear that I will tre

strust yo

ewarned is forearmed. So you c

ody, Madame Morone, but I

u find it. And w

pe's be

ed no light to see by, but examined the face of her rival minutely in the gloom. I had stepped forward, fearing lest, carried away by jealous anger, she should do

o leave me--me, Giulietta Morone! Eh, I feel much flatter

lanza," I re

ked smile, "I am not afraid of your betraying me, Signor Hugo. I am not afraid of

ge you

not meant to see. She comes in the daylight to seek her lover. Well, she shall see hi

re a d

ceive. Ecco! Behold, then, Englishman that you

pparently touched a spring, for the whole pillar--which, as I have described before, was half built into the wall--r

ity was

the wild beauty of her face; then, with a cry of r

eps died away in the distance, and I was left alone in the ghastly gloom with the unconsciou

he dark corridors, down the silent stairs, and out into the courtyard. The fresh air seemed to revive me, and, collecting my scattered senses t

the late rains had brimmed over, so, hastening towards this, I fille

cantly; then, with a sudden recollection of what she had come

! Take me away from that cr