The Sicilian Bandit / From the Volume Captain Paul""

eports of the exploits of the bandit Pascal Bruno. Considering the previous history of his family, his adventurous character, and the badly-organised sta

articularly at Bauso and its environs, no arbitrary act could be performed without escaping the notice of hi

cent man-Bruno, after receiving notice, would shoulder his carbine, let loose his four Corsican dogs (his only band), mount his Valda Noto horse-half Arabian and half mountaineer, like himself-leave

ts they had received by devotion to his interests, and that every attempt made to capture him would be sure to fail, through

compact with a sorceress, by which he obtained from her, giving his soul in exchange, the gift of being invisible, and the faculty of transporting himself in an instant from one end of the island to the other; as well as being rendered invulner

incible nature, by attributing to it a knowledge of circumstances which it must be imagined would otherwise have been perfectly unknown to him. The speed of his horse, by whose aid he could find himself in the morning at incredible dist

ommanders of companies to endeavour to arrest the assassin, who, however, led those who followed him a l

night on his way to Divieto; the two following nights, therefore, he placed men in ambuscade on the road-side, think

where they were, and when he was within fifty yards of the inn, they sallied out and drew up before the door, without, however, appearing to notice him. Bruno, on his side, saw these preparations for the attack without any apparent uneasiness, and, instead of retracing his steps, an easy task, he put his horse into a gallop and continued his journey. As soon as the soldiers perceived his inten

dence; for they found his jacket at the justice's door, pierced in thirteen places by bullets, and the thirteen flattened balls were found in one of the pockets. Some unbelievers, however, and among them was Caesar Alletto, a notary of Calvaruso, from whose lips we had these particulars, maintained that the bandit himself, having

urnt down), he addressed himself to the Prince of Butera to obtain a loan of the money, describing to him a place in the mountains where he would go to receive it, and begging of him to bury it at the precise spot, so that on the night he mentioned he might go and seek it. In case this request, which, however, more resembled a command, was no

nch thick, on his knee; and bend a piastre with his finger. An occurrence, in which he had exhibited the greatest presence of mind, had made him the idol of the people of Palermo. In 1770, there was a scarcity of bread in the city; a riot was the consequence; the governor had appealed to the ultima ratio, and the cannon were drawn out in the Toledo street; the people were moving towards the guns; the gunner, wit

people assembled; on that account he constantly wore a huge buckskin waistcoat, whose immense pockets were filled every morning by his servant with carlins and half-carlins, all of which, to the very

surrounded by her family, "have pity

y tone; "am I their father?" and shaking his fist in

said another, "I

at the same time enough to procure him food for a wee

uncovered, and if he had said the word, he might have been made King of Sici

e have endeavoured to trace must necessarily keep a splendid table; in fact, he kept in every sense of the word open house, so that every day he had from five-and-twenty to thirty guests at the

somewhat of a gambler, and this would have caused his pension to be insufficient for his wants, if he had not discovered two plans by means of which his quarterly pay had become the least important part of his revenue; the first of these plans, a

prince might be, they began to exhibit certain vacant spaces. The suspicions of the major-domo immediately fell on the follower

merely took his own cover he should take no notice; but that if he put his neighbour's into his pocket, why then he would consider how he wo

ad it, and asked if the messenger was waiting for an answer. He was told, "no" and immediately he put

ce, nevertheless, sufficient for the destruction of cities. The volcano in question was called Montebaldo; for each of these terrible hills received a name at the time it was raised up from the earth. Ten minutes' walk from its base a colossal an

to discern by the light of the moon the gigantic tree, and the small house built between its stems, in which its immense produce is harvested. As he drew near, Pascal thought he could disting

erful voice. "Why, zounds! you did n

d not think the man who brought it would h

nted with Prince Hercule

hrowing his carbine over his shoulder

money the same as any other man; and I did not wish to refuse my purse even to a bandit, o

orthy of your high re

deserving of yours

n of to your excellency," said Bruno,

e meet with them where I will. Listen to me; will you change your Calabrian dress for the uniform of a captain

magnificent prince; but I have a certain act of vengeance to accomplish t

are free; but, believe me, y

ur excellency

go to the devil with it, and take care you don't get yourself

ed the purse

the purse is very hea

had fixed a limit to the liberality of the Prince of Butera; so, instead of the

to bring, my lord, it shall be fai

ver lend," sa

"take back your purse, my lord, I shall address myse

with a more capricious bandit: four rascals like y

d Bruno, "and may St

stling a favourite air; Bruno remained motionless watching his departure, and it was

burned down received, by the hands of Ali, the