CHAPTER

I.--Italian Intrigues in Country Quarters

II.--Francatripa, the Brigand

III.--A Snake in the Grass

IV.--The Horn Sounds

V.--A Duel and a Discovery

VI.--Arrival of the Philistines

VII.--Adventure at "The Centaur"

VIII.--Love and War

IX.--Poor Luisa!

X.--The Siege of Scylla

XI.--The Forlorn-Hope

XII.--A Rencontre!

XIII.--Reggio.--An Improvisatore

XIV.--Navarro--Revenge!

XV.--The Cavallo Marino

XVI.--A Race.--Galley-Slaves

XVII.--The Revolt of the Galley Slaves

XVIII.--The Three Candle-Ends

XIX.--Who Is He?

XX.--The Cardinal

XXI.--The First Penitent.--The Nun

XXII.--A Chance Of Escape Lost

XXIII.--The Second Penitent.--The Cavalier

*ADVENTURES*

*OF AN*

*AIDE-DE-CAMP.*

*CHAPTER I.*

*ITALIAN INTRIGUES IN COUNTRY QUARTERS.*

On arriving at the base of those lofty rocks which were crowned by the

Villa Belcastro, a sound like the baying and growling of dogs, caused

Marco's horse to snort, and mine to plunge and curvet furiously. On

advancing a little further we discovered by the light of the moon a

sight which filled us with disgust. Two enormous lynxes had been

contending for the shattered corse of the Cavaliere Galdino, which had

already suffered considerable mutilation under their fangs. They

retired on our approach, but one dragged the remains nearly a hundred

yards, nor dropped them until we fired our pistols and wounded it, when

they both fled over the mountains, howling: one with agony, and the

other with fear. We had considerable trouble in getting our horses past

the body, which lay fairly in the centre of our narrow path; and,

notwithstanding that Cartouche was a trained military charger, he

plunged, reared, and perspired with rage and fear, until, by dint of

spur, I forced him right over the ghastly remains of our late

entertainer.

Soon after, the moon went down: the sky changed from deep blue to dusky

grey, and gloomy clouds hurried in flitting masses across it; at times a

solitary star shot forth, and then was lost. The tinkling rivulet

winding through the valley, and the silver haze which floated from it

through pine and orange groves, faded away, and we could no longer see

the track before us. Castelermo now proposed that we should bivouac for

the night in the first eligible place, that our nags might have better

bottom for continuing our journey by daybreak.

After a brief reconnoisance we chose a sheltered spot where there was a

little fountain; the water bubbled away from a fissure in one of those

masses of grey sandstone so common in Calabria, and of which the rocks

of the Apennines are chiefly composed. We picqueted our horses within a

circle of little maple trees, which formed a pleasant border round the

rocky alcove, and rolling our cloaks about us, were in five minutes

alike oblivious of the terrors of wolves, banditti, and the malaria.

When I awoke, the morning sun was rising like a globe of fire above the

mountains, and pouring between their craggy summits a flood of yellow

lustre into the misty valley where we lay. Afar off, the villa of

Belcastro, its casements gleaming in the dancing sunbeams like plates of

polished gold, towered on the cliff that rose above the waving woodlands

bathed in purple and white. A solitary fig-tree threw its shadow across

the fountain; the rude bason of which had been built by the shepherds

with the richly sculptured fragments of some ancient building: a relic,

perhaps, of the days of Magna Graecia. On the moss-grown pieces were

initials and inscriptions which I had neither time nor lore to decipher;

and close by me lay, half sunk in the flowery turf, a mossy Corinthian

capital, with a winged horse, exquisitely carved, springing from the

acanthus leaves at each corner, and supporting on its outspread pinions

the acute angles of the abacus. A glittering snake was twining around

it; and the contiguity of such a reptile recalling the adventure with

the gypsies, I sprang up, shook my ample cloak, and prepared for the

saddle again.

A gallop in the pure air of a breezy morning is delightful exercise; it

refreshes the body and enlivens the spirits, bracing the frame and

lightening the heart. The place where we had reposed was swampy, and a

pestilential vapour hovered about it, oppressing us with an inclination

to doze, which we had some trouble in combating; but our gallop along

the sunny mountain-side soon shook off the drowsiness which weighed down

our eyelids, and the numbness that stiffened our limbs. The sensation I

mean, must have been experienced by all who have bivouacked by night in

low marshy places in a warm atmosphere.

We passed the little town of Belcastro, the streets of which, according

to ancient use and wont, were so encumbered with herds of wild pigs, the

common stock of the inhabitants, that we could scarcely get our startled

horses through, and were every moment in danger of being thrown by the

snorting porkers running between their legs. We had a hasty repast at a

miserable albergo; but it was the best in the place, and, as the host

averred, the identical house in which Thomas Aquinas was born.

The roads were so winding: and intricate that as yet we were only twenty

miles distant from Crotona, and we pushed rapidly forward, resolving to

make up for the previous day's delay.

Castelermo, upon whom the adventures of the past night had made a gloomy

impression, rode beside me for many miles in silence. His mind was,

doubtless, reverting to a thousand long-forgotten dreams and cherished

thoughts, which his interview with the fickle Despina and the sound of

her voice had summoned before him; while I, on the contrary, felt

light-hearted as the distance diminished between us and the villa

D'Alfieri, which it was my intention to visit on our way to

head-quarters. I thought more of Bianca's bright eyes and glossy

ringlets, than the oblong despatches, returns of killed, wounded,

prisoners and missing, lists of captured cannon, stores, &c. &c., with

which Macleod had stuffed my sabre-tache, for the perusal of Sir John

Stuart.

After a time, the wonted serenity of the cavalier returned, and as the

country into which we penetrated became more mountainous and romantic,

he related to me many a wild legend and tradition of blood and

sorcery--of Gothic chiefs, Norman knights, and Saracen emirs, and many a

sad story of Italian love; all of which have long since passed away from

my remembrance. Every rood of ground was rich in memories of the past,

and covered with the moss-grown relics of bygone nations and ages.

A ride of twelve miles or so brought us to Catanzaro, in the

principality of Squillaci, one of the finest towns in Calabria Ultra,

situated about two miles from the Adriatic. Catanzaro then bore many

traces of that terrible earthquake which in 1783 devastated those

provinces and the Isle of Sicily; and it has been almost wholly

destroyed by a similar visitation in 1832. Its ladies were esteemed the

most beautiful in southern Italy; but I had little opportunity of

judging for myself: we had the pleasure of seeing only one handsome

girl, who, during the hour or two we halted, displayed a formidable

sample of the worst traits in the Calabrian character. A small party of

Italian troops, sent over from Palermo, were quartered in the town.

Their uniform was white, with scarlet facings and epaulettes, black

cross-belts and heavy bear-skin caps; altogether they were very

soldier-like fellows, and their commanding officer, a gay young

Neapolitan, whom we met at the table d'hote, was not less so. As we had

been acquainted at Palermo, in the course of ten minutes we became

intimate as old friends; and Captain Valerio Piozzi, of Caroline's

Italian Guard, soon made us aware that he was the most reckless and

dissipated cavalier in Ferdinand's service, and that he thought it no

small honour to be deemed so. But we knew all that before: his pranks

and gallantries had long furnished laughter and conversation for every

mess and coterie in Sicily.

Castelermo changed colour when we met him.

"Valerio Piozzi!" he whispered to me; "our friend is the identical

officer of whom our late acquaintance the Signor Galdino was so jealous.

Basta! there was good reason to be on the alert, and keep Despina close

while he was so near as Catanzaro!"

"I have news for you, Signor Capitano," said Marco, as we lounged from

the table d'hote towards a cantina.

"My friend, I am glad of that," said the captain, with a half yawn,

"'tis so deuced dull here, that one seems quite out of the

world--entombed--bedevilled!"

"Il Cavaliere di Belcastro--"

"Ha!" exclaimed the captain, changing countenance, and turning briskly

to Marco, whom he keenly scrutinized through his glass, which never left

his eye.

"My gay Valerio, I have a tale to tell which will harrow up your heart,

if you have one."

"The deuce!"

"The husband of Despina is dead--"

"The devil! is that all?" exclaimed the captain, with an almost

uncontrollable burst of laughter. "That makes me merry," he added,

stroking his mustachios, which were well perfumed and pointed with

pomatum. "The particulars, Caro Signor: slain by the brigands, I

presume?"

"No, by his own evil passions."

"Faith, they nearly slew even me in Venice," replied Piozzi, who, on

hearing of our visit to the villa, tossed his cap into the air.

"Che gioja, what happiness!" he exclaimed; "I must to horse, and away to

Despina (I saw poor Marco's brow cloud). Ola, my horse! Annibale Porko,

seek my servant," he cried to a sergeant who passed, "and order my

horses in an hour." The soldier saluted, and withdrew. "Per Baccho!

'tis joyous news: old Galdino gone to the Styx. Amen! Devil go with

him. What a merry bout we shall have.--And his property--all settled on

the Cavalieressa--bravo, Valerio! luckiest of dogs! Here, Signor

Cantiniero, wine--wine! What shall we have, Marco--say Signor

Dundas--you are a judge: Muscatelle?"

"Basta! no--we have had enough of that," said Castelermo shrugging his

shoulders.

"Ha--ha! I forgot," replied Valerio with a reckless laugh--"ruddy

Burgogna then--golden Andaluzia--sparkling champagne, gleaming like

diamonds in sunbeams?'

"As you please, I am no connoisseur," said I, and two large crystal jars

of the last were speedily summoned.

"Corpo di Baccho! it is a punishment for a Carthusian to reside here in

this dull place on the Adriatic shore," said the captain, as we lounged

on the rustic sofas, beneath the vine covered verandah of the cantina,

and pushed the wine jars about the well polished table; "positively I am

ennuied to death, and would give a year's pay to find myself once more

at Naples, or even at Reggio--there are some sprightly girls there."

"And yet the women of Catanzaro are considered the fairest in Italy,"

observed a smart young fellow, with whom we had been conversing on

various topics for some time past: he had followed us uninvited from the

table d'hote, where his very handsome features and long fair locks had

won him our favour.

"Handsome they may be; but I would not give a lively sewing-girl of

Naples for the fairest lady in the Calabrias. Ah! had you heard Italian

whispered by the dulcet tongues of Venetian girls, you would turn with

disgust from the guttural Greek of these poor provincials."

"'Tis a matter of taste," replied our boyish friend, sipping his wine to

conceal the rising colour which glowed on his beardless face. "I am a

stranger here and pretend not to judge of the beauty or vivacity of the

ladies: so I presume is this British Officer; and the Cavaliere di Malta

cannot be expected to venture an opinion on such topics."

"Now by all the gods of accursed heathendom!" cried the Italian officer,

showing all his white teeth as he laughed boisterously. "Heaven help

thine ignorance, most gentle signor of this barbarous land. I have seen

at the windows of the Maltese knights fairer faces than all the towns of

these wild provinces could produce. These cavaliers are greater

connoisseurs than a Turkish dealer in such commodities; for the

portentous cross on their breasts does not in any way freeze the heart

below, or render it insensible to such impressions. By grey dawn, many

a pretty damsel shrouded in a loose domino have I seen stealing away

from the portal of the knights' palace at Naples: though these cavaliers

deport themselves demurely enough by day, the stars do not look on

merrier revellers or more joyous companions; and the Cavaliere Marco

knows well the truth of what I affirm. All Italy knows the famous

military _dis_-order of Saint John."

"The Cavaliere Marco would advise your lively valour to speak more

gently of his order. Some irregularities are doubtless committed by my

brethren of the sword and mantle; but you must bear in memory, the

saying of the cunning Lucchesi--'There are good and bad people every

where.' Signor, speak not against my order! When I remember what it was

but a few years ago--when the church of St. John was hung with the

shields of four thousand Knights; its marble floors covered with the

achievements of those who were gone; and its dome filled with the

captured trophies of the Infidels--when the unsullied banner of the

order waved from the ramparts of Sant'. Elmo, and we had gallies at sea

and soldiers on the land, my mind is filled with sorrow and regret.

When I look back to the glorious days of our illustrious grand master,

old Villiers de L'Isle Adam, to those days when six hundred knights shut

up in the island of Rhodes defended it for six months against two

hundred thousand Turks, my soul is filled with exultation and chivalry!

So beware, Signor Valerio! The Knights of Malta have suffered so much

of late from the usurpation of Buonaparte and the unfulfilled and often

reiterated promises of Britain, that they have grown somewhat petulant

and hasty."

"Enough, signor--I sit rebuked, and submit quietly, knowing that I may

be a little in error," answered the frank officer. "But to change the

subject: if I am not soon recalled to head quarters, I shall have to

quit this Catanzaro without beat of drum. The air of the place is

getting quite too hot for me: I have been here only three weeks, and in

that time contracted debts to the amount of some thousand ducats. I

tried the rouge et noir--abomination! they only made matters worse, and

the villanous shop-people, the Podesta, the Eletti and the tipstaves,

are all ready to pounce upon me en masse: worse than all, the women of

the place are at drawn daggers about me."

"You are quite to be envied!" said the young Calabrian with an air of

impatient scorn.

"You shall hear whether it be so," replied the captain. "Ah! the

uniform of the Queen's Italian Guard is something new here; and in truth

we have been rather free with our favours: myself in particular. Three

narrow escapes have been the consequence (these Calabrians are

wondrously prone to assassination): once from the knife of a rascal

hired by some frail fair one unknown, and once from a dose of bella

donna, with which an angry damsel contrived to drug my chocolate the

other morning: when I was just about to drink it, she threw herself at

my feet in an agony of sorrow and horror, imploring my pity and

forgiveness; so, after abundance of tears, threats, upbraiding, and all

that sort of thing, I quietly put her outside the door"--

"And the third, signor; the third?" said the young Calabrian

impatiently.

"Was from the poisoned weapon of a furious brother, whose sister I had

jilted and grown weary of. Ah! the cowardly dog! he called it honour, I

think: rather amusing in this rustic land of fauns and satyrs. But the

adventure would have gone otherwise with me, had not my trusty serjeant,

Annibale Porko, sucked the wound, and bathed it with brandy. Behold! 't

is yet far from well," he added, pulling up the richly laced sleeve of

his white uniform, and showing a long scar above the wrist.

"Faith!" said I, "if you have many such scrapes, Captain Piozzi, you are

likely to be cut off, and suddenly: an Italian seldom brooks a wrong."

"But I cannot comprehend the nature of these unpolished Calabrians,"

replied this heedless harum-scarum gallant, into whose empty head the

wine was rapidly mounting. "Per Baccho! they are mere

savages--hottentots! Will you believe it? if I venture to pay a

compliment to the mistress of my billet, or to kiss her daughter (which

I am often disposed to do, the said daughter being rather fresh and

pretty), the Maestro di Casa jerks up his Messina sash, twirls his

whiskers, and plays so ominously with the haft of his knife, that I am

compelled to keep my gallantry within very narrow bounds. I must even

refrain from those little acts of cavalier-like politeness, by which

some obliging citizens of Naples would consider themselves duly

honoured: more especially if it were a noble gentiluomo of the Queen's

Guard that deigned to salute one of his family. O! for joyous Venice,

and its money-making mothers, who for sixty sequins--"

"Basta!" interrupted Marco, "you let every one hear you, Valerio, by

speaking in such a key. By St. Antony--!"

"Hush Marco, 't is quite unfashionable to swear by these old saints: the

newest canonizations are always most in vogue. St. Antony, indeed! The

ancient fool; I would rather swear by his gridiron, which the monks show

at Rimini. But to resume. Here, in this cursed province, if one but

looks at a woman, cold iron is thought of instantly, and one may be dead

as Brutus in less time than one can utter a credo.--What the deuce can

delay my rogue of a groom?"

"You labour under so many annoyances, that I am astonished you have

survived them," observed the young provincial contemptuously.

"By the jovial San Cupido! you know not half of them. As my soldiers

are apt to imitate their accomplished commander in many things, the

king's service has lost several smart fellows in these domestic brawls.

But courage, Valerio! It is quite a godsend, this sudden death of that

bear, old Belcastro; and as the charming Despina is so near I shall hope

to pay her many a visit of condolence. Nay, frown not, Marco, my love

for her is of the most pure and Platonic description. Besides, I have

sent a most heart-rending memorial to the queen, and it is so well

seconded and flanked by the Duchessa di Bagnara, and other fair ladies

who are impatient for my return, that I have no doubt my party will soon

be ordered to rejoin at Palermo, without my troubling our gruff

commander-in-chief, Giambattista Fardella. Then adieu to Catanzaro, its

wickedness, and its women."

"And Signora Teresa with the rest?" asked the Calabrian, with a low

voice and a flushing cheek.

"Ha! know you Teresa Navona?" asked the captain, scanning the fine

features of the youth with a keen glance. "Do you belong to Catanzaro?'

"Yes, signor,--no. That is, not now," stammered the boy, with angry

confusion. "But I once resided here, and have only just returned after

a long absence. You know Teresa?"

"As well as man can know such a compound of fascination and subtlety as

an Italian woman," laughed the handsome guardsman. "You are to learn,

gentlemen, that this is the escapade I spoke of: the duel with the devil

of a brother. There was a judge of the grand civil court of Cosenza,

who died here lately, after living in retirement since our friends the

French crossed the Alps. This learned old fellow had two daughters,

Pompeia and Teresa; the first I have never seen, but the last, who

resides with her mother here, has been for some time past the happy

means of cheering my dreary detachment duty in the towns hereabout: and

truly the girl is a magnificent creature for a Calabrian! Her bright

eyes and ruby lips are Italian; her white skin, full bosom, and long

flowing hair have come with the Greek blood; and her vivacity is quite

oriental."

"_Was_, you should say," muttered the young man. "Alas! signor, her

vivacity has fled since you knew her."

"In short, Captain Piozzi, you have had an intrigue," said I.

"Right, signor," he replied, composedly; "but one fraught with the due

proportion of mystery and cold steel which usually accompany an Italian

intrigue. It being discovered that I had carried the fortress by a

_coup de main_, the girl Teresa was consigned to that convent yonder,

the campanile of which you now see shining in the sun; and the mother

solaced herself with strong hysterics and strong waters until the

arrival of her son, a fiery young subaltern of the Sicilian volunteers,

who galloped across from the camp of St. Eufemio, with the express

purpose of parading me.

"Three days ago, when returning from this wine-house, and just under the

Madonna at the street corner yonder, this young spark assaulted me sword

in hand; flinging his hat on the ground and his cloak round his left

arm, in the most approved duellist fashion. So furious was his onset

that I had scarcely time to stand on my guard, but we thrust and cut at

each other like any two bravos on the boards of the San Carlo; my

superior skill soon overcame the Herculean strength of the Calabrese

officer, and the fifth passado laid him dead at my feet."

"Madonnia mia!" exclaimed the Calabrian, smiting his breast with horror.

"The devil!" I exclaimed; "poor fellow, and you really killed him?"

"Not quite, signor; but old Porko, I believe, brained him with his

halberd," was the cool reply.

"The villain, Porko, shall answer dearly for this mutiny and murder!"

exclaimed Castelermo, with an aspect of severity. "And so, Signor

Piozzi, you have gone from bad to worse; first outraged the confiding

sister, and then destroyed the spirited brother!"

"Cospetto!" muttered Piozzi, "I know these things will sound ill at the

court, and in old Fardella's office at Palermo, whatever they may be

thought of at our mess-house on the Cassero."

"But how will they appear in the court of Heaven, on that dread day,

when all men will be judged by their deeds?" asked the Maltese

commander, with a stern expression: which, however, did not abash our

volatile friend.

"Admirable!" he replied, waving his cigar; "you act the military monk to

the life. That sort of air did very well in L'Isle Adam's days, but it

won't pass now, Marco; so pray lay it aside, or assume it only in the

convent at Malta, or the palace at Naples, and for the present be the

frank cavalier of the last hour. A proud spirit cannot brook an

admonitory tone. Ah! here comes my rascally groom at last: while he

loiters with that girl yonder, let us drink to la Signora Teresa. Her

family, if they be wise, will hush the matter up, and she may yet marry

some honest artisan; who will deem her none the worse for having a few

ducats from Valerio Piozzi, captain of the Royal Italian Guard, knight

grand cross of San Marco, and Heaven knows what more."

The eyes of the young Calabrese flashed fire.

"And think you, base ruffian," he exclaimed, in a voice shrill and

tremulous with rage, "that old Albanian Greeks, though now sunk to the

grade of mere Italian citizens, will forget that their blood has

descended to them from the long line of the princes of Epirus, and

permit these foul wrongs to pass without retribution?"

"Insolent brat, I neither know nor care!" replied the captain, grasping

his riding switch, and regarding the bold youth sternly; "and but that

your chin is smooth as an apple--poh! I can bandy word and blow with

any blusterer in Italy, and shall not shrink from a peasant or

woodcutter of this rustic land: but now, since the days of chivalry have

passed away, tell me, my pretty Messerino, who will become the champion

of this fallen star? and, save myself, to whom can she look for

redress?"

"To the right hand of her sister, since death has left none other to

avenge her," cried the youth, in a voice rising almost to a shriek; and

the bright barrel of a pistol glittered in the sunlight which streamed

between the vine-leaves of the trellis. Levelling it full at Valerio,

she fired, just as I struck up her weapon. From the tone of the voice,

and the despair that glared in the eye, there flashed upon me a

suspicion of the sex and purpose of this youth.

The ball dashed to pieces the head of the large waxen Madonna, which

occupied a lofty niche at the corner of the street. A cry of

"sacrilege, and murder!" arose, and the people rushed towards us from

all quarters. As the smoke cleared, we discovered the imperturbable

captain stroking his moustache, and smiling grimly, but with an air of

exquisite nonchalance.

"Thrice my heart failed me; but he is destroyed at last!" cried Pompeia,

in terrible accents, as she cast away the pistol (which she had fired

with both her eyes closed), and sinking back on the rustic sofa, burst

into a passion of tears.

"Holy St. John of Jerusalem, and of Rhodes, look here!" exclaimed

Castelermo, while I seized her that she might not escape.

"Wretch!" muttered Marco.

"I am wretched, indeed!" she replied bitterly, still keeping her eyes

closed; "yet I do not deem myself so abject as to be grasped thus with

impunity. Unhand me, signor: I have only slain the destroyer of my

sister's peace, my brother's life (perhaps my mother's too), and the

fame of our family. Guiltless of wanton wickedness, I have only

destroyed a ribald and reckless libertine, in the midst of his sinful

boasting."

"Here is a devil of a damsel!" said Valerio, with a laugh. "Per Baccho!

a pestilent narrow escape it was. But for you, Signor Claude, I might

have been chaffering with Charon for a passage across the Styx, and

squabbling, perhaps, with old Belcastro on the voyage. To your care I

commend this amiable sample of her sex, while I canter off to the villa

of Despina."

His servant at that moment rode up with a led horse, and he leaped into

the saddle.

"Wretch!" shrieked Pompeia, "hast thou escaped that death so richly

merited?"

"Safe and sound, my pretty termagant--aim better next time," replied the

officer, caracoling his horse, to push back the clamorous crowd. "Adieu,

Caro Marco! adieu, Signor Claude! your most humble servant, my pretty

Pompeia. Ola! keep out of my horse's way, signori, the rabble: and so,

buona sera, good-evening to everybody;" and, with a reckless laugh, he

dashed off at a gallop through the street, which was darkening fast, as

the sun had set. He was followed by a volley of execrations from the

crowd, some of whom he tumbled into the kennel, as he pushed headlong

through.

"Unhand me, signor," said the damsel, with an assumption of dignity. "I

am a Calabrese woman, and all Calabria will applaud the deed!"

A shout arose from the admiring populace; yet the girl trembled with

shame, sorrow, and anger.

"But not so will He into whose awful presence you were about to hurl a

fellow-being, with many grievous sins and follies accumulated on his

head. You would have destroyed him, body and soul: he would have passed

away unbidden, unconfessed, and unforgiven! Heaven judge between him

and thee, woman! but in this matter you have acted unwisely. Madonna

grant forgiveness to you both!" added Marco, signing the cross.

"Madonna grant it!" muttered the rabble round us, bowing their heads.

"I am not a child to be preached to, either by canon regular or church

militant!" retorted this fiery damsel. She was a noble-looking beauty,

about twenty, with long dark lashes, silken hair, and ripe pouting lips,

which consorted oddly with her broad hat and black surtout of the newest

Neapolitan cut. The colour was fast returning to her pallid cheek, and

the fire of her eyes had never dimmed. "Lead me to the Podesta of

Catanzaro! by him will I be judged; but not by a knight of the Maltese

cross."

"No, signora," replied Castelermo, "I am not prosecutor in this matter:

to your own sorrows and conscience I leave you--adieu!" and she was led

away by the people, her face buried in her mantle, and utterly deserted

by that stern confidence which had sustained her throughout this wild

affair.

Sergeant Annibale Porko we reported to the officer next in command, who

promised to send him to St. Eufemio for trial by court-martial: a pledge

which he never redeemed.

About an hour after Ave-Maria rang, we quitted the mountain town of

Catanzaro, and struck directly across the country, with the intention of

visiting the villa D'Alfieri.

Not long after this affair I remember Castelermo handing me, with a cold

and grim smile, a copy of the "Gazzetta Britannica," in which there was

a paragraph, announcing that our wild friend the captain had been

married to the widow of Belcastro, with great splendour, at the

archiepiscopal residence of the Bishop of Cosenza.

From that hour I never again heard him utter the name of Despina.

*CHAPTER II.*

*FRANCATRIPA, THE BRIGAND.*

I was aware that, according to strict orders, I ought to have proceeded

forthwith, without deviation or delay, to Scylla; but a detour of twenty

miles, to visit my gentle Bianca, could not in any way injure the

service: and how seldom is it when campaigning that the impulse of one's

own heart can be obeyed. Too often does duty interfere with the best

and tenderest affections of the soldier; sending him forth with a heart

seared and almost broken, to fight the battles of his country; or, still

worse, to close a long life of expatriation, by perishing amid the

pestilent swamps of the West, or the wars and diseases of the East

Indies.

We were now getting within the vicinity of the redoubtable brigand

Francatripa, and his terrible handiwork became manifest at every mile of

the way, as we neared his stronghold in the forest of St. Eufemio. In a

solitary pass we found a carriage, apparently from Naples, a wreck by

the way-side, with its springs broken, and one of the mules lying shot

between the traces. The trunks, which had been strapped before and

behind, were rifled; the morocco lining had been ripped and torn down in

search of concealed valuables, and the gilt panels were riddled by

musket-balls.

The unfortunate traveller, scarcely alive, lay half out of the vehicle,

his head on the ground, covered with wounds, and bleeding profusely: he

seemed to have offered a desperate resistance, for one hand grasped a

discharged pistol, while the other yet clenched a poniard. We raised

him gently, and laid him on the slope of a grassy bank, where his clammy

white face and glazing eyes glimmered horribly in the cold moonlight.

"Signor," said Castelermo, as he knelt down and held his crucifix before

the eyes of the dying sufferer, "tell us who committed this detestable

outrage?"

"Francatripa!" muttered the quivering lips of the dying man, who

immediately expired. We then placed the body within the carriage, and

after fastening the doors to protect it from the wolves, rode towards a

village which lay about a league off, to rouse the peasantry.

A little farther on we passed a poor country girl, weeping over the body

of an aged shepherd, whose dog sat whining at his feet. The old man had

been slain by a blow from the butt of a musket. His daughter supported

his head in her lap, bedewing it with tears, and wiping the blood from

his pale lifeless face and silver hairs with her linen head-dress, while

she mingled with her prayers many an anathema on the name of

"Francatripa!" Around lay the ruins of their hut: the old man had

perished in defence of his flock; and the extreme youth of the girl had

alone saved her from being carried off to the stronghold of the

brigands.

As we approached the village, the white cottages of which shone in the

moonlight on the dark-green mountain side, a lurid flame shot across the

sky: they were in flames! Then the reports of musketry were heard: a

skirmish had ensued between the brigands and the armed peasantry; the

latter had been defeated, and the unrelenting lieutenant of Francatripa,

after laying their dwellings in ashes, leisurely retreated up the hills

with his band.

"Satan seems abroad to-night!" said I, as the wailing of women and

children was borne past us on the night-breeze.

"Since the days of Marco Sciarra, such outrages as these have been

matters of daily occurrence in our mountain provinces," replied the

cavalier. "These villains have probably been foraging in the valley;

and desolation and death invariably attend resistance. But, perhaps,

the villagers may have been guilty of some disloyalty to our cause, and

have thus brought upon them the vengeance of Francatripa; who is one of

Carolina's robber-knights, and by her authority bears the rank of

colonel. Alas! signor, you see how war calls forth all the worst traits

of the Calabrian character. When I look on these things, I blush that I

am an Italian."

"Truly," said I, "we have seen some things which make me suppose that

there is more of truth than malice in the old Italian proverb applied to

the Neapolitan people."

"_Naples is a paradise inhabited by devils!_" replied Marco. "Ha! I

fought a Tuscan on the ramparts of Valetta one morning, for uttering

that impertinent saying."

On reaching the hamlet we found the greater number of the cottages

burned down; and the only answers our inquiries received were, "the king

of the forest, Francatripa--the hunchback--the devil!"

A man warned us not to proceed, for the banditti were still hovering

about; but as only one pass of the mountains lay between us and Maida,

we determined to push forward at all risks. After examining our girths

and pistol-locks, we dashed at a gallop into a gorge of the hills, which

seemed doubly dark after leaving the blaze of the burning hamlet; being

also deprived of the moon, whose light was intercepted by a gigantic

peak of the Apennines.

The hoofs of our galloping horses alone broke the stillness around us,

until we had reached the centre of the pass, or chasm, where the

frowning cliffs arose on each side like sable walls; their summits, in

some places, overhanging the base: when, hark! the shrill blast of a

Calabrian horn, waking the echoes of that dismal hollow, caused us to

rein suddenly up and prepare for action. As the reverberations of the

horn died away, a glare of crimson light burst through the gloom: it

burned steadily, increasing in radiance and splendour, tinging hill and

rock, the forms of ourselves and horses, with the hue of blood, and

shedding over the whole landscape, woodland, hill and hollow, the same

sanguine tint. This effect, at any other time, or under other

circumstances, we should have admired; as it was, our lives were in

jeopardy, and delight gave place to apprehension.

An enormous red light, blazing on a pinnacle of rock, distinctly

revealed our position and appearance to a horde of banditti, in conical

hats or long blue caps and gay parti-coloured garments, who swarmed on

the cliffs above and around us, barring advance or retreat, with their

levelled rifles.

"Basta!" exclaimed Castelermo, his voice faltering with shame and

chagrin. "O! for thirty cavaliers of John de Valette, or old L'Isle

Adam! Must we yield--and to wretches such as these?"

"Surrender or die!" I replied, considerably excited: "the path is open

before us; but we should assuredly be blown to pieces before we had

moved a horse's length."

We were immediately surrounded, and peremptorily commanded to dismount.

I saw how the fierce spirit of my companion blazed up within him as he

obeyed the order; and my own indignation was not less. Our swords were

next demanded; and, knowing the futility of resistance, I submitted to

be deprived of my sabre and despatches.

"My good fellows," said I, "remember I am a British officer!"

"Base vagabonds!" thundered Castelermo, while his pale lips quivered

with rage, "at least respect the garb _I_ wear! You may keep my sword

now, for to me it is useless, after being sullied by such dishonourable

hands; but bear in mind that this night you have committed a most horrid

sacrilege!"

"We will bear the weight of that easily, cavaliere," said one fellow,

"and pay our blessed Mother Church a moiety out of your ransom. We must

obey our orders; and if Ferdinand IV., or even the grand bailiff of the

province passed this way, they would be required to yield both cloak-bag

and sword to the king of St. Eufemio."

"Take the matter quietly, signor," said another, striking me on the

shoulder with insolent familiarity; "remember you might have fallen into

rougher hands than Francatripa's free companions."

"Bring a horse-halter, ho! ho! and bind them!" cried a shrill voice,

which I immediately recognised. I turned towards the speaker, who had

just dropped down from the rocks; but could not distinguish his figure:

the blaze of the red light having now expired.

"By Heaven! I would not have surrendered without fighting to the last,

could I have suspected this foul indignity!" exclaimed Marco bitterly,

while I bit my lips in silence; and Gaspare Truffi, by whose orders we

were bound, rolled on the turf yelling and grinning like a fiend with

malicious delight and exultation.

"Forward!" he commanded. "Where did you say we were to meet the

capitano?"

"Where the Maida road intersects the ancient way to the town of

Cosenza," replied one of the band. "He awaits us among the old ruins of

those pagan Greeks."

"On then," replied the little man of authority. "On: but, povero voi!

keep well together when crossing the hills, or I will blow to the night

wind the brains of the first man who straggles!"

I was surprised to find these fierce desperadoes submitting to the

incessant hectoring of a pitiful hunchback: but after a time I observed

that his commands, although strictly obeyed, were a source of secret

merriment to the band. I also discovered amongst them many young men of

superior birth, address, and education; who had been reduced to such

ignoble fellowship by their own excesses, or by preferring a state of

free brigandage on their native mountains, to bowing beneath the yoke of

France, and submitting to its military conscription.

Some of them still retained in their manners traces of good Neapolitan

society, but the majority were a crew of the most hardened ruffians that

ever were congregated together. I fully expected on being presented to

the leader, to experience the most brutal treatment; having been always

led to suppose that Francatripa was a very demon incarnate, and save

Mammone, the worst of all the outlaws of lawless Calabria.

"Now then, gentlemen, remember that with my own hand I will shoot the

first who attempts to escape. Hear me! you in particular?" said Gaspare

Truffi, giving his threat additional force by bestowing on my shoulder a

smart stroke with a pistol butt (one of my own silver-mounted pops with

rifled barrels, a present from the General.) At that moment, my heart

swelled almost to bursting! I turned fiercely towards Truffi; but, on

beholding him astride my gallant grey, with his short crooked legs

scarcely reaching below the saddle flaps, his prodigious hump, his

overgrown head and amply bearded visage surmounted by a straw hat of the

largest size, his grotesque figure viewed by the moonlight was so

ludicrous that I burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Even the

grave Castelermo laughed aloud, and the whole band joined in a hearty

roar of merriment. This, though it put us all in tolerable humour,

roused the wrath of the hunchback; who glared from one to another

without knowing on whom to wreak his passion.

"It is quite a riddle to me how this odd fellow was ever permitted

beneath the roof of the St. Agata palace: you remember, we first met him

there," said I to my companion.

"The cursed reptile played well and deeply: but I doubt much if he would

again dare to approach----"

"Silenzio!" thundered the hunchback, as he forced Cartouche (whom he

could scarcely manage) toward me, sideways, and twice endeavoured to

ride over me: but the brave charger knew me too well, and always swerved

aside when approaching too close. Failing thus in his object, Gaspare

dealt me a blow on the mouth with the pistol butt, which covered my face

with blood, and nearly demolished my front teeth. The band murmured at

this cowardly outrage; and perhaps nothing but fear of Francatripa

prevented his incensed lieutenant from pistolling me on the spot.

We had now arrived at the place appointed; the ruins of a majestic fane,

which had once echoed the precepts of Pythagoras and the triumphs of

Milo: its massive doric columns, the ponderous abacus, and carved

entablature, with the most exquisite specimens of sculpture, were all

hurled together in chaotic heaps, just as the temple had been left by

some tremendous convulsion, which had levied its glories to the dust.

The stones were mossy and green; the vine and ivy, the scarlet fuschia

and the wild rose, and a thousand odorous plants flourished luxuriantly

and entwined the ruins with wreaths of blossom. But there was something

melancholy in the aspect of the place when viewed by the brilliant moon:

the same orb which had beheld the first stone of their foundations laid,

amid all the religious solemnities of pagan Greece.

A horn was sounded; but the echoes died away, and no answering blast

awoke them again: the ruins were minutely searched, but there was no

appearance of Francatripa.

"Maladetto!" said one fellow, shrugging his shoulders, "the capitano

stays somewhat long with his dear love to-night!"

"Colonello, you should say, Gaetano," replied another. "Does he not

bear the king's commission; ay, and a sweet letter, they say, Carolina

sent him, written with her own hand?"

"Yes, and we are to become soldiers like the men of Marco Sciarra.

Madonna bless the day! I am tired of this life."

"Gaetano is as bad as his master, who seems to love a throw of the dice

at the gaming-table better than a rifle-shot on the green mountainside

in the merry moonlight."

Gaetano only answered by a sigh.

"The smiles must have been sweeter to-night than usual," growled Gaspare

Truffi; "he stays so long at the villa D'Alfieri."

"No good will come of his going there; where a woman is, there will

always be treachery and mischief," said Gaetano. "May Cupid put it in

his heart to bring his girl up the mountains!"

"Welcome to the capitanessa!" said another of the band, drinking from a

leathern bottle, which he held aloft at the full stretch of his arm,

permitting the sparkling wine to stream down his throat--a famous feat

with the Italian vulgar.

"Ho! ho!" chuckled the hunchback, "it would be bearding the grand

bailiff with a vengeance, to follow Gaetano's advice. But, Sfarmato!

wind the horn again!"

Once more its blast was poured to the hollow wind: but there was no

reply, save from the echoing woods of Maida; and the banditti, as they

seated themselves on the verdant grass and marble blocks, cursed the

delay of their leader in no gentle terms.

The villa D'Alfieri! How my pulses quickened at the sound. Francatripa

was then the lover of Annina, or some of the waiting women. I resolved

to speak with the viscontessa about the dangerous friends with whom her

household corresponded. How little I then knew of the ambition and

presumption of that accomplished robber!

"Here, good fellow," said I, to the one whom they named Gaetano, "take

the handkerchief from my breast, and give my moustachios a wipe. You

see how freely the blood is flowing from my mouth."

"Certainly, Signor Cavalier," said the man, good-naturedly, raising his

hand to his hat.

"Ha!" said I, "you have been a soldier?"

"Yes, signor," said he, turning pale, "I enlisted in the Corsican

Rangers, under the British: but I knew not their fashions; I quarrelled

with a sergeant, and they flogged me like a dog; I ran away, and so I am

here."

Before he could do me the simple act of kindness requested, Gaspare

snatched the handkerchief from his hand, and threw it away; dealing

Gaetano at the same time a sound box on the ear, and muttering a remark,

which, when translated, meant that I might "bleed to death, and be----"

I was extremely exasperated; and feeling at that moment the cords which

bound me becoming a little slackened, I snapped them asunder, and

rushing upon Truffi unhorsed him like lightning; then snatching from him

his pistols and poniard, I threw them to a distance. He swore a

terrible oath, and grappled with me. I was amazed by the strength he

displayed: although barely the height of a well-grown boy, he appeared

to possess the strength of two ordinary men, and his arms and hands were

of great size and muscular power. My breast burned with shame to find

myself more than matched in the grasp of a creature so despicable: I

would rather have died than have been defeated. The brigands; aware of

their little lieutenant's great strength, confidently expected he would

overcome me; so, without interfering, they leant upon their rifles, and

with shouts of laughter crowded round to witness a contest which

Castelermo beheld with equal indignation and astonishment: he, of

course, supposed I should toss my adversary into the air like a

cricket-ball.

At any other time, or under different circumstances, I would have

scorned to encounter in any manner such an adversary: but, alas! I

found myself almost mastered by this miraculous dwarf.

Firm as Hercules, he stood planted on his curved legs, which appeared to

possess all the unyielding principle of the arch; while his huge head,

round and hard as a cannon-ball, was thrust like a battering-ram into my

breast, and his ample hands grasped me like a vice: he had all the

aspect of some powerful gnome, or dwarf, of German romance; but dwarf or

devil, I was determined not to yield while bone and muscle remained

firm.

While quartered at Truro, I had been taught a few of the tricks of

wrestling by a corporal of the Cornish Miners, and I now put all these

in practice against this crooked Italian; who, being quite unprepared

for any display of science, was suddenly thrown off his feet, and hurled

backwards with such force that he fell on the sward about ten yards off,

and nearly fractured his capacious skull, which was instantly buried in

the deep recesses of his conical hat.

"Ghieu!" cried he, scrambling up. "Ho, ho! woe betide you, povero voi!"

He was rushing forward, like a mad bull, to renew the conflict, when a

figure stepped from behind a fragment of the ruins, and interposed

between us.

"Francatripa!" he exclaimed, recoiling with a growl of surprise.

"Most excellent captain!" cried the thieves, with one voice. "Viva

Francatripa!"

"Silence all, comrades," said Francatripa; "and you, signor," he added,

addressing himself to me, "I thank you for giving my lieutenant this

rough lesson to treat my prisoners better. But inform me,

circumstantially, on your honour, who you are, whence you have come,

where you are bound, and what is your business among these mountains?"

"I am an officer on the Sicilian staff, bearing despatches from the

commanding officer at Crotona to General Sir John Stuart at Scylla. I

trust my papers will be restored me; as they can be of no use to you,

sir, and the service of King Ferdinand may suffer by their detention."

"Madonna keep his most sacred majesty!" said the robber chief,

uncovering: "your horse and baggage shall be restored to you, and all

letters addressed to the good Cavaliere Stuardo, the friend of Naples.

Signor, we war not with the soldier, unless in arms against us: like our

own, his profession is a poor one, and shame fall on the hand that would

pilfer his hard-earned ducats--the wages of sweat, toil, and blood. But

the gentleman who accompanies you? By the star of heaven! a knight of

Malta! This is sacrilege! Pardon, Signor Cavaliere, this outrage by my

people: one for which, believe me, on my word of honour, as a free

Calabrian, I am in no way to blame. Gaetano! restore to these gentlemen

their swords."

Unbinding Castelermo himself, he ordered our horses to be instantly led

up to us.

"Gaspare!" he exclaimed, while grasping a pistol, "thou accursed,

deformed Judas, thou piece of an ass! I would this instant send a

bullet through your brain, had I another to supply your place: for,

truly, there is not in all Italy another such subtle serpent and

compound of mischief, to whom I could delegate my troublesome command

when absent. But keep out of my sight till morning, Messerino Esop!

Signori, he has the eyes of Argus, and is worth his hump in gold to me,

so that I could ill spare him. Meanwhile, to make all the amends in my

power, this night you shall sup with me, and to-morrow pursue your

journey. Please to step this way, gentlemen, and we shall see what my

cook has in preparation for us."

He led us behind a lofty mass of the ruins, where heavy green laurels

and clusters of ivy and vine overhung the marble blocks and fragments of

fluted columns, which yet remained in their original position. A whole

roebuck was roasting and sputtering before a wood fire, which cast its

red and varying glare on the shattered temple, the waving foliage, the

glancing arms, and fierce swart visages of our captors; whose well-known

bandit costume completed the striking effect of the scene.

A beetle-browed and bare-legged rogue, clad only in yellow breeches and

a blue shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up, superintended the

cooking; while the contents of a hamper (taken probably from the

carriage we had seen some hours before) were spread upon the turf: light

pastries, fruit, and a few flasks of continental wine. After posting a

few well-accoutred scouts on the neighbouring roads and eminences,

Francatripa sent away his band to join the main body in the forest,

where several hundred wild spirits served under him. After seeing them

off, in a manner which was a burlesque on military order, this

formidable chief--who afterwards fought so many severe battles with the

French, and whose name was soon to become like that of Marco Sciarra in

Italy--rejoined us. I had then an opportunity of recognising in him one

of the mutilators of the poor tanner (mentioned in volume first), and I

also remembered his face as one I had often seen in the fashionable

gaming-houses of Messina.

He was an eminently handsome man, between thirty and forty years of age;

and being closely shaved he had rather a more civilized aspect than his

rough, whiskered, and bearded associates. Though to us polite and

courteous in the extreme, to his band he acted the furious and

swaggering bandit: stern firmness and sullen ferocity alone seemed to

keep their mutinous spirits in check, and they quailed beneath his

sparkling eye whenever it turned on them.

He was habited in one of those richly-laced scarlet uniforms, which

Queen Caroline sent from Palermo to Benincasa, the miller of Sora, and

all the brigand chiefs of those provinces; and on his breast shone the

star and enamelled cross of St. Constantine: the gift of the same

politic princess, who endeavoured to prop the tottering throne of her

husband by the support of the brave banditti of southern Naples; just as

the Venetians, in 1590, courted the aid of the chivalric Sciarra and his

followers against the Grand Duke of Tuscany. A plume of white ostrich

feathers, clasped by a golden band and diamond madonna, drooped from his

broad hat over his right shoulder, imparting a peculiar grace to his

figure. His belt sustained a very handsome sword, poniard, and pistols;

which, with a short rifle, completed the arms and accoutrements of this

gallant robber: his air and aspect were very different from those of the

desperado who, under his name, usually figured in the accounts published

in the Neapolitan and Sicilian cities.

We supped heartily. The wine was excellent: and if Francatripa came by

it lightly, he did not spare it on his guests. The flasks of red and

white capri were numerous and potent enough; but when I remembered the

unhappy proprietor, whom we had found weltering in blood by the wayside,

it was not without considerable compunction that I regaled on the

contents of his plundered hamper. However, the affair lay between

Francatripa and his conscience. Castelermo and I soon fell asleep,

under a sheltered part of the ruins which had witnessed the midnight

carousal.

When we awoke, the morning sun had risen far above the hills of Maida;

our horses with our arms and valises, all in perfect order, stood

picqueted beside us: but our late host and his followers had departed,

leaving no trace behind them, save the well-picked venison bones, and

the ashes of the fire which had cooked it. My mouth was still painful,

and a little swollen by the blow from the hunchback: whom I hoped to

repay at a future time; but I sprang gaily up to rub down Cartouche with

a tuft of dried grass, and shook off the dreams and odd fancies which

had floated through my brain: caused, doubtless, by the Capri wine, and

the stories related by Francatripa of his mountain friends. My ears yet

rang with the exploits of the Abbot Proni, who drove the French from

Abruzzi; of Fra Diavolo, the cruel and vindictive bandit of Itri; of the

miller of Sora, and Benedetto Mangone, who was so savagely executed at

Naples by being beaten to death with hammers.

Mammone of Sora was no ordinary bandit, but a fiend in human shape,

out-Heroding in cruelty all the monsters of romance: he could boast of

having slain with his own hand four hundred fellow-beings; he never

dined without having "a bleeding human head placed on the table," and in

his mildest mood is said to have drunk human blood "gushing from his

victims."

These, and such as these, were the brigand leaders of Italy, and the

terror of France, before the merciless General Manhes--"the man of

iron"--brought the Calabrian war of extermination to a close, by almost

depopulating the country.

*CHAPTER III.*

*A SNAKE IN THE GRASS.*

Passing through Maida--a large and substantial town, built on an

eminence equidistant from the Tyrhene Sea and the Adriatic, at the

narrowest part of the peninsula, and situated among those pine-clad

mountains which overlook the scene of our victory and the vale of the

Amato--we visited the battle-ground; but nothing remained to mark that

glorious day, save the burnt cartridge-paper fluttering about among the

graves of those who fell: the mould was yet fresh, and the new grass

just beginning to sprout above the great burial-mounds; the sight of

which at that moment filled us with sad thoughts. The sun shone

brightly, pouring his noon-day glory from above the wooded Apennines

across the warm and misty plain; bees were humming, birds chirping, and

wild flowers blooming, above those "scattered heaps" where so many brave

men were mouldering into dust.

This melancholy train of thought, and the deep solitude around us, were

broken by a most unexpected shout of "Hark forward! tally-ho!" coming

from a distance; and presently two noble English greyhounds, in full

chase after a spotted lynx, bounded from the banks of the Amato, and

swept across the plain towards the hills.

"There they go, neck and neck,--Bravo, Springer!" cried a well-known

voice; and, crashing headlong through the vine-trellis of some poor

peasant, Oliver Lascelles, the general's extra aide, dashed up to us,

breathless with a long ride. Oliver was the most determined sportsman in

the regiment, and contrived to take his horses and dogs wherever he

went, in spite of barrack, ordnance, and transport regulations.

"There go the gallant dogs, and I have no horn to recall them," he

cried. "See how the spotted devil doubles!--the water now! Ha! the

scent's lost, and Springer's at fault.--What on earth are you doing

here, Dundas? Moralizing, eh?--Buon giorno, Signor Marco; happy to see

you. By the Lord! had I got that lynx's brush, I would have stuck it in

my cocked hat, and ridden with it so to old Regnier at Cassano. Ha!

Dundas, at home you never roused such game as that, by the Muirfute

Hills, or in Arniston woods;" and the light-hearted Englishman, laughing

at his own conceit, hallooed on his dogs till the blue welkin rang.

He congratulated me on my promotion to a company in the Regiment de

Rolle, from which I was re-gazetted to my old corps: a double favour,

which I had no doubt was to be attributed to the general's favourable

mention of me in his despatches, and my good fortune in capturing the

eagle. This trophy, by-the-bye, may now be seen in the hall of Chelsea

Hospital, in company with thirteen others.

Poor Oliver! he found his grave beneath the towers of the Castello

d'Ischia; where the waves roll over the bones of many a bold Calabrian

and Ross-shire Highlander. He was barely twenty when he was shot at the

head of his stormers.

After a hurried ride over the well-known positions of the third of July,

we separated; Castelermo and I to pursue our journey to St. Eufemio, and

Lascelles to continue his to General Regnier's camp: he was the bearer

of a copy of Sir John Stuart's third proclamation, dated 18th July, and

issued in consequence of the barbarous cruelties exercised by the French

troops on those Italian royalists who unhappily fell into their hands.

In that official document, after a long statement of appalling facts,

Sir John reminded the French general that three thousand of their

soldiers were prisoners to the British arms, together with many of

Buonaparte's well-known partisans. "If, therefore," concluded the

manifesto, "such violence is not put an end to, for the future, I shall

not only deem myself justified, but compelled by my duty, to have

recourse to the severe but indispensable law of REPRISALS!" This

determined threat had some effect on the iron-hearted Regnier, and for a

time we heard less of slaughtered peasantry and priests shot before

their altars; of nuns and poor country girls torn from their homes and

hiding-places, to become worse than slaves in the camps and bivouacs of

the French: who were yet entrenched at Cassano, awaiting the advance of

Massena's division.

Not choosing to be seen so far out of our proper road by any of our

troops cantoned in St. Eufemio, or encamped around it, we took a

solitary path across the plain towards the villa; and, as there was no

ford, we had to swim our horses across the Amato, in a part where the

stream was both deep and rapid. We then sought the shelter of an

orange-grove, where, having poured the water out of our boots, we passed

the noon-time until the intense heat passed away. It was a still and

solitary place, where the silence was broken by no ruder sounds than the

hum of the bee, the flap of the plover's wing, the murmur of the Amato,

the notes of a shepherd's zampogna, and the faint tinkling bells of his

flock afar off on the green and verdant mountains. We remained nearly

two hours in that delightful grove, through the thick foliage of which

the hot rays of the sun never penetrated: the shining river swept slowly

past us to the sea, with its smooth surface glittering in the sunlight,

and the whole air was fragrant with the perfume of the wild flowers

blooming among its sedges, and the orange-trees which shaded its rocky

banks. The ruddy fruit hung in rich golden clusters above us; and

though, from the appearance of some of the trees, the winds of a hundred

years had swept their branches, they were yet, in a "green old age,"

bending beneath their load of produce. The Calabrian knows well that

the oldest trees bear the sweetest oranges: those that are soft and

juicy, with thin skins: the thickly rinded are always the fruit of young

saplings, and are seldom cared for by the orange-gatherer.

Cavaliere Marco--who had not such reasons as I for visiting the villa,

and whose knowledge of the world led him to suppose that his presence

could, perhaps, be dispensed with--suddenly recollected that he had a

gambling affair with Ser Villani, the lawyer (there was only one in the

province), and rode on to St. Eufemio, promising to rejoin me in a few

hours. Meanwhile I pursued my way to the villa alone; and passing

through its luxuriant orchards, reached the terraces unperceived by any

of the inhabitants.

Leaving my horse under the portico, I passed through a white marble

corridor into the lofty and superb saloon; where, through a cupola of

stained glass covered with heraldic blazonry, the sun poured down a

flood of variegated light upon three rows of gilded galleries, and a

bronze fountain: the Neapolitan emblem, a winged horse, vomited forth a

jet of sparkling water. Save the ceaseless plash of the fountain, the

place was silent: no sounds of life were heard.

After a time, however, the laugh of the giddy Annina rang merrily in one

of the vast corridors, where she was flirting with the old Greek

chasseur, Andronicus; but only to drive away ennui in the absence of her

cavalier Giacomo, whom with his party the visconte had sent back to

Crotona.

"There can be nothing amiss, when Annina laughs so joyously," thought I;

"and yet this great Italian villa, so gloomy and so silent, looks like a

vast catacomb by the evening light. Ola! Annina!"

"Ecco, signor," cried the damsel, as she danced into the saloon: she

evidently expected a stranger, and could not conceal her astonishment on

beholding me; but assuming a prim air, she placed a little finger on her

ripe pouting lips, and, with a glance full of archness and mystery,

imposed silence.

"My pretty Annina, I am not inclined to flirt just now," said I, kissing

her cheek with jocose gallantry, in proof of my assertion: though,

indeed, the girl of Capri was attractive enough to tempt one to be

gallant in good earnest. "Where is your lady?"

"My lady, the viscontessa, has gone to confession at the Sylvestrian

monastery; old Fra Adriano surfeited himself with choke-priest, and was

unable to officiate this evening."

"Tush!" said I, drawing her into a deep alcove, "I mean, la Signora

Bianca."

"She is in the garden with the colonel."

"What colonel? Is Luigi here?"

"Signor Claude, you are so impatient!" she replied slowly, while her

black eyes twinkled provokingly, and raising their arched brows with

affected surprise, she added, "Have you never heard of the colonel?"

"Colonel again! no, no! Who the devil is he?" I muttered impatiently,

jerking up my sword-belt, while I ran over in my memory all those I knew

who were likely to rival me. "Who the mischief?--it cannot be De

Watteville, he is too old; Oswald, he is at Scylla; or Kempt--Annina,

tell me, and you shall give me a kiss in exchange for as many ducats as

will buy a magnificent embroidered panno to set off these jetty locks of

yours."

"A girl of Capri would rather give the kiss without the ducats: it would

look so like selling the secrets of the signorina, otherwise;" and while

a blush suffused her face she began to sing, with a coquettish air, "O

sweet isle of Capri," &c.

"You shall have both: the kiss now, and the ducats hereafter," said I,

saluting the Madonna-like cheek of the pretty Italian; and then it

blushed red as the ruby wine of her own rocky isle, while her eyes

sparkled like the waves that roll around it in the sunshine.

"Signor," she whispered, "truly I wish you well; but beware of the

Colonel Almario, who is daily at the villa, and is even now with my

young lady in the garden--in the walk; you know it, shaded by the great

laburnums."

"Almario! I never heard such a name before--sounds well enough, though:

but how the deuce came he here?"

"On horseback, signor: he rides a beautiful black Barbary horse, which

Signora Bianca seems to admire more than your dashing grey."

"The mischief she does! Who introduced this colonel to the family?"

"He is a great friend of Father Petronio, the bishop of Cosenza; and all

the world allows that _he_ is a saint."

"Your world, Annina, is this little corner of Italy. Well, and the

viscontessa met him at a _conversazione_ at Nicastro?"

"Exactly so, and won from him a hundred pieces of gold: he lost them

with so good a grace that my lady was quite enchanted with him; for the

more the colonel lost, the more merry he became. San Gennaro! I think

he is a sorcerer, who can coin ducats from vine-leaves. He scatters a

handful of gold among the servants every time he comes here! so you may

easily imagine how much they are devoted to him. He is either Satan or

a rich man, and has a way with him that makes all the men his slaves,

and the girls his worshippers: that is, all save myself, signor. And

then, such pretty things he says to the signorina, when they play

together on their guitars! You would imagine he sat with the Lady Venus

herself: but he says the very same things to the old viscontessa, when

at cards after supper. O, that Giacomo was returned! I am sure he would

not value his ducats or dread his dagger (I know he wears one) a rush.

No, he would trim him well with a stout pole for presuming to make so

free at the villa."

"I comprehend the hint. But one word more," said I, in a husky voice,

while my heart palpitated with anxiety at this relation. "Have you

heard aught of the visconte?"

"Only what you must surely know, that he has fled to the mountains: to

Francatripa, they say, for abducting a nun. Madonna mia! what can tempt

handsome young men to run off with these pale and melancholy frights,

when so many plump and pretty women, with good flesh on their bones, are

dying for husbands both in town and country."

"Annina, your tongue is again at full gallop. The visconte, then, is not

here?"

"No; and yet I could have sworn that I heard him singing a barcarole in

the wolf's chamber. God's grace! 'tis a place of gloom and mystery.

Poor, dear young man! I hope he may come to no harm in these perilous

times, when the hills and woods are swarming with Frenchmen and wolves,

idle sbirri, starving peasantry, and desperate robbers."

Stepping hastily and cautiously, I passed through the beautiful garden,

which extended from the terraces to the southward.

There was now a rival in the way, whose superior military rank, and

apparent wealth, besides his being Bianca's countryman, made him

sufficiently formidable to me: but as I remembered her artlessness, her

trembling confusion when we exchanged our rings, and her burst of

tenderness when we parted, and how she buried her face in the bosom of

Luisa Gismondo, could I believe that she would so very soon prove false?

Yet I had heard so much of the volatility of Italian girls, their

faithlessness and coquetry, that the words of the waiting-woman fell

like molten lead upon my heart.

Before advancing, like a prudent general I made a complete

reconnoissance, and discovered Bianca walking with this redoubtable

colonel, conversing and flirting through the folds of her black lace

veil. She opened it only at times, when I obtained a glimpse of her

pure and happy face: her bright eyes sparkling, her cheek glowing, and

her pretty teeth shining like pearls in the sun, as its rays flashed

between the waving branches and pendent golden flowers of the old

laburnums. The long shady walk echoed with their voices, though they

conversed in a low tone; and at that moment the sharpening of a handsaw

would not have grated on my ears so painfully as did Bianca's merry

laughter at the jests of this confounded colonel.

He was a tall and handsome man, apparently in the prime of life: I had a

dim recollection of having seen him before, but when or where I

endeavoured in vain to remember. He was dark-complexioned, and so much

sunburned that I thought he must have seen considerable service. From

beneath a scarlet velvet foraging cap, his dark hair descended in

curling ringlets; his nose was aquiline, and a pair of appalling

moustaches, black, bushy, and fierce, curled under it. He wore a

sky-blue military undress frock, laced with silver, and open at the

neck, showing a scarlet waistcoat, which was also richly laced; on his

breast glittered a medal and the star of St. Constantine; military boots

with gilt spurs, completed his costume. A gold belt encircled his

waist, and sustained a small poniard of exquisite workmanship; his sabre

rested on his left arm, and on his right the jewelled hand of Bianca.

Notwithstanding the noble contour of this colonel's features, and a

certain lofty dignity in his carriage, there was something so peculiar

in his uniform (which I failed to recognise) and in the expression of

his eye (which I did not like) that, altogether, I did not consider him

a very dangerous rival; though he whispered to Bianca in a way that was

anything but agreeable to me, and she maintained the conversation with

true Italian vivacity and spirit of raillery. I was not under the

unpleasant necessity of acting eavesdropper long; for, piqued at

something he had said, Bianca suddenly quitted his arm and withdrew a

few paces; her eyes sparkled with unusual brilliancy, and her brow, wont

to be so pale, now flushed with indignation. The Colonel Almario sank

upon his knee, and held in his her right hand, which tightly grasped a

rose she had plucked but a moment before.

"Beautiful Bianca!" I heard him exclaim, while his voice rose and fell

with true theatrical cadence, "be not offended if my treacherous tongue

has too suddenly revealed the long-cherished sentiments of my heart. O,

most gentle signora! how faintly can I express the deep love, the

sincere admiration, which at this moment glow within me!"

"I would give ten guineas to have a good long-shanked hunting-whip here

just now," I muttered, exasperated by this sudden declaration of

passion; at which the poor girl seemed the image of confusion: though

its pomposity evidently excited more amusement than pleasure.

"Signor Colonello, unhand me, if you please. I cannot--I _will not_ be

spoken to thus. Ola! Zaccheo! Annina!--here! You have all been

bribed! Oh! the treacherous----"

"For the love of all that is gracious! summon no one." (I really think

the fellow loved her; so touching was his tone, so earnest his manner.)

"Hear me, lady! I am an unfortunate and most unhappy man. I love you

passionately----"

"And noisily----"

"Cruel! No man can love a woman more. Will you not vouchsafe me an

answer? Bel l' idolo! will you not even hear me?"

"No, I will hear nothing while you continue to grasp me thus. Annina!

Am I a prisoner in my own house?"

"Give me but this rose: it is a small favour, Signora d'Alfieri, but you

have placed it once to your beautiful lips, and their touch has enhanced

its value. Bestow it on me, Bianca, as a token that I may yet

hope--that, even though withered I may look upon it and say----"

"Fico! hope you never shall!" exclaimed the spirited girl, as she pulled

the rose to pieces, and scattered the leaves upon the upturned face of

her admirer; from whom she broke away, and moved toward the villa with

all the sweeping hauteur of an offended Juno.

Almario uttered a very audible oath, and sprang forward rudely to seize

her; when, stepping from out the shrubbery, I suddenly interposed

between them.

"Dearest Claude!" exclaimed Bianca, in a tone of joy, as she passed her

arm through mine; while he of the sky-blue frock and star grew pale with

anger: he laid his hand on the hilt of his sabre, and, retiring back a

few paces, we surveyed each other from top to toe, with all the stern

composure of two melodramatic heroes.

"How now, sir?" I exclaimed. "Would you dare to follow the young lady,

and continue this ridiculous scene?"

"I am noble--an Italian gentleman, and my purposes are not to be

questioned by any foreigner, especially one of subaltern rank," he

replied through his clenched teeth. "Signor, learn that I am a colonel

of cavalry in the Neapolitan service, and shall not permit this insolent

interference to pass unpunished."

"It may be so: but I do not recognise your uniform." His face grew

scarlet, and his eyes sparkled with rage at my insinuation. "You must

be aware," I continued, "that I have merely done my duty as a gentleman

and soldier in rescuing the signora from your impertinent importunity;

and it is well for you," I added, considerably ruffled, "that I have

neither a whip nor cane wherewith to chastise you as you deserve."

"And well it is for you likewise, signor. By Heavens! were such an

indignity as a blow put upon me, I would destroy you on the spot; and if

you escaped that vengeance which my hand must shortly take for this

insulting threat, a thousand stilettoes would be on your track! Not in

the caverns of Scylla, or the wilds of La Syla--not amid all the guards

and gates of Malta and Messina, would you be safe from my revenge."

"O signori!" implored the trembling Bianca.

"Sir, I have very great doubts that you are an officer, but none that

you are both a knave and fool to rant in this manner," I replied, with

provoking coolness, while pressing the arm of the agitated girl to my

side. "I comprehend nothing about those thousand knives of which you

speak so pompously, but here is my card, Signor Colonello: I will be at

the villa until near noon to-morrow, and any communication with which

you honour me will reach me there. I am not to be terrified by the

blustering of any man; therefore, sir, it is quite unnecessary to 'get

up in your stirrups' when addressing me."

"Good!" said he, haughtily; "I have not my card-case with me, but I can

understand this, signor. By noon to-morrow, I must be on the march to

join the chiefs of the Masse in the Upper Province."

"Your regiment is, then, in the neighbourhood?"

"My regiment!" he stammered, while again the flush crossed his olive

cheek and haughty brow. "Yes, yes--undoubtedly; and one it is that will

be heard of ere long. Signor, you have treated me somewhat cavalierly;

which, considering the difference of our rank and years, I deem

considerable presumption on your part: but you British behave so to all

foreigners. Ha! that _I_ should colour at the taunts of a mere boy!--I,

who have heard more bullets whistle in a week than he has done since he

first girt on a sword! Behold this medal!--on the ramparts of Andria, I

tore it from the breast of the traitorous Count of Ruvo, whose savage

followers, giving all to fire and sword, made an earthly hell of

beautiful Apulia. Ha! boy, you never witnessed such a leaguer as that."

He jerked his sabre under his arm, bowed profoundly to Bianca, and was

swaggering haughtily away, when I followed him.

"Sir, then you will not grant me a meeting?" He wheeled sharply round,

and muttered, in a fierce and rapid whisper,

"When a horn sounds over the lawn this evening, I will be awaiting you

on the road which leads to the ruined hospital of the Maltese knights.

Fail not to come; as a recourse to arms can alone decide now, whether

you or I shall possess this girl and her ducats."

"Enough!" said I, scornfully, and we separated.

*CHAPTER IV.*

*THE HORN SOUNDS.*

I led Bianca into the villa, where she flung herself upon a sofa, and,

overcome with excitement, gave way to a passion of tears. I very

naturally seated myself close by, to console and pacify her.

"Dear Bianca, this is quite foolish, now!" said I, putting an arm gently

round her: "why are you weeping?"

"This colonel--this Almario----"

"Upon my honour! Bianca, I shall send expressly to the camp for Bob

Brown, my groom, to horsewhip him, for making you weep thus. He is

unworthy my own----"

"O no, no!" she exclaimed, weeping very bitterly; "I do not wish Signor

Bob Brown to be killed on my account. But promise me? dear Claude, that

you will never seek or meet him in a hostile manner," she added, looking

up, and smiling so imploringly, that I quite forgot what I meant to say,

and so kissed her in my confusion.

"Claude," she continued, taking both my hands in hers, and looking me

full in the face, with her clear and brilliant eyes,--"Claude, promise

me that you never will. Ah! my heart would break--it would--it would,

indeed, if blood were shed on my account."

"Well, then, dear one! I will never seek the presence of the colonel.

But the service, you must be aware--my character--O, the devil!--let him

beware how he summons me!"

"Swear it on this Agnus-dei!" said she, taking a little bag of perfumed

satin from her bosom. To please her, I kissed the amulet which reposed

in so adorable a place, and the innocent girl was satisfied.

"When we are married, I will cure her of all this nonsense," I thought,

and ratified the treaty of peace on her flushed and dimpled cheek.

"And now, caro," said she, in a soft, low voice, "I have a great secret

to entrust you with. Of course you know all about poor Luigi's wild

adventure?"

"My bones ache at the recollection thereof; I narrowly escaped hanging,

shooting, and drowning: all of which were proposed in turns by a little

hunchbacked fellow, a follower of Francatripa, who chose to make himself

very active on the occasion. And do you know, Bianca, that I was

immured in the thieves' cage at the end of the town prison: a good joke,

is it not?"

"I heard it all from Annina, whose last love-letter from Giacomo

(written, of course, by an itinerant scrivano) was filled with a history

of the affair. O, the madness of my dear and foolish sister! How

bitterly I wept for and deplored it! Believe me, Claude, had an Italian

cavalier been put into that horrid cage, his soldiers would have set the

town on fire: but you, British! oh, you take some things very quietly.

Yesterday a mounted sbirro brought me a letter from my sweet little

friend Luisa Gismondo, who is with her father in the camp at Cassano.

O, what dreadful things she tells me of! And Massena, that very bad

Italian, he is gathering together an army, who boast that they will soon

clear Calabria of the British."

"But where is Luigi now?"

"Just behind you, signor, and most happy to congratulate you on your

promotion, I saw it in the _Messina Gazette_," said the visconte, coming

from the recess of a window, where, unseen he had been a smiling

spectator. Grasping my hand, he continued, "How I rejoice that you

escaped from the villanous Crotonians. On my honour! Dundas, nothing

but fear for my poor Francesca restrained me from putting back to save

or avenge you: and we all imagined those base paesani would have

respected your uniform and character----"

"No more apologies: but say, how does the Signora Francesca?'

"Indifferently, indeed. She bemoans her degraded situation incessantly

(here Bianca reclined her head on my epaulette, and sobbed audibly).

Torn from her convent, to which she dare return no more, she is still a

nun; and, until her vows are dispensed with at Rome, I cannot make her

my wife. I now see that her position is deplorable, and hourly wish

that I had been less rash: but what will not a wild spirit dare, when

love leads, and the fiend prompts? I have, perhaps, blighted her

prospects for ever, and placed myself in most deadly jeopardy: every

hour increases our peril! The Bishop of Cosenza (so famous for his

pretended piety) has taken up the matter hotly, and placed us under the

ban of the church; while, armed with warrants, procured from the Grand

Criminal Court at Palermo, his sbirri, aided by those of that old

blockhead the Barone di Bivona (who owes me a thousand sequins, lost at

Faro), are searching all Lower Calabria for us: I expect them here every

hour. King Ferdinand, anxious to flatter our priesthood and please his

bigoted subjects, has declared himself my enemy, and we dare not venture

to Sicily, even could we reach its shores: the commissaries of the

townships are everywhere on the alert, and we could never, unless

escorted by some armed followers, embark on the Calabrian seas.

"To pass into the Upper Province would only redouble the danger:

Francesca would become the prey of the bishop, or the brutal Massena;

who would, undoubtedly, order me to be shot. Ha! the French have not

forgotten certain exploits of mine, when I first unsheathed my sword

beneath the walls of Altamurra, on that great day when, on the eve of

battle, Ruffo performed high mass before the whole Calabrian line.

"I never dreamt that the toils of my adversaries would close so tightly

round me! But the villa is well provided with lurking-holes, and I have

little doubt of being able to baffle completely any band that may come

in pursuit of us here. Were my old sbirri under its roof-tree--were

Benedetto del Castagno, Marco of Castelermo, and my trusty Giacomo by my

side, I would yet shew them that the Visconte of Santugo was not to be

hunted like a wild boar. No, by the gods! I would make good the house

against the bishop's rascals, though backed by the papal guard. San

Gennaro! rather than surrender, I would blow it into the air, and flying

to the Grecian isles, there hoist the red banner of piracy, as many a

reckless Italian noble has done before." His eyes glared, as black eyes

only do: he laughed bitterly, showing his white teeth beneath the sable

moustache, and he panted rather than breathed, as he continued, "Our

king, Monsignore Macheroni, should remember the feeble tenure on which

he holds his tottering throne, and be wary of raising enemies in this

last stronghold of Italian independence. Palermo will not always have a

British fleet to protect its walls from the cannon of France: withdraw

your frigates from the straits of the Faro, your red coats from the

ramparts of Messina, Milazzo, and Syracuse, and the power and throne of

the lazzaroni king will fall prone to the earth, like a house of cards!"

"Hush! dearest Luigi," exclaimed his timid and terrified cousin, when a

pause in this long tirade permitted her to speak. "This is all treason,

every word; and you know not who may be within hearing."

"If there are any within hearing who would prove false to the race of

Santugo, I would crop their ears like base Jacobins, and then bore their

tongues with a hot bodkin, that they may the more glibly tell their

story at Palermo. Corpo di Baccho! I defy and scorn them all!" and

snatching a large cup of wine from a marble cooler, he drained it to the

bottom; then casting himself upon an ottoman, he tossed the cup to the

other end of the apartment with such force, that it dashed to pieces a

rich Etruscan vase.

"Dundas, my good friend," he continued, "hot and high words are but a

poor welcome to you, after coming so far out of your way to visit us:

yet I am so exasperated about this matter--this elopement with my

cousin! Queen Caroline, she too has become an enemy. I had the ill

fortune to please her eye once, and she could forgive me for any scrape

in which a woman is not concerned: you comprehend? In fact, I was quite

a rival to Master Acton--your half countryman--the ci-devant apothecary,

whom all the world knows about."

"O Luigi, Luigi!" exclaimed Bianca.

"Tush! I tell you, Bianca, that once when I was waiting on the

king--per Baccho! what am I going to say?"--he paused and coloured. At

that moment the blast of a horn came, in varying cadence, on the evening

breeze: I started at the expected signal.

"Ola! what may that portend?" said the visconte, whom it relieved from

his embarrassment. "I shall be glad to learn who dares to sound a horn

within the bounds of my jurisdiction?" he added, taking up his sword.

"I will accompany you."

"Good: then let us go!"

Glad to have a decent pretext for quitting her presence, I pressed

Bianca's hand to my lips with trembling anxiety, while there stole over

me a dismal foreboding that we might meet no more. My promise to her was

forgotten: could I keep it? Impossible!

"Luigi, beware of a quarrel; and, dear Claude, for the love of Heaven!

curb his rashness. I can depend on you" said she, as we hurried down

the staircase; and her words sank deeply into my heart. Too well I knew

the deadly mission on which we were bound; and the shrill mountain-horn

poured another warning blast, which, as it seemed more faint and

distant, made us quicken our steps. The visconte's horses stood in

their stalls, saddled and bridled ready for any emergency; and,

summoning Zacheo Andronicus to bring forth a couple of nags, we mounted,

and, accompanied by him, galloped in the direction of the signal, with

the purport of which I acquainted my friend, as we rode on.

"Cospetto!" he exclaimed; "then this quarrel is mine. I cannot permit

you to jeopard life or limb for any member of my family; of whose honour

I, as chief and head, am the defender and guardian. I will in person

meet this Colonel, of whom more has been said at the villa than I cared

to listen to. He is one of my mother's gambling friends, picked up at

that select resort, Father Petronio's palace; and is, perhaps, some

barefaced charlatan, who assumes the name of Almario and the rank of

colonel."

"But there are many officers of the Masse and other irregular corps,

whose uniforms are so motley and fanciful, and whose names are not borne

on any authorized list, that it is impossible to say what he is."

"True; but time shall prove all: and I----"

"Santugo! it was to me, and with me alone, that defiances were

exchanged: I cannot permit another to fight in my quarrel."

"But the quarrel is my pretty Bianca's, and I am her only kinsman."

"And I her betrothed husband: behold this ring!"

"Buono! but I am an unfortunate dog, who would more willingly be shot

to-night than live longer."

"And leave Francesca alone--alone in her misery and helplessness?"

"O Madonna! Yet I will meet the Colonel."

"On my honour you shall _not_," I continued, with equal pertinacity. "I

must fight or horsewhip him. But if I am winged, or knocked on the

head, you can take up my ground, and parade him in turn.--By-the-by,

have you not been somewhat rash in venturing forth with me this evening

before dusk, when so many enemies are hovering round and ready to pounce

on you?"

"I am aware of it: but you have need of a friend; and when I heard this

horn blown within the boundaries of my estate, the thought that the base

banditti, the ungrateful shepherds, or the carbonari, presuming on my

outlawry, were poaching or plundering under the very eaves of the villa,

aroused my anger----"

"Excellenza," said Zacheo the chasseur, riding up with alarm in his

countenance, "a party of horsemen are now entering the Valley of Amato."

"Armed, too," I added, as, following the eye of the venerable retainer,

I saw about thirty mounted men riding, three deep, at an easy pace

across the broad and level valley, through which the river wound like a

gilded snake; "well horsed and armed. See how their appointments flash

in the sun!"

"They are about a cannon-shot distant," replied the visconte; "and

should they prove to be authorities from Cosenza, we can still baffle

them, even if they come up with us."

"Three to thirty?" said I, inquiringly.

"And what of that? We have good Calabrian cattle under us; the free

mountains, the deep rivers, the dense forests, and a bright moonlight

night before us: all glorious for a flying skirmish; and we may empty a

dozen of their saddles yet before the stars go down."

"And what if they search the villa?"

"I trust to Madonna that the same secret place in the round tower which

saved my ancestor from the followers of Carlo of Anjou, will avail my

Francesca now: save by terror or treachery, it cannot be discovered.--I

hope, Master Zacheo, that the contents of the holsters are in service

order?"

"Most carefully flinted and loaded, excellency," replied the Greek from

the rear.

"But these may be neither the sbirri of the bishop nor his meddling

friend the barone; and, as they do not pursue a way leading either to

the villa or to us, let us avoid them, in God's name! We have business

enough of our own to settle before the night closes."

At a hand-gallop we passed the redoubts, garrisoned by part of the

Regiment de Watteville, and which they had erected on the day of our

disembarkation. On the turf bastions the sentries were pacing briskly

to and fro; and as we left the fort behind, the evening gun was fired,

its echoes rolling along the hills with a thousand reverberations, and

dying away in the distance. The gaudy union descended slowly from the

flag-staff; while the fifes playing, and the drums beating, in that

peculiar time which is called "the sunset, or evening retreat," awoke

the gentler responses of the woods and winding shore, when the hollow

boom of the cannon had pealed away on the passing wind: it was "Lochaber

no more," a plaintive northern air, often played by our bands when the

sun is setting, announcing that another day has rolled into eternity.

Its slow-measured beat, and melancholy notes, are among the domestic or

home-sounds of the barrack-square: then the captain of the day, sulky at

being obliged to leave his wine, lounges forth with a cigar in his

mouth, and leaves the mess-room to parade the inlying piquet, who are

mustered in their dark great coats by the indefatigable sergeant-major:

the gates are shut, the drawbridges lowered, and the canteen cleared of

its noisiest revellers: the last flush of the sun has died away over the

distant hill, and a stillness settles over the whole community, only

broken by a laugh now and then from the mess, or by the tread of feet

and clash of arms, as the sentinels are relieved at their posts.

I listened sadly as the music faded away in the distance; and truly my

deadly mission began to press more heavily upon me than before. Never

again might I hear those well-known sounds, and when the same drums were

beating the merry reveille and the lark was soaring aloft to greet the

rising sun, where might I be? I strove to divert the current of my

thoughts, and not to think of it; but the same obstinate and gloomy idea

ever thrust itself before me. The affection of Bianca d'Alfieri, my

recent promotion, and the chances of still further advancement, now made

life seem of some value. I never experienced these depressing thoughts

on the eve of a battle, or assault: but the cold-blooded and deliberate

preparations for a duel give one time to _reflect_, and reflection may

damp the courage of a man who otherwise would hear, without wincing, a

salvo of cannon-balls whistling about his ears.

I thought of my old familiar friends at the regiment, who were,

doubtless, at that moment, enjoying their iced Sicilian wines, with the

mess-room windows open, while our matchless band played to the ladies

and cavaliers promenading on the Marina; and I wished myself amongst

them. I thought of my home--my happy boyhood's home--where the Esk

flowing down from the heath-clad hills, sweeps onward to the ocean, and

I wished the colonel where Empedocles went. But enough of this, or the

reader will be supposing I felt inclined to "show the white feather."

*CHAPTER V.*

*A DUEL AND A DISCOVERY.*

All those depressing thoughts evaporated the moment I obtained a glimpse

of my adversary; he was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigar, and

stroking the nose of his boasted black horse, whose bridle reins were

thrown negligently over his arm. Remembering only his taunts and

defiance, his presumption and rivalry, I was ready to rush into

hostilities with him, and wage life against life.

He awaited us near the ruinous Preceptory House of the Maltese knights,

through whose ivy-clad arches, rent walls, and windows choked up with

grass, the last flush of sunset was poured in strong columns of light;

around us flourished gigantic green laurels, and many a glittering ilex,

which completely screened us from the eyes of any stray passenger, and

from the sentinels on Sir Louis de Watteville's field-work.

"I trust, sir," said I, saluting him, "that we have not detained you

long?"

"Not very," was the cold reply; "but we must be quick, or this affair

will scarcely be settled before dusk."

"You have no friend with you?"

"None, save my usual weapons; but you have come pretty well attended.

Two gentlemen well horsed and armed to the teeth!"

"His excellency the grand bailiff, and one of his servants," said I.

"My lord, the visconte, rarely rides abroad at present, and I think his

presence here is somewhat unwise," said Almario, bowing to Santugo; who

was piqued at the observation, and, nodding coldly, replied,

"I cannot permit your coming to blows with this officer, in the quarrel

of my cousin. By-the-by, to what branch of the service do you

belong?--the cavalry?"

"The irregular troops of the Masse," replied he, with a dark frown.

Luigi bowed and said, "I am the guardian, the only protector and

defender of Bianca d'Alfieri; and I claim this quarrel as mine."

"I never meant to insult the Signora Bianca, or quarrel with her

family--nothing would be further from my thoughts; but if my respectful

declaration of a sincere passion offended, I am most heartily sorry, and

will make any amends to which an Italian gentleman may stoop without

dishonour."

Luigi bowed again, in reply to this apology, and reined his horse back a

few paces.

"But with you, Signor Capitano," continued the colonel, addressing me,

"the quarrel is too serious to be satisfied so easily. We have mutually

defied each other, and my honour demands redress. Am I to understand

that you are the challenger, and that by receiving your card it is at

your request I am here?"

"Assuredly, sir!" I answered haughtily.

"Good!" said he, throwing his snaffle rein over the branch of a tree;

"then with me lies the choice of weapons. Is it not so, visconte?"

Santugo merely bowed again, but with evident hesitation; and

dismounting, we gave our horses to Andronicus, who immediately drew off

a little way.

By so frankly avowing myself challenger, I had fallen into a regular

scrape: an Italian would, perhaps, have prevaricated; yet I could hardly

believe that the Colonel would make so cowardly a choice as to select

the national weapon--the poniard. But it was so: after rolling his

cloak round the left arm, with the utmost care and deliberation, he drew

off his gloves, turned up his right sleeve to leave the hand and wrist

perfectly free; buttoned his light blue military frock lip to the

throat, threw aside his sabre, and offered me a pair of poniards,

saying, briefly, "Choose."

They were daggers of Campo-forte, with elaborately carved ivory hilts,

and blades about nine inches long, triangular, and fluted on two sides

like bayonets.

"Colonel," said I, "although in acknowledging myself challenger, I may

have placed at your disposal the choice of weapons, if you suppose that

a British officer will condescend to fight with knives or poniards like

a drunken lazzarone, a hired bravo, or any brawling coward of Naples,

you labour under an unhappy mistake. I have pistols in my holsters, and

with these will meet you on equal terms."

"By heaven! you greatly over-rate my good nature, if you imagine I will

engage you with any weapons save those of my own choosing. Any other

Neapolitan would have dispatched this business, by bestowing three

carlini on some bold lad of the knife to tickle your ribs in the dark."

"Your language is not that of an officer."

"We fight with poniards, or not at all!"

"Must this be?" I asked Santugo.

"Formal duels are seldom fought in Italy: secretly or openly, the knife

generally ends all disputes," replied the visconte; "but the challenged

usually has the choice of weapons in all countries. Castelermo, a great

authority in these matters, has--but I am astonished that Colonel

Almario, as a soldier and a gentleman, should resort to this vulgar and

antiquated mode of settling disputes."

My friend seemed under considerable anxiety on finding that I had fallen

into such a dilemma--about to fight with a murderous weapon in the

management of which I was totally unskilled.

"Captain Dundas, you had better make up your mind," said Almario, with a

sneering aspect; "or our meeting may be ended in the dark like those of

the bravos you so greatly despise."

"Sir!" I replied sternly, "I am not ashamed to acknowledge my ignorance

of the management of this pig-butcher's weapon, and so--"

"So decline the contest?"

"No!--far from it; but I will meet you with my sabre or pistols."

"I will accept of neither; being determined to slay you: so if you stand

not on the defensive, I will rush on and end the matter by a single

blow."

This threat put an end to all further negotiation, and I felt the devil

stirred up within me.

"For God's sake be wary!" whispered the visconte, as Zacheo bound a

horse-cloak round my left arm; "keep the guard well up to protect your

face and breast, and watch his eyes with the acuteness of a lynx."