We will leave our friends occupied in consoling the afflicted Irene for
the loss of her brother, whom she had sincerely loved.
The last of a proud race! This thought would press upon the mind of the
fair lady, who, despite her willingness to form a plebeian alliance,
still valued, as we have seen, the high rank of her family.
Of the personal fortune which came to her through her brother's death
she had not thought, for she was of too generous a nature to mingle
an idea of interest with the life or death of a beloved object. The
prince's family property, besides, which was in the Roman territory, had
been confiscated by those worthy servants of God whose possessions are
"not of this world."
It was not until the friends had returned from the funeral that Attilio
and Muzio had consulted with the General about imparting to his sister
the knowledge of the fatal catastrophe. The General, calling Orazio
and his wife into his room, then first informed them gently of the sad
occurrence.
Gasparo, who, with the exception of Irene, grieved the most, found
some relief to his sorrow in the newly-acquired society of his former
lieutenant. He was also full of the desire to hear the adventures of
the man whom he had thought lost forever. The two _ci-devant_ banditti
closely shut themselves up in Gasparo's room at the Victoria Hotel,
at first conversing eagerly in interrogations and answers, nearly all
monosyllabic, oratory not being the forte of brigands, who are more
accustomed to deeds than words. After a time, the lieutenant began the
following consecutive narrative:-
"After you had informed me, capitano mio, that you were tired of a
forest life, and felt disposed to return to a private one, I continued
my usual mode of existence, without ever deviating from the plan of
action you had enjoined, which was to despoil the rich and the powerful,
and to relieve the needy and wretched. Our companions, formed in your
school, gave me little cause to reprove them; but if one failed in duty,
I punished him without pity; and thus, by the grace of God, we lived for
several years. The charms of womankind were always the rock on which our
hearts split; and well you know it, capitano."
At these words, Gasparo began pointing to his snow-white mustache,
doubtless remembering more than one gallant adventure in his career of
peril.
The lieutenant continued: "You remember that Nanna, the girl that I
adored, and on whose account I was so much persecuted by her parents?
Don't for a moment suppose that that dear creature betrayed me; no, her
soul was pure as an angel's." And the bold bandit chief put his hand to
his eyes.
"She is dead, then!" exclaimed Gasparo.
"She is dead," repeated his companion; and a long silence followed.
Presently Marzio continued, "One day my Nanna, who was not well, had
remained to pass the day in Marcello's house, where lived that poor
Camilla, who had been violated and driven mad by the Cardinal --------.
As I had to accompany my men on an important affair, the dwelling was
attacked in the night, and my treasure carried off to Rome.
"I was maddened, but not a stone did I leave unturned till I had
discovered the place in which they had hidden Nanna. At last I learnt,
through friends in that city, that the poor child was in the convent of
St. Francis there, and that they had condemned her to serve the nuns,
and never to see the light again.
"My wife in the service of nuns, in the service of betrayed young women
and of old foxes! 'I will give you a servant!' I said to myself; 'and
by heaven, the devil shall have the convent and the wretches it holds.'
"The night following I entered Rome alone; it seemed to me a cowardly
action to have companions in an undertaking which concerned none but
myself.
"I bought a large bundle of dried branches in the Piazza Navona. I
deposited them in a tavern, and waited till it grew late. Towards
eleven, o'clock, just before the house closed, I took my burden and
hurried off towards 'St. Francis.' Who can prevent a poor wretch from
carrying a bundle of wood home? Besides, Rome has one good point, which
is that at night no one goes about for fear of the thieves, who are
permitted, by the liberality of the priestly government, to do just as
they please, as long as they do not interfere in politics.
"Having deposited my bundle at the gate of St. Francis, I pressed it
closely in, prepared a box of lights to strike, and gave a searching
look up and down the road.
"As will be easily understood, after the door was burnt, there would
still remain the gratings; which would leave me pulling a very long
face, and with little done. I was, therefore, obliged to make a noise,
to attract the attention of those within. I then crossed the little
square, and hid myself in a doorway, awaiting the appearance of some
one, or at least a patrol. I had not long to wait, for after a few
minutes I heard the measured tread of the patrol. Then, with that
swiftness of foot which you know me to possess--"
Here Gasparo put in: "I should think I did! I remember that lord bishop
who, having seen us at a distance on the road to Civita Vecchia, turned
his horses, and set them in a gallop towards Rome, when you, in about
the same time which I take to tell it, were already at the horses'
heads, and had stopped the carriage."
"And what a take that was, captain!" said the lieutenant. "How we did
enjoy ourselves! how prodigal we were with our money for some time
afterwards--I mean with the proceeds of the poverty of the descendant of
the Apostles." But let us return to our story.
"I flew to the bundle of wood, set it on fire, and returned to my
hiding-place. In a few minutes a great blaze lit the convent gate,
and soon afterwards we had a sight equal to that which the crater of a
volcano shows. And the police? The sorriest rabble everywhere, but in
no place have they reached such scoundrelism as in Rome. The police,
naturally cowards and slow of movement, instead of running to the spot
to extinguish the flames, began shouting and making a tremendous noise
to arouse the neighborhood. Near the fire they never went until a goodly
number of people appeared at the doors, and then hurried to the scene of
action.
"'It is now my turn,' said I to myself, and I rushed into the _melee_.
The nuns should have been pleased with such a champion to deliver them,
surrounded as they were by a company of roughs.
"Matters could not, however, have progressed better. At the clamor from
without, the nuns were not slow to awake, and the gratings flew
open. They flew to the rescue themselves, with tubs, pails, basins of
water--in fact, with any utensil they could lay their hands on. After
pretending to assist in extinguishing the external flames, but with my
eyes fixed on the interior, seeing all parties well occupied, I sprang
in to the assistance of the nuns in their sanctuary. No sooner within,
than I cast a searching glance npon the crowd of females assembled, and
to the oldest, who appeared the Superior, I addressed myself. Grasping
her arm, I exclaimed, 'Come with me!' I found more resistance in the
old lady than I expected. At first she struggled, and would only walk by
compulsion, collecting all her strength to oppose me: then she began to
scream, and I was obliged to take her in my arms and to cover her face
with a handkerchief.
"I was getting away from the crowd all the time, and arriving before the
door of a cell which I found open, I entered with my burden. There was a
light in the room, and the bed had been occupied. I laid the abbess npon
it, and locked the door.
"She was astonished but not alarmed. I never saw a demon with such
courage. 'Where is Nanna?' I began, in a way to startle her. No answer.
'Where is Nanna?' I repeated in a louder tone still. No answer. 'I will
make you find your tongue, witch!' I cried; and drawing this bit of
steel from my belt, I made it glitter before her eyes. Still no answer."
"By the Virgin," said Gasparo, "these abbesses are all alike, real
demoniacs. At the defense of Rome in 1849, when it was needful to pass
through the convent of the Sacred Heart to occupy the walls, they kept
me waiting with my company at the gate for hours without opening it.
When the abbess received the Government order for us to pass, she tore
it in pieces. It was only when we began to knock down the doors with our
axes that she allowed us to enter."
"Such was this one," recommenced Marzio. "I was not in a humor to play;
I wanted Nanna, and a hundred lives such as the one before me would
certainly not have stopped me from carrying out my object. Seizing her
with one hand, clenching my dagger with the other, I was just touching
her throat--not with the point of my dagger, for fear it should slip,
but with a hairpin from her cap--I could easily see that the lady had no
intention to reach martyrdom, as she was already beginning with-
"'For God's sake--'
"'My Nanna,' I cried, 'or I will send you to keep Satan company.'
"'For God's sake let me go!'
"'I released her head. She breathed hard, and passed her hand over her
forehead.
"'You ask for a young girl of a good family, who came from Rome, and who
has been a fortnight in the convent?'
"'I believe her to be the one I seek,' I replied.
"'Then I will lead you to her, on the one condition that you will cause
no scandal in this sacred house.'
"'I desire nothing but to take my wife with me,' I answered.
"When somewhat recovered, she rose from the bed and said, 'Come with
me.' I followed her for some time, and arrived at a dark corridor. We
descended several staircases, and by the light of a taper which I had
lit (I always carried a taper with me), I discovered an iron-barred
door.
"'Poor Nanna,' I thought; 'what crime has the child committed that she
should be thrown in this infernal den?'
"Having reached the bolted door, the abbess drew forth a key, and placed
it in the lock. She turned it, and motioned to me to pull the door
towards me, it being too heavy for her to move. I did what I was
desired, without for a moment losing sight of my guide, whose company
was too interesting for me to lose. On opening the door, I made the
old lady enter first, and then followed. No sooner was I within, than a
young dishevelled woman sprang on my neck, and clung to me desperately.
"'Oh, Marzio!' she exclaimed; and a flood of tears from my Nanna bathed
my face.
"I am too much of a brigand not to take my precautions in an emergency.
Though beyond myself with joy at the recovery of my darling, I
nevertheless did not cease to keep my eyes on the old wretch, who,
without a strict watch, would undoubtedly have escaped us.
"When the first moment of emotion had passed, clasping my treasure by
the hand, I closed the door, and asked if there was another in her cell.
She answered 'No.' The abbess, who had heard my question, said-
"'There is another door, and you had better leave by that, so as not to
meet the sisters, who are doubtless searching for me now.'
"Here a fresh incident arose. Another young girl came forward in haste,
and interrupted the discourse of the abbess. I had seen something moving
in the darkest corner of the prison cell, but pre-occupation and the
circumstances of the moment had prevented my thinking of it. All at
once I perceived a young girl somewhere about the age of my Nanna. She
hastened towards me, saying, with a voice of emotion:--
"'Surely you will not leave me alone in this prison. Oh, sir, I will
follow Nanna through life and to death itself!'
"'Yes, Marzio,' added Nanna, 'for heaven's sake don't let us leave my
unhappy friend in this wretched abode. She was destined by the abbess to
seem my companion, and to act as a spy; but instead of that she has
been an angel of comfort to me. She was charged to sound me, to gain
information about you, to learn all she could of your companions--in
fact, every particular, and then to report all to the abbess.'
"'So then things are carried on thus,' thought I, 'in these laboratories
of falsehood and 'hypocrisy.'
"'She was charged to watch me, threaten me, torment me, in fact, in case
I refused to divulge your hiding-places, your habitual rendezvous,
your projects; but instead of that, she told me every thing, consoled,
protected, reassured me, and said that she would rather die than injure
me, or cause me any trouble.
"'Besides, yesterday, she saved me from the insults and violence of an
infamous prelate, who introduced himself into this cell (no doubt by
the help of that old wretch), and who even offered me bribes if I would
listen to his wicked proposals. She saved me by rushing in and uttering
loud cries.
"'In vain did they promise her liberty if she would induce me to comply
with their wishes, but nothing have they ever been able to obtain.
During the day they compel us to do the vilest work of the cloister, and
at night they shut us up in this unclean den.'
"Tears again flowed on the lovely face of my dear one, while she uttered
these words, and I assure you, captain, that my hand instinctively
touched my dagger, with a wild wish to revenge Nanna's wrongs.
"I don't know how I restrained myself, for I was furious; I could have
annihilated the vile being before me, but it was well I did not, for
without her I should never again have seen the light of heaven. 'Where
is the second door you speak of? whither does it lead?' I demanded.
"'It leads outside the convent,' she replied; 'remove that iron bed
which stands in the corner, and I will show you.'
"I removed it, but saw nothing.
"'Try to stir the bricks where the mortar looks damp.'
"Taking hold of an iron bar from the bedstead, I began to move the
bricks indicated. Finally I discovered a ring in a piece of wood,
which showed the existence of a trap-door. I lifted the trap, and
was surprised to find a staircase below. 'I must arrange the order of
march,' said I to myself, 'and make the old witch the leader.' I then
desired my young companions to follow, and giving one taper with little
ceremony to the abbess, said to her, 'Forward!'
"'This then,' thought I, 'is the secret stair; and how many black deeds
have been committed in these labyrinths? Ah! poor deluded people, who
fancy you are sending your daughters to be educated in asylums of purity
when you place your children in convents!'"