and what is the motive
of your inexplicable conduct?" "You shall hear," he replied, frowning gloomily. "Step aside, and let us
get within the shade of these arches, out of the reach of yonder
listeners. The tale I have to tell is for your ears alone." I obeyed him; and we stood beneath the shadow of the aqueduct. "Years ago," began the old man, "an Englishman, in all respects
resembling yourself, equally well favoured in person, and equally young,
came to Rome, and took up his abode within the eternal city. He was of
high rank in his own country, and was treated with the distinction due
to his exalted station here. At that time I dwelt with the Marchese
di ----. I was his confidential servant--his adviser--his friend. I had
lived with his father--carried him as an infant--sported with him as a
boy--loved and served him as a man. Loved him, I say; for, despite his
treatment of me, I loved him then as much as I abhor him now. Well,
signor, to my story. If his youth had been profligate, his manhood was
not less depraved; it was devoted to cold, calculating libertinism. Soon
after he succeeded to the estates and title of his father, he married. That he loved his bride, I can scarcely believe; for, though he was
wildly jealous of her, he was himself unfaithful, and she knew it. In
Italy, revenge, in such cases, is easily within a woman's power; and,
for aught I know, the marchesa might have meditated retaliation. My
lord, however, took the alarm, and thought fit to retire to his villa
without the city, and for a time remained secluded within its walls. It
was at this crisis that the Englishman I have before mentioned arrived
in Rome. My lady, who mingled little with the gaieties of the city, had
not beheld him; but she could not have been unacquainted with him by
report, as every tongue was loud in his praises. A rumour of his
successes with other dames had reached my lord; nay, I have reason to
believe that he had been thwarted by the handsome Englishman in some
other quarter, and he sedulously prevented their meeting. An interview,
however, _did_ take place between them, and in an unexpected manner. It
was the custom then, as now, upon particular occasions, to drive, during
the heats of summer, within the Piazza Navona, which is flooded with
water. One evening the marchesa drove thither: she was unattended,
except by myself. Our carriage happened to be stationed near that of the
young Englishman." "The marchesa was beautiful, no doubt?" I said, interrupting him. "Most beautiful!" he replied; "and so your countryman seemed to think,
for he was lost in admiration of her. I am not much versed in the
language of the eyes, but his were too eloquent and expressive not to be
understood. I watched my mistress narrowly. It was evident from her
glowing cheek, though her eyes were cast down, that she was not
insensible to his regards. She turned to play with her dog, a lovely
little greyhound, which was in the carriage beside her, and patted it
carelessly with the glove which she held in her hand. The animal
snatched the glove from her grasp, and, as he bounded backwards, fell
over the carriage side. My lady uttered a scream at the sight, and I was
preparing to extricate the struggling dog, when the Englishman plunged
into the water. In an instant he had restored her favourite to the
marchesa, and received her warmest acknowledgments. From that moment an
intimacy commenced, which was destined to produce the most fatal
consequences to both parties." "Did you betray them?" I asked, somewhat impatiently. "I was then the blind tool of the marchese. I did so," replied the old
man. "I told him all particulars of the interview. He heard me in
silence, but grew ashy pale with suppressed rage. Bidding me redouble my
vigilance, he left me. My lady was now scarcely ever out of my sight;
when one evening, a few days after what had occurred, she walked forth
alone upon the garden-terrace of the villa. Her guitar was in her hand,
and her favourite dog by her side. I was at a little distance, but
wholly unperceived. She struck a few plaintive chords upon her
instrument, and then, resting her chin upon her white and rounded arm,
seemed lost in tender reverie. Would you had seen her, signor, as I
beheld her then, or as one other beheld her! you would acknowledge that
you had never met with her equal in beauty. Her raven hair fell in thick
tresses over shoulders of dazzling whiteness and the most perfect
proportion. Her deep dark eyes were thrown languidly on the ground, and
her radiant features were charged with an expression of profound and
pensive passion. "In this musing attitude she continued for some minutes, when she was
aroused by the gambols of her dog, who bore in his mouth a glove which
he had found. As she took it from him, a letter dropped upon the floor. Had a serpent glided from its folds, it could not have startled her
more. She gazed upon the paper, offended, but irresolute. Yes, she was
_irresolute_; and you may conjecture the rest. She paused, and by that
pause was lost. With a shrinking grasp she stooped to raise the letter. Her cheeks, which had grown deathly pale, again kindled with blushes as
she perused it. She hesitated--cast a bewildering look towards the
mansion--placed the note within her bosom--and plunged into the
orange-bower." "Her lover awaited her there?" "He did. I saw them meet. I heard his frenzied words--his passionate
entreaties. He urged her to fly--she resisted. He grew more urgent--more
impassioned. She uttered a faint cry, and I stood before them. The
Englishman's hand was at my throat, and his sword at my breast, with the
swiftness of thought; and but for the screams of my mistress, that
instant must have been my last. At her desire he relinquished his hold
of me; but her cries had reached other ears, and the marchese arrived to
avenge his injured honour. He paused not to inquire the nature of the
offence, but, sword in hand, assailed the Englishman, bidding me remove
his lady. The clash of their steel was drowned by her shrieks as I bore
her away; but I knew the strife was desperate. Before I gained the house
my lady had fainted; and committing her to the charge of other
attendants, I returned to the terrace. I met my master slowly walking
homewards. His sword was gone--his brow was bent--he shunned my sight. I
knew what had happened, and did not approach him. He sought his wife. What passed in that interview was never disclosed, but it may be guessed
at from its result. That night the marchesa left her husband's
halls--never to return. Next morn I visited the terrace where she had
received the token. The glove was still upon the ground. I picked it up
and carried it to the marchese, detailing the whole occurrence to him. He took it, and vowed as he took it that his vengeance should never rest
satisfied till that glove had been steeped in her blood." "And he kept his vow?" I asked, shuddering. "Many months elapsed ere its accomplishment.