Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 328: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

~~ ee 320 AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. force, I could no doubt have vanquished the youth in a moment and have broken his own riding-whip as well as my own about his ears. But I forbore from placing myself farther in contact with his plebeian skin ; and ti “ And what, M. Marcellin P” cried the Mar. chioness ; “ for Giulio has not returned—already were we under the most serious apprehensions— But now—but now, they are increased—they are of a different character 2 “Pshaw!” ejaculated Marcellin, with a laugh which at the moment seemed more brutal than merry: “do you suppose { mur——” At that very instant the door burst open, and a footman rushed in, exclaiming, ‘ Oh, my lady ! Giulio is murdered !” “ Murdered ?’’—and as she thus echoed the fear- ful word, a terrific scream burst from Lucrezia di Mirano’s lips. ** Murdered !” repeated Edgar Marcellin, with a sudden start: and becoming pale as death, he sank in the seat from which he had sprung up at the sudden opening of the door. The greatest excitement prevailed in the Mirano mansion. The domestic who had rushed into the room to communicate the awful tidings to the Mar. chioness, was the one who had set out on horseback, in pursuance of her ladyship’s mandates, in order to institute inquiries concerning the absent one. In the ante-room of the apartment into which the man had now burst, a posse of the servants were gathered, having followed him thither. Some of Lucrezia’s maids, perceiving that their mistress was about to faint—or at least fancying such might be the catastrophe—now made their appear- ance; and Lucrezia accompanied them from the apartment. In the ante-room she obtained a bottle of volatile essence, which she applied to her nos- trils ; and this appeared to revive her. She then demanded explanations relative to the frightful in- telligence that had been communicated to her. These were soon given. The domestic who had set out on horseback, had scarcely left the suburbs of Florence behind, when he met a peasant with whom he was acquainted; and stopping to con- verse with the man, he learned something which speedily gave a fearful interest to the discourse. The peasant reported that soon after sunrise, when the mist began to clear off, a dead body had been found by the roadside about three miles from Florence. It was that of a genteel-looking youth in plain clothes; and as there were no papers about his person to identify him, he was conveyed to a neighbouring cottage until the authorities in Flo- tence could be communicated with. He was be- yond the reach of medical aid, having been shot through the heart, so that his death must have proved almost instantaneous. ‘I'he authorities had sent and fetched the body into the city; and thither it had been transported just before Lu- crezia’s domestic learnt all these particulars from the peasant. Dreading from the description that at was the unfortunate Giulio who had thus met an untimely and mysterious death, the domestic turned his horse’s head and proceeded to the dead- house of the hospital, to which the corpse had been removed. There his worst fears were realized : it was indeed the body of Giulio! Such were the explanations which the Mar- chioness di Mirano now received; and they ap- eee Ce peared to produce a most powerful effect upon her. At length, seeming to recover her self-possession, she ordered some of her domestics to hasten and fetch the corpse from the hospital dead-house to her own mansion, so that it might receive suitable burial. Having issued this mandate, she returned into the apartment where she had left Edgar Mar- cellin. Closing the door behind her, she walked straight up to him; and with pale face and rigid features, she said in a deep concentrated voice, * Giulio has been foully murdered !” Edgar Marcellin was sitting at the time with an air of semi-stupefaction in the same seat where he was when the Marchioness left the room: he now started up, exclaiming, “ Yes—unfortunate youth! [I heard the terrific announcement that he was murdered! But my God! you do not-—— No! no! you cannot suspect ye “Edgar Marcellin,” said Lucrezia emphatically, and with even an expression of fierceness in her countenance, “ you stand in a position which is awful to contemplate x “ Signora,” interrupted the young Frenchman, with a look which he suddenly appeared to be seeking to render as calm as possible, “ I am inno- cent of this horrible crime! Good God! I am as incapable of it as you yourself are!” “T hope, M. Marcellin,” said Lucrezia, with an air so severe and cold as fully to imply that she did not believe this averment of innocence, “ that you will be enabled to make all this good in the presence of the magistrate, before whom you will assuredly have to appear. For alas! I regres that you should have told me the tale of your quarrel with my page; it will compel me also to appear— and nothing can be more unpleasant 7 * Good God, Signora!” cried Edgar Marcellin ; “you do not invest my comparatively trumpery quarrel with your page with so tremendous an im- portance ?”” “ You yourself, M. Marcellin, invested it with all that importance,” said Lucrezia; “for you came to me with an excited and troubled man- ner r “Yes—but it was to make complaint that I came!” interjected Edgar, “not dreaming that the unfortunate Giulio had ceased to exist ! What other motive could I have had?” *T much fear,” said the Marchioness, “ that a judge would regard your conduct in this respect to be nothing but a blind—an endeavour to avert suspicion . “Ob, but all this is monstrous!” exclaimed Edgar Marcellin, his cheeks flushing and his eyes flashing. “Now listen to me!” said the Marchioness, speaking in a rapid and excited manner. “It would be most painful for me to be compelled to go forward to repeat the tale which you have told me—it might lead to the exposure of everything in respect to yourself and Ciprina—her reputation would be ruined—mine would suffer, I being her friend and she living with me! All this would be fearful! But still more fearful would it be for you to be consigned to a dungeon—to undergo the ordeal of trial—for whether guilty or innocent this would inevitably be the case——”’ “My God! do you think so?” murmured Edgar, looking horror-stricken. “ Alas! alas! I am sure of it!” rejoined Lu- — Cc J comicbooks ’ om _—