Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

48 AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. is that you do deal in poisons: and I will there- fore at once ask you whether you have not very recently disposed of some to a certain noble lady who lives in grand style at no great distance hence P” While thus speaking, Ciprina opened her purse and drew forth several pieces of gold, as a hint that if the dame treated her with candour she would be well rewarded. “Tell me who you are,” said the woman; “for I begin to suspect or rather I will proclaim it atonce! You are the Signora Ciprina—and you live at the Mirano mansion !” “Though a humble individual,” replied the young lady, with a smile, “I am yet known to several persons—and why not to La Dolfina amongst them? It requires no witch os “T take heaven to witness,” exclaimed the woman, “that I did not know you until the moment when I proclaimed my suspicion and then affirmed it as a certainty.” “You might have seen that I was more or less indifferent as to whether you recognised me or not,’” answered Ciprina, “even on the first occasion when I visited you; for I raised my veil then as I have done now. But supposing what you state to be true, how came you to suspect all of a sudden, and without any hint from my lips, that I am the Signora Ciprina P” “ Because I have for some time known that a young lady of exceeding beauty, and belonging to some foreign country, is living with the Mar- chioness of Mirano. ow are of exceeding beauty —you have dark hair and eyes; and thus far you correspond with the description that in mere con- versational moments has on occasions met my ears in reference to the Signora Ciprina. Then again, you belong to some foreign country—for you speak the Italian tongue with an accent, though with a delicious melodiousness of voice.” “* Nay—but all these circumstances,” said Ci- prina, again smiling with sly significancy, “are much tvo vague and indefinite to convince you so suddenly that I am the very identical Ciprina of whom you have heard speak. Now, my good woman, leé us understand each other,” she con- tinued, at once becoming serious. “It was be- cause I inquired in reference to the proceedings of a certain noble lady whom you at once knew to be the Marchioness di Mirano that I meant,—it was on this account, I say, that you were struck with the suspicion that I might be that lady’s friend ; and then the other little circumstances you have mextioned—the good looks, the black eyes and hair, ard the foreign accent—served as ccrroboratives of the idea. Is it not so?” La Dolfina looked at the young lady for a few moments ; and then with a laugh she said, “ You are more shrewd and cunning than I could pos- sibly have suspected. Well, my dear signora, we are going to deal candidly with each other ; and I will admit the truth. Yes—you are right: the éuspicion was engendered in my mind in the way you have mentioned.” “And I am right also,” said Ciprina, placing ten pieces of gold in the wise-woman’s hand, “in the belief that you have sold poison to the Mar- ehioness of MiranoP” “Ts the secret to remain between you and me ?” asked La Dolfina. _ “ Yes: and the best proof is that I owe you the deepest debt of gratitude,” rejoined the young lady ;. “ for if it had not been for your antidote, I should be a stiff cold corpse now !” “ And if it had not been,” rejoined La Dolfina, “that I suspected you had by some means or an other found it needful to use the} antidote, by the fact of your asking for a second phial, I should not have suffered myself to be drawn into these revealings. And so it was for you, beauteous creature,” continued the woman, gazing with a look of sympathy on Ciprina, “that the poison was bought ?” “Yes—it was for me. But tell me frankly, had you any particular motive in recommending me the other night to purchase your antidote P” ““Yes—three distinct motives,” answered La Dolfina. ‘“ First, that I might make you as good a customer as possible: second, because it is my invariable habit to recommend antidotes against poison, so that in case I should at any time become involved in entanglements with the police, I may secure to myself a repute quite con- trary to that of a poison-vender; and third, be- cause there was something about you which in- spired me with a real interest, so that I was anxious to render you a service, if possible—for I surmised, from the adventure of the wounded young gentleman, that you were at least entering, if not already plunging deep into the gallantries of this city—and I knew that in this case, the greater the number of defensive weapons with which you were armed, the better it would be for you.” BS There was something in the woman’s look which made Ciprina think she was speaking with sincerity when she thus proclaimed a sympathetic feeling on her behalf; but as she was not com- pletely sure, she mace no remark on the point. “It seems to me singular,” said the young lady, “that the Marchioness of Mirano should have taken such little precaution in purchasing the poison of you, as to suffer you to know who she was.” “ Ah, there you are wrong, signora!” returned La Dolfina: “her ladyship’s proceeding was not deficient in precaution. She strove all she could to conceal herself from my recognition: she re- tained a veil thickly folded over her countenance— and I asked her not to move it. Nor did I recog- nise her at the time. But I caused her to be followed: she was traced back to the Mirano mansion—and then, by her stature, by her gait, and by a curl of golden auburn hair which had escaped from beneath the veil while she was in my presence, I felt assured she could be none other than Lucrezia di Mirano herself.” “And why did you cause her to be followed ?” asked Ciprina, “Since we are engaged in mutual dealings of frankness,’ rejoined the wise-woman, “I will answer your question. It is my business to know everything—or at least to seem to know every- thing. But how could this knowledge be acquired unless by a variety of artifices and manceuvres P. Half the ladies in Florence have been.to me at, different times for various purposes ; and they all flatter themselves that 1am in ignorance of the personal identities of those who thus visit me. But they are mistaken.” COMMCOOOKSn»CEO) S|