Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta — page 271: what you’re looking at

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

264 7 BEAUTIFUL RIENZL ~ «<The woman before me had been a child’s nurse of re- spectable character apparently, and as such was employed by Mrs. Rienzi to attend her first child; the family were then living in this city, Washington, and it was twenty-two years from the time she was speaking. ‘«“The woman, who was known by the name of Mrs. Car- tier had fallen into bad ways, she said, and her recom- mendations were from some people who only knew the best side of her character; in reality, she belonged toa gang of thieves, and had only entered the house of Mr. Rienzi in order to pilfer what she could. When the baby was a few weeks old, Mr. and Mrs. Rienzi were sent for in haste to see Mrs. Rienzi’s mother, who lived at some distance, and was © dangerously ill. Consequently the child was left in the care of Mrs. Cartier and an ol. faithful housekeeper took charge the house. During the absence of her master and mistress, the nurse made her way into a cabinet and stole a large amount of gold plate and some costly jewels, which she carried off to the haunts of her gang, and the articles were instantly smelted in fear of recognition. ‘This system of robbery went on with impunity for some time, until Mrs. Cartier received a sudden check. “<The baby was about a month old, and an uncommonly healthy, active, lttle creature, when one night, the 3rd of August, the nurse thought she would secure two or three silk dresses which were hanging in Mrs. Rienzi’s wardrobe, in aroom, just adjoining the nursery, as she had found a key whica fitted it. The servants were all in bed, and the baby was quiet in the crib, so Mrs. Cartier hoped to slip ~ out with her bundle, and dispose of it without detection. As she was folding up the dresses in the wardrobe, a shadow came between her and a candle which she left on the nur- sery table, and peering through the crack of the half closed door, she saw, to her horror, a person in the room, bending over the child’s crib. ‘This person was. a very handsome young lady, with a long black cloak reaching from her head to her feet, its black hood framing in a very white face with - large black eyes. This lady presently stood straight up, and the nurse saw that she carried something *in her arms, under her cloak. She gazed fixedly at the wardrobe door, and suddenly made a step toward it. “‘In an ungovernable fit of fear lest she should be caught in the midst of her theft, the nurse darted out by another comicbooks:. co _