Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta — page 99: what you’re looking at

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

92 BEAUTIFUL RIENZL heard from her own lips, this blessed assurance to set our hearts at rest—she was innocent. Not that we required such an assertion from her, but per- haps when she was stronger, she might tell us sufficient to save her from the misguided grasp of the law. I went down to my father, who was anxiously waiting the issue of my news, and told him all that had transpired. CHAPTER XII. TWO MESSENGERS AT THE DOOR, ** Softly! she is lying With her lips apart; Gently! she is dying Of a broken heart.”—Anon. I was sitting alone in my father’s room, anxiously waiting his appearance. At this moment he was with my sister, venturing to probe her memory gently ; and I, chafing and trembling, misdoubted the result more and more as the minutes flew by. It was almost an hour before he returned to me, and I saw by his face that he had failed. ‘‘T have no influence with her,” he sighed, throwing him- self upon a sofa in an attitude of deep dejection; ‘‘ she re- coils from the subject, and from us all, J think. And, un- fortunately, I have thrown her into a state of dangerous ex- citement.” : ‘Shall I go to her?” I exclaimed, rising. ‘© No; she does not wish to see you; she told me to send her up Sophie, and not to allow Iva to go—she wished rest. To prefer a servant to you, her little sister, who should share each thought of her breast! It hurts me, little Iva, for ° you've been faithful to her. “<T don’t feel it, father,” I said, with would-be calmness. ““You know she is sick, and has strange fancies.” “Oh, my girls!” he burst out, laying his quivering hand on my shoulder, ‘‘ you whom | have encircled in one arm, and covered with my handkerchief when you were little birdlings together; what tears you so wide apart now? And e think—to think that she could cry scorn on her father’s ove, | (E(0) Gomicbooks m