# Azhort, the Axman: The Secrets of the Ducal Palace
A romance set in sixteenth-century Venice by Anthony P. Morris, serialized in this June 1880 issue. The story centers on a clandestine romance between Cladius Alburno, an outlawed nobleman charged with treason, and Adria, a young noblewoman pursued by her disapproving mother, Lady Perci Trienti. Lady Perci has threatened to institutionalize Adria and favors an alternative suitor, Adio Adello.
The narrative follows three gondolas on the Grand Canal at sunset. When Cladius and Adria briefly meet for an embrace, they are observed by Azhort, a fearsome former chief executioner with dwarfed legs but Herculean build. Azhort deduces Cladius's identity and location. Lady Perci, having also detected the meeting, hires Azhort with a purse of gold to sink Cladius's gondola or kill him directly, setting in motion a violent confrontation on the water.
About this artifact
- Date
- June 2, 1880
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by comicbooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.