Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

BEAUTIFUL RIENZI. 133 escape! Guiseppe,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, ‘remember Gemma Lancinetto. Could it be she?’ My father started; the arm on which I leaned was with- drawn, and he turned an incredulous, half-amused face on my mother. «¢ Would she defer her revenge for twenty—yes, twenty- two years? No, no, my Maud, she has doubtless forgotten my name long before this time, if she lives.” <¢ Well?” broke in the lawyer’s business-like voice. “Tt is not worth explaining,” said my father, flushing, and looking proudly at my mother. ‘* This foolish wife of ‘mine was recalling a certain lady who intended to have stood in her place at my wedding, but for a reason, failed.” «Perhaps my good friend, Dr. Graves, would like his little patient there to go and he down, and get a nice quiet little nap,” said Mr. Speingle, looking significantly at the doctor. «‘ Let her stay,” said my father, compressing his arm round me, in aclose embrace. ‘I have nothing that I need hide from my little daughter. My wife was merely referring to a lady that I, while a very young man, in Florence, at the School of Arts, got engaged to. She was possessed of both wealth and beauty, but was unsuitable for me; and, there- fore, as soon as I became aware of this, I released her from her engagement, and in the subsequent years of choosing a profession and coming to America, I confess I forgot Sig- norina Lancinetto’s existence. Five years after we parted we met on our wedding day, when I was leading my wife here into the carriage for our tour, and the lady used some very hard expressions against me, which caused Mrs. Rienzi a great deal of alarm for a while, particularly one threat which she made, in very passionate Italian, that ° She would give me cause to remember Gemma Lancinetto to the day of my death.’ In an evil hour I translated the Christian- like promise to my young wife, and cost her many a wake- ful night afterward, but the lady, not being as good as her promise for twenty-two years, I confess I have long ago lost faith in her word.” “Gemma Lancinetto,” said Mr. Speingle, opening his sheet of notes, and scribbling onthe back. “ Describe the lady as she was twenty-two years 490, Mr. Rienzi. This is important testimony.” | “Describe her? Oh, beautiful of course, as an angel!” (e(0) comicbooks