Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta — page 270: what you’re looking at

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

BEAUTIFUL RIENZI. 263 And this was the letter of Isolina’s enemy: “Mrs. LinpHuRst:—I should not presume to address you ~ if it were not with the hope of rendering tardy restitution. How hard [ have been—what wreng I haye done those whom you loved, no one has known but Heayen and myself. Ido not write to plead forgiveness. When you read what I have got to say you will spurn me almost from your standard of womanhood—but if even at this late hour I can do you jus- tice, I will carry a less remorseful heart in my bosom. Read, then, and judge of my merciless cruelty. ‘“< It is more than two years since you lost your sister. I knew of your calamity, and had in my possession then facts which might have saved you all the anguish which has come upon you since, but in the wicked fury which I felt against Isolina Rienzi, [ resolved to avenge myself by keeping silence. ‘‘When the trial was over I returned home to Washington, filled with rage and disappointment that it had not suc- ceeded. For some time I resolved in vain a scheme by which to punish Isolina for her unavoidable share in caus- ing Beaumont to desert me. | “About a fortnight after my return an old woman in gipsy costume came to the door one day and craved to see me. I went at first to order her off the door step as she re- fused to go for the servants, but Isoon found that she had something of importance to communicate, and only feigned to be achiromancer. So I conveyed her to my private cham- ber and drank in eagerly all she had to say. “She said that she knew something that Mr. Rienzi, whose daughter was acquitted of murder, ought to know, but she was afraid to go to him in case he might take her up for something she took away long ago. I was an ac- quaintance of the family; had been Miss Isolina’s closest friend, she heard; would I write down what she was going to divulge and send it to Guiseppe Rienzi? She had tray- eled a long way, forty miles and more, on her old tottering, feet, to tell me this for the love of justice, and to keep, harm from being done. Would I see that Mr. Rienzi wasn’t, cheated out of his own? ~ €T soothed her fears and said I was ready to listen to all she could tell me, as indeed I was, but only from motives of the darkest vengeance—if I could get Isolina Rienzi in my power I was happy. ‘This is the story asI dashec it down. comicbooks (e(0)