Agnes: A Tale of the Streets — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASUE®, he fancied i¢ was better under the circumstances to avoid incurring the imputation of selfishly look. ing after his own interests. In respect to his con- duct a quarter of an hour back in the presence of Father Faleonara, he declared that it was only for the purpose of preventing Lucrezia from irre- deomably compromising herself; and the explana- tion seemed as a matter of course ao natural that did not for a moment suspect how in this yoétance also he had been studying to make his ‘wn interests assort with the probable flow of “venta. ‘ But now there was a wild and passionate out- bur.t.of grief, and lamentation, and entreaty on Lucrezie’s part. What was she to do? what would Ramorino advise? tu what extent could he protect her ? Should she remain there ? or should 158 a countenance whereon all the tortures of a doomed one were depicted, that she implored her husband to save her, or to counsel her how she might save herself if he were no longer able to assist her! Ramorino knew not how to’ reply to the pas- sionate queries she had put to him: or rather we ought to say that he had a negative answer for every one of them, and was completely bewil- dered how to suggest anything in their place. She must not leave his house, because she was watvhed. She must not return to her own home, because such a step would only be precipitating ber arrest. She must not go thither and barricade the doors, becauso the officials of the Minister of the {nterior would break duwn the portals for the purpose of capturing her; or the bailiffs of the ‘lreasury would du the same for the purpose of levying the she return to her own mansiun, barricade the seigure. Ags for Kamorino himself, his own power doors, and defy the officers of justice with the had suddenly appeared to come to an end: the warrants of levy and seizure P Were there no | man at whose beck and word the whole springs of means of averting the storm ? or had the thunder- the Tuscan police could be put in motion, was now cloud gathered so completely and descended sv low _ paralysed by a combination of circumstances which above their heads that it must speedily burst Pi ; he could scarcely have foreseen and against which All these questions were hurriedly put in al-/} he could notstruggle. All was bewilderment, agita- mnost as many seconds only as it has taken us| tion, confusion, ana uucertsinty on the part of minutes to record them. And not only bur- | those two beings who had only been married a few riedly put were those questiuns, but frantically | hours. (rood heavens! what a honeymoon was. and with feverish anxiety—with all the agony of | succeeding that bridal! It waa now close upon poignant suspenso—with a tightening at the heart, | one o’cluck in the mourning; and all idea of retir- e suffocation eat the throat, and fire in the brain! | ing to rest was out of the question. With a And how looked Lucrezia now P—was she the! palatial residence of her owa in that fair city of Same exquisitely beautiful woman as ever? No! Florence—with a villa in the loveliest part of Arnu’s —grief and agony of mind had already in the ; delightful valley—with a chateau in the country— space of a few hours dune much to mar her! and with the right to call her husband’s own re- natural loveliness. ler face was haggard—her | sidence Acr home, Lucrezia nevertheless fas an af features had veritably the careworn appearance | there were no placo where sho might lay her bead ! of whole years stamped upun them! er eyes Ob, how sie wrung her bands! how she anathema- seewed sunken and hollow; ber lipa were asby ' ' tieed the day on “which she had purchased that white; and the half-expused bosom, which was | picture of Lucrezia Borgia which had appeared to wont to swell with the glow of love’s transports, | act as av evil genius that she was inetalling be- was now palpitating wigh the volcanic bell that | neath her ruof! Ob, and how she likewise cursed raged beneath. She could scarcely realize the the hour when sho had fallen in with Ciprina; for horror of her position: she could scarcely fancy | it seemed us if her intimacy with that young lady that it was otherwise than a hideous dream. Yet , , had likowiso tended by a variety of means tu bring her mind was in a terrible state of activity at the time: she remembered a thousand things which were ovly more or less remotely connected with her degradation and her appalling danger. She re- collected, fur instance, how, scarcely a year back, she had smilingly and confidently assured Ciprina how utterly impossible it was that she could ever imitate the criwes of ber prototype in beauty, Lucrezia Borgia; and yet there she was, steeped to the lips ip iniquity, and hovering upon the pre- cipice into which her own tremendous guilt, like a huge phantom from pandemonium, seemed ready to plunge her! Nor less did the wretched woman think how she, sv lately the courted and admired —ehe, the object of so much adoration,—she, who was renowned alike fur her beauty and her wealth, —she, who even in these modern times might have inspired a whole legion of gallant suitors with the chivalrous devotion of past ages,—yes, how eke, the once brilliant Lucrezia, bad now fallen ao very, very low! It was enough to make her dash her head against a wall or seize a weapon for the purpose of committing suicide—or even drop @iown and give up the ghost beneath the weight of such intulerabie calamities! Aud there- fore it was in & voice of :enoing anguish, and with ‘her ill-luck of every description ! Now, from the moment that her husband re- | joined her after lng last interview with Father Falconara, until that when he was presently sum- moned away again, valy a quarter of an hour elapsed; and yet during that quarter of ao hour every anguish and sguny which the mind and the soul could know, were endured by the wretched Lucrezia! We have heard of he hair of afflicted persons turniog grey in a single night; it was a marvel that in the quarter of an hour of which we are speaking, the snows of a sudden old age were | nut shed upon the golden auburn hair of Luoresia ‘As for Kamorino, he would have saved ber if he could. He would have saved her—even though he now knew her to be beggared, because he felt that it was better to remove her, if possible, frou a@ scene where, if she remained, destruction and . shame wore her inevitable portion! And though he had endeavoured to take precautions to preven any of that shame from redounding upon himeelf, yet he could not possibly feel confident that the attempt would be ultimately crowned with succes:. In a word, there were moments wien the Ministey of Pulico—bitherto so culdly calm, s0 emotionless and sv phiegmatie in all his proceedings—felt as,if MICLO@ CO <S) CO