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, 265 door into the corridor, and sped into her own room, which also opened into the hall and nur sery. She had no doubt that the visitor was some relative of the family who had arrived late, and came straight to the nursery to see the baby; and in the hope that the garments half folded up on the wardrobe floor might escape the lady’s eyes, she flung herself upon her bed, determined to feign sleep should she be called. ‘“Scarcely had she placed her head upon the pillow than she became conscious of a very strong odor, which at once attacked her senses with benumbing effect. With great pres- ence of mind she tore the pillow from beneath her head and dropped it between her bed and the wall, with a thrilling realization of some foul play being attempted, and lay in- tently listening for sounds. In a few minutes the nursery door of her room was softly opened, and the lady came in with the shaded candle in her hand. The nurse’s back was to the front of the bed, and she simulated a heavy slumber, to which the lady listened for some time, then glided out with a scarcely perceptible langh, muttering some strange foreign words. “‘Assoon as she was gone, the nurse sprang up in af- fected fright, and ran into the nursery, hoping to confront her. But she was gone, and the baby was wailing in its crib in a very unusual manner. She knelt down to hush it, and found to her astonishment that the child which she had left a few minutes before perfectly healthy, was cold as ice, and so dwindled and small that she did not recognize her. At the same momentshe heard the well-known scream of Baby Isolina away down in the lower hall, ascream which was not repeated. Instantly divining that the babe had been stolen and another had been put in its place, she snatched the wailing infant up, wrapped ashawl around her shonlders, and ran steadily down into the street, de- termined to recover her charge, lest she should be blamed for its abduction; and in the investigation which would be made, she knew sufficient would be brought up against her to condemn her to penal servitude. ‘¢ Filled with this idea she ran rapidly after the lady, who was far down the street and as she ran, concocted a scheme for recovering the child without implicating herself if pos- sible. She hoped to overtake the lady, and threaten to summon a constable if she did not exchange the child- CORNUCG OOO S (©)