Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-07-16

appeared reconciled to her situation; when one
day, her favorite attendant, whom she had
brought with her from Catania, told her, that she
had seen the ghost of her former husband, in the
garden: that it attempted to approach her, but
overcome with terror, she had escaped into the
house. The wretched young baroness. never
entirely convinced of his death, saw at once
through the deceit. that had been practised on
her, and broke into violent exclamations OF
grief remorse and despair. She directed the
maid to watch the garden, and the next time
she saw the appearance, (Which she was con-
vinced was not spirit, but her beloved hus-
band in person,) to speak TO him, and relate now
cruelty she had been beguiled into marriage
with the baron, and to acquaint him that she
would the same night, meet him at her favorite
haunt. the fountain. Next day the woman
AGAIN fell in with him, and on his addressing
her soon found that he was no spectre, but the
living husband of her lady. Having impaired
all her mistress had desired, the young man
said, that hearing of her marriage with Baron
Z, he had felt assured that she had been
made the victim of some artfu misrepresenta-
ton, and that as soon as he had been able to
obtain leave of absence, he had fastened to ST.
oily, to hear the fatal story from her own lips;
prepared, in case he found her union was vo-
luntary, to bury his own claim in oblivion, ra-
Their than destroy her peace, or injure her no.
nor in the eyes of the world, whatever the eff
fort might cost him.
That night the wretched husband and wife
met at the fountain, and gave vent to the poig-
nant anguish with which they were alike pene-
trated. They would willingly have fled to-
gether,i but where would they be safe from the
pursuing resentment for her father and the bar
on2 To avow the marriage, and claim her as
his wife, was equally hopeless and hazardous.
There was no other witness to the marriage,
which had taken place privately in the family
chapel, than her own servant and the priest who
performed the ceremony; whose testimony no
doubt would be overruled, or themselves, if eX-
pedient, put. out of the way. After several
hours spent in fruitless elaboration, they at
at length parted: having resolved, as their on
ly practicable plan, to attempt an escape to TO-
reign country, as they could not hope to be Sc
cure in their own. Night after night the unhap
py couple continued to meet at the Fountain
The baron, aware Of her mental infirmty, and
of her similar excursions before her confine-
ment paid little attention to what he supposed
a return of the maady. In the meantime, the
officer having collected what money he could
command, which, with the lady's jewels, was all
they had to rely on for future subsistence, he
hired a feucca, which was to convey them to
Trieste, whence they proposed making their
singular story known to their family, and effect
ing if possible, a reconciliation with them.
All, for some time, appeared to favor their
felucca and the flight Of the lady approached
But their nightly meetings, carried on with too
little precaution, had attracted the attention of
the domeStics one Of them, the gamekeeper,
to ingratiate himself with bis master, betrayed
the secret of the unhappy couple. Tire baron,
iufuriated at being thus, Us he conceived, disto-
nored, ferociously gave orders to the intorm2r
and an assistant to lie in wait for. and dispatch
the unhappy young man, in the presence Of his
no 1c
cepted the horrible commission, less cruel than
than their master, had the compurction TO for
bear committing the dreadful deed before the
eyes of the lady.
The officer was, as usual the first who came
to the place of meeting The assassns dschar
ged their blunderbuSses at him, a lew PAGES
distant from the Fountain willing that their mis-
tress might at least be spared the terrible shock
OF discovering the body herself But the dying
man, badly wounded as he was, either to Stake
the death thirst, or obtain perhaps last sad
look Of his beloved, contrived to crawl to the
margin of the fountain, and there expired, a
few moments before his wretched wife came to
the spot. When she saw and recognized her
husband needless of discovery, she threw her
self on the bleeding body, pressed it in her arms,
and filled the air with her piercing screams
The murderers, conjecturing the cause OF the
cries, drew near to the spot.
HcH sic Sd" tuCm applooOu Sio ePiooS ups
and endeavored to preoipitate herself into the
water. Prevented in this design by the savage
humanity Of the assassins, she broke from them;
and ran wildly through the grounds, frightfuly
leaving behind her track Of her
husbands blood, which dropped from her night
dress, saturated with the crimson stream
When at length overtaken, and conveyed to the
house, delium followed deliium and when
they ceased, frenzy succeeded; the dark night
of insanity, had utterly quenched the light of
reason. In her lucid intervals, which were few,
and far between, she was heard to pray for the
return of madness, as relief from sufferings
too acute to be endured.
The baron, her husband, never mentioned the
nor suffered it to be alluded to in
the house. The morning after the event he or
dered the corpse to be consigned into the hands
of the police, as that of person killed by his
servants in the superstition that he was robber,
having been found trespassng by night on his
premises.
During the short time the lady lived she re-
turned to her former habit of wandring by night.
The spot stained by the blood of her husband,
was her favourite haunt; there was she accus-
toned TO sit and linger for hours, seeming to