The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1864-11-18
Volume ll-Nc. 26.


dows. What n thrill of ioy sho
through his soul at the sight 1t wa
n prcciocs link, that united him, 70,
the moment, with the world beyond
There was ccstacy in the thought. .-
AS he gazed, long and earnestly, i
seemed MS if the windows had lowered
sufficiently for him to reach them
With one bound hc was beneath them
with one wild spring he clung TO th,
bars. Whether it was so contrivcd
purposely to madden with delight th,
wrceh who looked, he knew not: but
at the extremity of long vista. Gu
through the solid rocks, the ocean
the sky, the setting sun, olive groves
shady walks, and, in the farthest dis
tancc, delicious glimpscs of magniii
cent Sicily, burst upon his sight
How exquisite was the cool breeze as
it swept across his check, loaded will
fragrance! He Inhaled it rs thouol
il were the breath of continued life
And there was n freshness in the land
scape, and in the ripping of the calm
green sea, that fell upon his witherinn
heart like dew upon the parched
earth. How he gazed, and painted,
and still clung TO his holdl Some.
times hanging by one hand, some.
times the other, and then graspinc
the bars with both, rs 10th to quit
the smiling paradise outst, etched be
fore him; all exhausted, and his hands
swollen and benumbed, he dropped
helpless down, and lay stunned for
II considerable time by the fall.
When he recovered, the glorious
vision had vanished. lie was in
darkness. lie doubted whether il
was not II dream that had passed be-
fore his sleeping fancy; but gradually
his scattered thoughts returned, and
with tncn came rvuCiuUrunCUs. Ir>:
H. L"1 looi-o1 a..ee ~l,oi" On ui,,
gorgeous splCndor of nature! Once
again his eyes had trcmhlcd beneath
their vcicd lids, ut the suns radience,
and sought reposc in the soft vcrdure
{ the olive tree or the gentle swell
of undulating waves. Oh, that he
were mariner, exposed upon those
waves TO the worst fury of storm and
temptest; or Il very wretch, loathsomC
with disease, plague stricken, and his
body one lcprous conta2ion from
crown to sole, hunted forth to gasp
out the remnant of infectious life be.
meath those vcrdant trees, SO he nigh
shun the destiny upon whose edge he
tottercd!
Vain thoughts like these would
steal over his mind from time to time
in spite of hims III; but they scarcely
moved from that stupor into which il
had sunk, and which kept him, du
ring the whole night, like one whc
had been drupged with opium. III
was equally insensible to the calls o
hunger and of thirst, though the thirC
day was now commencing since cvel
a drop Of water had passed his lips
He remained on the ground, some
times sitting, sometimes lying; Mt in
tervals, sleeping heavily; and whcl
not sleeping, silently brooding ovel
what was TO come, or talking aloud
in disordered speech, of his wrongs
of his friends, of his hone, and o
those he loved, with confused min
Cling of all.
In this pitiablc condition, the siXtl
and last morning dawned upon vi
vcnzio, if dawned it might be called
the dim, obscure light which family
struggled through tho one solitary
window Of his dungeon. He coulC
hardly be said to notice the melan
choly token. And yet he did notice
it; for as he raised his eyes and eav
the portentous sign, there was n light
convulsivc distortion OF his counte
nance. But what did attract his no
ticc, and at the sight of which his
agitation was excessive, was The
change his iron bed had undergone
1t was n bed no longer. 1t stood be
fore him, the visible semblance of 6
funeral bier! When he beheld this
he started from the ground; and, il
raising himself, suddenly struck his
head against the roof, which was nov
so low that he could no longer stan(
upright Goods will he donel' wat
all he said, as he crouched his body
and placed his hands upon the bier
for such it was. The iron bedsteaC
had been so contrived, by the me
ch,nical art Of Ludocico Storza, tia
as the advancing walls came in con
uaOO ,i.l. - i,--. , .,,l foof - i,uas~i,,.
was produced upon concealed springs
which, when made to play, set in mo
ton n very simple though ingenionslN
contrivcd machinery, that effected thI
transformation. The object was, O
course, to highten, in the closin:
scene of this horrible drama, all th
feelings of despair and anguish, whicl
the preceding ones had aroused. Fo
the same reason the last window wa
so made as to admit only a shadow.
kind of gloom rather than light, tina
the wretchcd captive might be sur
rounded, as il were, with every seem
ling preparation for approaching
death.
i Vivenzio seated himself on his biel
Then he knelt and prayed ierventll
and sometimes tears would gush fror
him. The air seemed thick, and h
breathcd with difficulty; or IL migl
be that he fancied it was so, from tn
hot and narrow limits Of his dungeon
which were now so diminished tbs
/, he could neither stand up nor Ii
/, down at his full length. But h