The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-09-08
SAINT PAUL. FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER s. 1865.

~, apu accompanied by her mother; but
SO frequent were the visits of Eeidio. and
so ardent his passion for Catterinella. that
it was impossible for their absence not to
raise his suspicious. One day when they
had left the shop, as they supposed un.b
served, he watched them at distance, and
seeing them enter doorway and ascend a
staircase, he followed. them. The door was
inadvertently left open, and Egidio en-
tered, and, stealing noiselessly into the
spacious studio, hid himself among some
lumber. Unable to control his fierce pas
sions at seeing Oatterinella seated opposite
Raphael, Egidio, drawing his. stletto,
rushed on the painter, who at that very
instant, with his brush poised in the air,
was intently and passionately examining
the Fornarinas features. The women,
h0rrifed at the sudden apparition of
Egidio, his drawn knife and horrid looks,
screamed aloud but Raphael, unarmed as
)he was, rose and faced bis assailant. No
sooner had Egidio recognized Sanzio as the
detested rival whom he was about to mur-
der-Sanzio, whom he regarded as deity,
whom he had heard celebrated as the very
wonder of the world-than he stood trans
fixed, and the stiletto dropped from his
hand. A few inarticulate words of excuse
and prayers for pardon fell from his lips.
Tranquilized by the humane looks of Ra-
phael, who gazed on him with kind of
plying astonishment, he endeavored, in
broken words, to explain the motives
which had induced this murderous con-
duct; he spoke of his love, he concealed
not his jealousy.
Determined at the moment and on the
spot to know his fate, Egidio, deeply agi-
tated, now turned towards the affrighted
Catterinella, who scared by his fierce look
of mingled hate, rage and love, scarcely
dared to raise her head, while, himself
shaking with Unsurpassed passion, he
implored her to be calm. He assured her
that he would not injure her, but he con-
jured her, by all she held most sacred, to
tell him if she really loved him. Catteri-
nella, inspired by the passionate excite
ment of the moment about to decide her
fate, trembled no more. She forgot her
fears of Egidio, his cruelty and his jeal-
ousy; she forgot all save Raphael-the
sun under whose rays she had expanded
into new and delicious life fe-Raphael.
the god of her idolitry, who stood pale and
speechless before her. Raising her eyes
to his face, she gave utterance to the love
she had long secretly cherished in her
heart, and tremblingly confessed in falter-
ing accents that he was dear to her beyond
all other mortals.
Egidi0 was struck dumb when he heard
his fate pronounced by the lips of her he
loved. Seizing his knife, which had laid
on the floor, he rushed from the studio.
Relieved from the facination of Raphal's
countenance and majestic presence, Egidio,
clasping his weapon in bis hand, resolved
to return and murder him; but when he
remembered the words of Catterinella-
when he recalled those passionate words in
which she had confessed her love-his
resolution again changed. "Why kill
him, when she loves me nots" exclaimed
be. Honor and dispair strove in the breast
Of the savage soldier; love, hope, life-all
bad passed into the possession of another,
and that other man so god-like, that he
could scarcely, even in the wild parox-
ysms of his jealousy wonder at the prefer
ence. His violent nature could not endure
the tortures Of his soul, and in utter de-
spair, he plunged into his own breast the
weapon he had raised against Sanzo.-
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