Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-12-20
NUMBER 80.


: my heart hardened within me, and my life
was filled with loathing Day and night
land and sea, labor and rest, food and sleep
were alike hateful to me- 1t was the curse
of Cain, and that my brother had pardoned
me made it lie none the lighter. Peace on
earth was for me no more, and goodwill
towards men was dead in my heart forever.
Remorse softens some natures but it pois-
oned mine | hated all mankind but above
all mankind | hated the woman who had
come between us two, and ruined both our
lives.
He had hidden me seek her out, and be
the messenger of his forgiveness. | had
sooner have gone down to the port of Genoa
and taken upon me the serge cap and shot
ted chain of any galley-slave at his toll in
the public works but, for all that, | did
my best to obey him. | went back, alone
and on foot. went back, intending to say
TO her, "Gianetta Coneglia, he forgave your !;
but God never will" But she was gone
The little shop was let to fresh occupant ;
and the neighbors only knew that mother
and daughter had left the place quite sud-
denly, and that Gianetta was supposed to
be under the "protection" of the Marchese
Loredano. How | made inquiries here and
there,--how I heard that they had gone to
Naples how, being restless and reck-
less OF my time, | worked my passage in
French steamer, and followed her,-how,
having found the sumptuous villa that was
now hers, learned that she had left there
some ten days and gone to Paris, where the
Marchese was ambassador for the Two Sic
lilies, how, working my passage back again
to Marsellles, and thence, in part by the
river and in part by the rail, made my
way to Paris, how, day after day paced
the streets and the parks, watched at the
AMBASSADORS gates, followed his carriage,
and, at last, after weeks of waiting, discov-
cred her address,--how, having written to
request an interview, her servants spurned
me from her door and flung my letter IN my
face, how, looking up at her windows, |
| then, instead of forgiving, solemnly cursed
her with the bitterest curses my tongue
could devise, land how, this done, | shook
the dust of Paris from my feet, and became
wanderer upon the face of the earth, are
facts which | have now no space to tell
The next six or eight years of my life
were shifting and unsettled enough. A
morose and restless man, took employ
ment here and there,as opportunity offered,
turning my hand to many things, and caring
little what | earned, so long as the work
was hard and the change incessant First
of all, | engaged myself as chief engineer
In one of the French steamers plying be-
tween Marseilles and Constantinople. At
Constantinople | changed to one of the Aus
trian Lloyd's boats, and worked for some
time to and from Alexandria, J afa, and those
parts. After that, fell in with party of
Mr.. Layard's men at Cairo, and so went up
the Nile and took turn at the excavations
of the mound Of Nimrod. Then became
working engineer on the new desert line
between Alexandria and Suez and by and
by worked my passage out to Bombay and
took service as an engine-fitter on one of
the great Indian railways l stayed long
time in India that is to say,I stayed near
ly two years. which was long time for me
and l might not even have left so soon, but
for the war that was declared just then with
Russia. That tempted me. For | loved
danger and hardship as other men love safe
ty and ease and as for my life, had soon.
er have parted from it than kept it,any day
so came straight back to England be-
took myself to Portsmouth, where nv testi-
monials at once procured me the sort of
berth wanted. went out to the Crimea
IN the engine-room of one of her Maiesty's
war steamers.
l served with the fleet, of course, while
the war lasted, and when it was over, went
wandering of again, rejoicing in my liber-
ty This time | went to Canada, and, after
working on a railway then in progress near
the American frontier, l presently passed
over into the States F.; journeyed from north
to south; crossed the Rocky Mountains
tried month or two of life in the gold coun-
try and then, being seized with sudden
aching, unaccountable longing to revisit
that solitary grave so far away on the Ital-
ian coast, turned my face once more to-
wards Europe.
Poor little grave found it rank with
weeds, the cross half shattered, the inscrip-
tion half effaced. 1t was as if no one had
loved him or remembered him. | went
back to the house in which we had lodged
| together. The same people were still liv-
ing there, and made me kindly welcome
| stayed with them for some weeks. |
weeded, and planted and trimmed the
grave with my own hands, and set up
fresh cross in pure white marble 1t was
the first season of rest that | had known
since | laid him there and when at last T
shouldered my knapsack and set forth
again to battle with the world, | promised
myself that, God willing, l would creep
back to Rocca, when my days drew near to
ending, and be buried by his side
From hence, being perhaps, little less
inclined than formerly for very distant
parts, and willing to keep within reach of
that grave, | went no farther than Mantau,
where engaged myself as an engine-driv-
er on the line, then not long completed, be-
tween that city and Venice. Somehow, al
though had been trained to the working
engineering, l preferred in these days to
earn my bread by driving l liked the ex-
citement of it the sense of power, the rush
of the air, the roar of the fire, the fitting
of the landscape. Above all, l enjoyed to
drive a night express. The worse the
weather, the better it suited with my sui
len temper. For was as hard, and hard
er than ever The years had done nothing
to soften me. They had only confirmed all
that was blacklist and bitterest in my heart.
| continued pretty faithful to the Mantua