The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-09-22
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When he recovered the glorious Wis
ion had vanished. He was in.darkness.
He doubted whether il was not dream
that had passed before his sleeping fan
y; but gradually his scattered thought.
returned, and with them came rcmem.
DranCo. Yes! he had looked once again
lpon the gorgeous splclidor of nature
)nco again his eyes had trcmblcd be
heath their veilcd lids at the SUMS radi.
lncc, and sought rcposo in the soft YER
dure of the olive tree or the gentle swell
Of undulating waves. Oh, that he were
Il mariner, exposed upon those waves
to the worst fury of storm and tempest.
or Il very wretch, loathsome with dis
case, plague stricken, and his body one
lcprous ContagiOn from crown to sole.
hunted forth to gasp out the remnant Of
infectious life beneath those verdant
trees, so he might shun the destiny upon
whose edge he tottcrcd!
Vain thoughts like these would steal
over his mind from time to time, in
spite of himself; but they scarcely
moved it from that stupor into which
ii had sunk, and which kept him, during
TIE whole night, like one who had been
druggcd with opium. He was equally
insCueihlC TO the calls of hunger and of
thirst, though the third day was now
commencing since even drop of water
had passed his lips. lie remained on
the ground, sometimes sitting, some
times lying; atintervaIs sleeping heav-
lily, and when not sleeping, silently
broOding over what was to come, or
talking aloud, in disordcrcd speech, of
his wrongs, of his friends, of his home,
and of those he loved, with confused
mingling Of all.
In this pitiable condition the sixth
and last morning dawned upon Niven-
2iO, if dawn it might be calIcd-the
dim, obscure light which family strug-
gled through the one solitary wiudow
of his dungeon. He could hardly be
said to notice the melancholy token.
And yet he did notice it; for, rs he raiss
cd his eyes and saw the portcntous
sign, there was Il Slight convul,ivc dis
tOrtion of his countrnuncc. But what
did attract his notice, and at the sight
Of which his agitation was excessive,
was the change the iron bed had under
gomo. II was bed no longer. 1t stood
before Linn the visible scmblauce of II
! funeral couch or bier. When he be-
| held this he started from the ground,
and in raising himself suddenly struck
I his mead against the roof, which was
now so low that he could no longer
stand upright. "God's will be doncn'
was all he said, rs he crOuchCd his body
and placed his hand upon the bier, for
such it was. The iron bcdstcad had
been so ContriVel, by the mechanical
art of l4udovico SiorZa, that, rs the ad-
VancinG walls came in contact with its
head and feet, II pressure was produced
upon concealed springs, which, when
made to play, set in motion very sim
| pie though ingcniously contrived ma
chincry that affected the transformation.
The object was, of course, to hcighten,
| in the closing scene of this horrible
drama, all the feelings of despair and
anguish which the preceding ones had
aroused. For the same reason the last
window was SO made as to admit only Il
shadoWy kind of gloom rather than
! light, that the Wrctched captive might
be surrounded, rs il We're, with every
seeming preparation for approaching
death.
NivenZiO seated himself on his bier.
Then he kncll and prayed fcrvcntly;
and sometimes tears would gush from
him. The air seemed thick, and he
breathed with difficulty; or it might be
that he fancicd that it was so, from the
hot and narrow limits Of his dungeon,
which were now so diminished that he
could neither stand up nor lie down at
his full length. But his wasted spirits
and oppressed mind no longer struggled
with him. lie WAS past hope, and fcal
shook him no more. Happy if thus rc
Vcnge had struck lis final blow; for Ii,
would have fallen beneath it almost un
conscious of pang. But such Il lethar
gy Of the soul, after such an excitement
of its iiercest passions, had entered into
the diabOlical calculations of Tolii; anC
the fell artiticcr of his designs hu,. i'm
agincd counteracting device.
The tolling Of an enormous bell strucl
upon the ears of NivcnziO! He started
1t beat but once. The sound was 5,
close and stunning that it seemed t,
shattcr his very brain, while it echocC
through the rocky passages like reVer
berating pcals of thunder. This was fol
lowed by a sudden crash of the roof an,
walls, rs if they We're about TO fall upol
and close around him at once. Nivcnzi
screamed, and instinctiycly spread fort
his arms, as though he had giant
strength to hold them back. They ha
moved nearer to him, and were nov
, motiOnless. NiVcnZiO looked up, am
saw the roof almost touching his head
, even as he sat Covering beneath it; an,
? he felt thar 4 farther contraction Of bu
a few iusss&only must commence tn
frightiul operation. Reused aphe ha,
s. been, he now gaspod for breath. Hi
! 4odX. shook Violently; he was ncarl.
p bent double. His hands rested upol
s either wall, and his feet were drawn
p under him to avoid the pressure il
| front, Thus he remained for more thai
, an hour, when that doafcning bell bcu
= again, and again there came the cras
| of horid death. But the concussio
was now so great that it struck Vlvcr