The Shasta courier., 1866-09-29

ner quickly. The window of Angolanti's
~ oer opened upon o balcony. which
commanded the front entrance. He heard
.ne hhock and the pleading cry, and FASTENED
u the balcony. Ginevra looked nm and
Gai'ea 10 him with feeble, imploring voice.
ne recognized the grave-shrouded form. the
"nite lace, the plaintive tones, and was
se'zeu with frantic alarm, for he believed
limseif visited by the ghost of his buried
",,e. Making the sign of the cross repeat
eu'y, ana with great rapidity and vehemence
ne Dade her depart and leave him in neace
promising that abundant masses should be
sald Tor the rest of her soul. Gineyra. in
an agonized voice replied that she lived
ana entreated to be admitted. Her hns.
band, more terrified than ever. rushed into
ms chamber, closed the window. spranp into
bed, and covering his head with tie clothes.
TO shut out the terrible sound of that low
plteons plant, recited his prayers until all
was silent again.
Inc hapless Ginevra rose from the ground
with difficulty, and with totterins stems
dragged herself to the door of her fathers
house. Again she knocked aud prayed to be
allowed to come in but when her summons
reused the domestics, and her father himself.
she was again mistaken for an apparation,
the door was closed upon her, and her father
ana his servants retreated in alarm.
Glnevra lay upon the cold steps almost
lnsensible, and in despair All who saw her
fled, terror-stricken, from her presence
She had returned from the grave, and no one
would grant her earthly shelter.
NO oneE Was there not one who would
never bid her depart, even should he imag
that she had come to him as a spirit p
With that thought she once more struggled
to her feet, and made her toilsome wav
through the deserted street to the house
where dwelt Antonio Rondinelli.
Antonio still loved her with unabated
ardor. and had taken VOW to be constant
to her memory, and never to marry. The
tldngs of her death had reached him, and
he had not sought his couch that night
He was sitting weeping, and thinking of
his doubly lost Ginevra.
Her strength was now so far exhausted
that she could only knock very feebly; but
Antonio heard the sound, and passing out
into his balcony, saw the grave clad figure,
and the upturned, colorless face of Ginevra
She family murmured his name. He, too,
believed it was spirit-but it was the
spirit of his beloved, and the sight and sound
filled him with transport
Rapidly and joyfully he descended, and
threw open the entrance door, and stopped
to raise the cold, shrouded form that lay
PROSTATE at his feet. What painter, what
poet could picture his amazement and ecsta
cy? Ginevra lived, and was restored to him!
He summoned his mother, with whom he
resided. and assembled his family to rejoice
with him, and to listen to Ginevra's tale.-
Then Antonio bound them all by an oath to
silence, and sent faithful servant 20 replace
the stone upon the opening of the vault, and
to remove every traceof the fugitive's foot.
steps.
Meantime the exhausted Ginevra, now,
indeed. almost dying from the neglect and
hardshlps she had endured, was laid in
warm bed, and tenderlv ministered to by
the mother of Antonio. For four days
Ginevra's life seemed like tlickering candle
which single breath might extinguish.-
On the fifth day she gradually revived, and
before long was able to rise and converse.
She then pondered deeply and sadly upon
the honorable course that was left to her,
and with gentle frmness announced to An
tonic, that, as she could never return to her
brutal husband for protection, she felt her
self compelled to enter convent.
Antonio, hurled from his sudden happi-
ness into an abyss of despair, implored her
to revoke this cruel decision-cruel not to
him only, but to herself He brought for
ward manifold arguments to convince her
that the tie which bound her to Agoanti
was dissolved by death and burial which
all the world believed to be real, and entreat-
ed her to become the wife of one who had
never loved but her, and had claimed her for
his own before ste was sold to Agolanti. -
His mother and family Joined their prayers
to his, and Gineyra listening to them, and to
the pleadings of her own heart, slowly con-
sented.
Iti recorded that Antonio and Gnevra
were privately united by the public notary.
who was bound to secrecy.
Meantime all FLORENCE was listening to de-
scriptions of the ghost of Ginevra, which so
many persons had beheld passing through
the streets, and which her husband testified
had appeared to him. and her father made
known had also visited his door, The two
families ordered bountiful number of mass
es to be said for the repose of the unquiet
spirit.
Agolanti now offered the jewels and war.l.
robe of Ginevra for sale. His great wealth
did not prevent his evincing this lack of
reverence for her memory, impelled by a
sordid love of gain. Rondinelli, as soon as
he heard of the proposed barter, hastened to
the residence of Agolanti, aud purchased
every article his newly. made wife had pos
sessed, paying the most extravagant prices,
to prevent the smallest object which had
been consecrated by her use from passing in
to the hands of strangers.
For some months Ginevra lived in entire
seclusion, her existence unknown to any but
her husbands family and few trustworthy
domestics But neither she nor her husband
we're satisfied with this mode of life. Rondi-
nelli saw no reason why he should not ap
pear before the world as the proud husband
of so fair and beloved wife. Ginevra, too,
detested the constant strategems to which
they were obliged to resort, and resolved to
go forth boldly. In the revivifying atmos
phere of calm happiness and satisfied love-
she had risen out of the passive inertness
which had paralyzed her faculties during the
four miserable years which she had passed
under the roof of Agolanti, and her charac
ter reassumed its genuine traits. Frank
ardent, and confident, hating dissimulation
and having firm faith that the step she hae
taken was fully justified, she exhibited mel
ther fear nor hesitation. and was ready t.
brave the ordeal of public opinion.
Accordingly, one morning, Antonio anc
Ginevra were seen in the streets of Florence
Gineyra was leaning on her husbands arm
his sister accompanied them, and q servant