Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-05-22

about as wei as his tied hands would ALLOW him
until ne found stone bench, on which he
dropped, completely unnamed by the novelty
and the horror of his position.
He had heard Of prisoners being kept In
the state prisons for months, even for years.
without light, with just enough OF the coarsest
food to keep them alive, and without the shadow
OF Judgment. Others had been tried and
executed within these dark walls, and their
Was he too, going to disappear without strug-
gle from this world. Was his body going to be
dropped into the Canal grande?' Or was he
to linger in his cell until his youth, his strength
only wreck OF his former self as warning
TO others? There are many In Venice, poor
shattered beings, heart broken, half-crazed,
Stunned by everybody, who had once been the
an anonymous note dropped Into the Lions
mouth had caused their arrest, and their trialess
detention In the undergraduate rather under.
water-prisOns of the Serenissima
But then, who could have Denounced him.
Who could have an interest In destroying hin,
into his coWardly fashion? All the neonle he
S Snew were ABOVE suspicion; and yet even the
nsnman kings messenger without some good
reason. In that dreadful silence broken only
py Inc quiet splashing of the water on the stone
was particularly vivid, and recalled to his mind
All tne Incidents OF his stay. At last he rernem-
peIeu tnose lew not foolish words he had used
that very nlght; they, and hey alone, could be
IL, w.
ever, brought no relief; 1t exaggerated only his
fears and his dependency, since he well knew
what awful punfshments were inflicted on those
the Government"
Having settled the cause of his arrest, he grad.
ually fell into dull, drowSy state of haif-un-
Consciousness, staring blindiy In the darkness,
listening yacantly in the vain hope of catching
some sound, however faint, of that outside
world he had so recently left. The silence was
as complete as the darkness that surrounded
writ hnytf ,,-{,,
change Now and then mufIled sound reached
hlS ears. Was 1t a footstep In the PASSAGES
Was IL wave little higher than the Others?
was 1t only the plafnttve cry of the seamen9
OR was it the dying gasp of a felloW-prisoner3
He could not tell. After a very long time of
which he could not even guess the length he
dSistlhctly heard noise as Of bolts and Keys at
MS prison door; suddenly it opened, and a food
Oh nght Illuminated every corner of his dismal
CELL DaZZled at first by the glare of the torches
ne could not see the men by whom they were
carried; out gradually, as his eyes grew accus-
toned to the light, he saw they were ali armed
all masked and all dressed In black In The
meantime his hands had been released of their
letters, and his guards had quietly sllrroundad
him. Without a word, without a SOUND, theV
led him On In their midst. Through dark halls
and narrow StaircaSes, through crooked plS,
sageS ana low Deetling doors they marched AZ
nolseles5iy as group Of ghosts surrounding a
mortal man.
At last their goal is reached; a door is flung
open, and Sir John is ushered into spacious
!oolll. AZ one emu Oh raised PLATFORM sit ten
Judges, all masked, all draped in large black
cloaks By their sides. but a little lower down.
are the Scr1beS OF this silent tribunal Judges
ana scr1oeS as motionless as II they had been
statues, and not human beings. The first
gllmpSes of dawn struggling through the painted
windows, powerless as yet TO supersede the wax
Candles gave to the whole scene the most weird
aspeet. OUTSIDE, an was sleeping; and no sound
reached the inmates OF this hall to remind them
that powerful city, numerous populati0n.
surrounded their silent abode
AS soon as the several actors In this strange
scene had reached their proper places. man
still masked and dressed In the same dark hue.
began In monotOnou5 slow tone TO give his
evidence, though muffied by the folds OF his
mask ms voice was peculiarly distinct and clear
and Sir John at once knew Ii as being the same
he had heard when he was arrested. Cold ami
plt1iess as steel, without trenlor and without
d pause. Lne voice repeated all the words used
py the culprlt when, in his rash burst of passion
ne had derided and !noeked the knowledge and
the power OF the SeTeniSSima. Slowly and rep;l
larry the words follow cd each other as the links
OF heightened chain, as steadily as the drops
or rain on waters day. The pens OF the
scrlDeS creak1ng as they hurried over the paper.
made ut accompaniment to this recital Ex-
II no human hearts were beating under those
black silk nantes. 1t ended at last; and with
sense Of relief Sir John strained his senses to see
to hear what would follow.
After short pause, the Judge who sat at the
center OF the table stood up and addressed him
In these terms: 'You have heard the eyfdenca
against you, now follow as and hear your sen.
tence."
No cross-eXamination, no defence was allowed
Dy the laws Of this Council. Rising together as
II moved by single mind, the funeral process
SION IolloWed ITS leader and left the hall by the
door through which Sir John had entered &c.
AGAIN through the same winding passages.
again down the same narrow steps, silently
ana nolseiessly they glided like ghosts return
lng 10 their graves. surrounded by his guards
Sir John followed Immediately after the last OF
The JIGges, wondering all the time what was to
oe MS late. When they had reached the low.
est floor OF the building and were nearing
again the loathsome cell from which he had 81
ateiy been taken, tie cortege divided AMI Sir
;obh as brought lace 10 face with the senior
'udge
You Gave Insulted toe >ercnisslua .vou haze
tnitd It's power O.: Furnishing crime, because
Oh nave reen robbed OF paltry handkerchief
ia II mad not been Immediately found and
<Nen lack 10 you. Now lOOk." AS he said these
asst words. the masked judge stepped on one
side and directed Sir Johns gaze to a darker co.,
ner OF the dark passage. There, hanging
agai ,i Ine vail tne rope THAT encircel, his
corpse OF a man.
Entranced by this sight, and thinking that
perhaps ne also was going to. be hanged In the
same manner by an unseen hand. Sir John felt
rooted to the SPOT ioAO
After short silence the Judge continued.
II ms man was the thief; In his right hand YOU
you, we ought not perhaps to be 50 lenIent: hut
IN Consideration OF your youth, and of the high
position you hold In your country, we will over
look your fault. You are forgiven. Outside
this gate gondola waits for you; it viii take
you 10 Mestre, and thence you will Oe CONVEYED
10 the frontier. CO. But remember ALWAYS
Wnat you have seen Tonight
SEEING with trembling hand the lace hand
keTcnle1 lnat mad been the cause of so much
trouble, Sir John wanted to speak, wanted to
thank his unknown judge; but before he could
recover his voice, the phantoms had Disappeared
ana TWO Ja1lerS only were by his side Without
a word, and apparently without an effort
tnese TWO men opened secret door leading To
me canal, and helped the now liberated man
into gondOla that was moOred to the stems
and In the rorepart OF which lay his lugrape
NO word was said, no order was given: the fTo
g0ndol1erS seemed to know their duty and they
silently padded away from the palace I'm which
sir John had spent that dreadful nighE. A.
MeStre coach was waiting for him. In a few
hours the fron1er was crossed Then only did
he begin 10 breathe freely. But for a long time
a1terWard he avoided any Illusion to his Vene-
tan adventure; and for many years he could
not bear to speak OF 1t.
NOW the SerenlSSima is gone. the cells have
been sacked by an Infatuated mob. and innn-
meraDle tourists visit the hall where the secret
councils held its nightly sittings; but even now
l cannot help feeling relieved when have left
behind me Venice, its dark canals and the
darker memories that Cling to them.-CtaI-
beI'S Journal.
A Night Watch.
rs it not morning YETI" From side to side
l ne SICK Slrl tossed, hot browed and heayy-eyad