Litchfield enquirer., 1881-12-15

water seemed to give promise of a beach, pulled cautiously shoreward, and quickly had the satisfaction of feeling her keel plough into the sand Ijoyfully jumped out, and pulling her high and dry Con that tideless shore, where the ebb and flow are matter of few inches, she was then perfectly safe), 1 proceeded to explore my landing place. quickly recogN nized it, as l was already familiar with it, and had often taken note of it in my excursions. It was one of the desolate strands which Oc- cur frequently along that coast, embayed be- tween projecting bluffs, and generally only accessible from the land by 8 steep descent artihcially cut in the face of the cliff. The one which had run ashore on was very small, but sheltered, and was used as a sta tion for the tunny fishery. Above it on the cliff stood 8 substantial farmhouse, where Don Bastiano, the owner of the land and part proprietor of the boats, had lived; but he, g middle-aged man, had now been dead some three mouths, leaving buaom young widow in possession. The strand was between Massa and Sorrento, and was called, as well as the farm lands above, Lo Marinella l; but it's most fortunate peculiarly for me, under my pres ient circumstances, was that it contained a rude shelter for the tunny boats and fishing apparatus. natural cave having been adap- ted to the purpose, and secured with 8 stout wooden door. t8.4 ',"
 8. Hoping to spend the night more comfort ably in this refuge than on the open beach, 1 stumbled over the sand and shingle by the light of succession of liicifer matches, and found no difficulty in entering the grotto as the rusty fastenings of the door yielded to a vigorous push. Three or four boats, large and small, were drawn up within, as the fish Ing season had not yet begun, and in the far thest recess the great nets lay folded length on length, springy pile of hemp, affording a very tolerable substitute for a mattress. On this was glad to fling myself, and, dragging piece of sailcloth over me by way of cov- erlet, made myself as comfortable as the cir cumstances would admit of. A day in the open air, particularly under blazing sun, makes one inordinately sleepy, and despite the strangeness of my couch, 1 was soon hap oily unconscious of that, and of all other ex- ternal impressions, although it was then scarcely later than the first hour of night in Italian phraseology. or about 9 o'clock p. m.
 How long my sleep asted I had no meaus of judging, but it was probably not more than an hour later that woke with start at the sound of footstep on the shingle, followed by the plshing in of the door. Unarmed and helpless d l was, shall not be set down as more cowardly than other men if confess that it was with feeling of indescribable re- lief that 1 saw female figure enter the cav ern. She held above her head a small oil lamp, in shape like those disinterred at Pom pei, or those relics of still older race which hang before the resting places of the Etruscan dead. Of the commanding height and grand outline of face and form, common among the peasants of the Sorrento district. the woman who now stood before me. holding aloft in one hand this classical utensll, while with the other she clasped over her bosom the folds of q hQQvv AarK oha yul or mo mil If which was thrown over her head, seemed to me like the statue of Roman vestal stepped down from her pedestal. watched her with intense curiosity, taking car lot to betray my presence by the slightest movement, and, as lay half buried in nets and sails in the most remote corner of the cavern, 1 was perfectly invisible from where she stood. .., ..,,..
 She set down the lamp on the thwart of one of the boats, and as she took her stand wiih her arms folded aorose hOi Cuest, ana an ar of dark resolution on her features, the light striking level on them, revealed them all the more fully than before. They were of singu- larly noble cast, but, though she was probably not more than thirty-tive years of age, the working of passion and emotion had scored them with deep lines anticipating those of time; and the uniform sallew tint which on an Italian skin supersedes, at comparatively early age, the warmer hue of youth, robbed them of all appearance of freshness or bloom The dark eyes burned with a restless unsatis- fed light in their deeply aunken orbits: and her face, while it expressed unusual strength of mind and character, conveyed also the inl- pression of heart i'll at ease.
 She had not been more than a minute in the attitude of expectancy have described, when nasty step or. the beach caught her ear and mine simultaneously, and she turned round with bitter and scornful smile to meet the new arrival. It was. somewhat to my sur prise, another woman who appeared on the threshold, breathless with the hurry of her movements, and perhaps from agitation, which she seemed, however, anxious not to betray. She was of very different type f'om the first comer-at least ten years youn- ger, ofssfar more redundant contours of figure and face, less tall and glowing with all the bloom that the other had lost, she had no pre- tens ons' to the same order of beauty, yet ecllpsed her in moment by her superior vigor of mere animal existence Her features did not conform to any recognized canon of sym metry, but if they could not defy criticism, disarmed 1t by their absence of all harsh out llne; while her lips and cheeks, ripe as a pomegranate blossom, the dewy softness of her dark eyes, and the half unconscious smile that displayed a perfect range of teeth, would have atoned for even greater irreguarity, Yet a second look impressed me less favorably than the first, and I saw suggestion of sen. sual coarseness in the full mouth, contrac- ton in the low brow, on which the luxurant black hair grew far down, and underlying the superficial genialfty of coloring and per feet physical development look of cruel force in the somewhat heavily-set jaw, and in the strongly marked line of the broad dark brows. She had long blue woolen scarf wound about her head, and as she came in smoothed the short ruff1ed hair on her fore head with a coquettish gesture that seemed habitual. Whether from hurry or excitement her bosom was heaving high under the ample expanse of white chelnisette above the tight compression of her laced bodice, and she placed her left hand on it as she spoke, as though to repress it's unquiet throbbing,
 ''Sant' Antonio, Donna Filome !"'( Fflome- na) she exclaimed, tat what place and hour you have bIdden me to meet you! It is all very well indeed for woman at your time of life, about whom no one will talk. no matter what she may do but at my age it is another affair, and if the neighbors saw me abroad at this hour of night their tongues would wag for twelvemonth. FH
 The elder woman's lip writhed bitterly.
 ''It is pity you were not always so careful of your reputation" she said, ''for suppose you are aware that the neighbors knew right we'll why Stefano's boat was always to be seen haunting those rocks yonder. and why Don Bastiano, poor man, had to brick up the cGr- lat0 of La Marinella.' They both spoke in the rapid dialect of the country, with which. however, long practice had rendered me per fectly familiar. a sss nj tsl. 3 A dark shade passed for moment over the handsome face of the younger woman, and she gave short, uneasy laugh. ''As for that, 2 she said, 'I am not to be held accountable for all Stefano's movements nor yet for all the foolish actions of my that IS, of Don Bastia- no's, she concluded hastily, with short gulp in her throat. But suppose" " she resumed, returning to her first tone of defiance, 'syOu have not called me from my house at such an hour with all this secrecy and mystery to lis ten to the gossip of the village about bygone | tales. s....s.a4.s.s sss| m. "The secrecy" said the first comer, turning to her with frown of stern significance, lis for yonr sake, not for mine, for I have that to say to you, Gioconda della Marinella, which