The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-17

| same balcony where, a year before, she
sang that sweet French ballad as my gOn-
dola was passing. Ny arm was about her
waist, and could plainly feel the beating
! of her heart.
| ''Why are you so agitated and yet so
| quiet!' / asked.
! Il can not answer you now," she said,
''but beg that you will sit here and hold
me in your arms until midnight"
Presently she seemed calm again, and
once more the French ballad rang out
along the lagoon from her perfect throat.
| Apparently there was no change in the
scene outwardly. since the year before.
Barges and gondolas were fitting about in
all directions, and from everywhere came
music, laughter and merry voices. Ny wife
sang song after song, until she was tired,
and then, pulling my face down to hers
with both her hands she kissed me.
st was just a year ago tonight" she
said, that you first came to me. had
already seen you many times, and loved
YOU with nv hearts first love. / sang that
night because / hoped that my song might
reach your ears and bring you to me. You
did come under my balcony, and l kissed
the lilies that your hands threw to me.
Danger came, and you saved me. You
loved me at once, and so we were married.
Since then doubt if God, whose eternal
curse l once thought was upon me, has ever
given 80 much happiness to any woman
Her large dark eyes were luminous and
full Of tears and her face had never seemed
SO beautiful to me before. was about
answering her, when suddenly the air
about us was filled with strange kissing
sound, which made my wife's flesh quiver
like shaken jelly. She clutched me closely:
and looked wildly up into my face. The
smile she saw there seemed to content her,
for she gave little sigh of relief and
nestled quietly down into my arms.
All at once the kissing stopped and
Arxx fall Rafnra
my ewes my wife again uttered the same
dreadful cry which had summoned me TO
her assistance year before.
| looked up and saw standing before
us the same demon or goblin whom
banished on that memorable night when
l first met my wife. He was grin
ming and chuckling fiendishly, and
bending over her, he breathed his hot
breath into her face. At first she trembled
with terror and then, recovering her self
possession. she raised her head and gazed
unfiinchingly into his eyes 1t was mora
than he could stand, and he vanished
almost instantly.
Then my wife's eyes were bent upon my
face, so searchingly and so yearnlngly
that | pressed her paSsionately to my
breast and covered her face with kisses
"You still love me-you still trust mei'
she said.
Yes; more than ever before"
How hard your tenderness makes my
duty - she gaSped. ''If was not such Il
coward-was not so much afraid of losing
some portion of your love-l would now
tell you that which was due you year
ago"
''Do not speak of it or think OF it." an
swered. 80 long as you love Ile, and are
happy with me, | am satisfied" "
"One thing must say" she said, 'else
our love will soon be desolated. You must
be with me on the next anniversary of this
,,rrt,+ q hnnt IN
from sunset until midnight. After that L
will forever be safe
was puzzled, amazed and bewildered by
the whole affair: but the subject distressed
and panied her. and loved her too well to
let her talk about it. And, lest she should
fathom my thoughts kept the uncanny
mystery as much as possible out of my
mind.
Two months later we went to live in
France, and finally in Germany. Except
ing a month, another year had passed since
our wedding.
One day at the beginning of this last
month, | was walking alone in the forest
when suddenly caught one foot under
some hard substance which nearly flung
me upon NV face. CHANGING back at the
cause of possible disaster, saw, partially
imbedded in the ground, thin oval plate,
which seemed to have several words en-
graYed upon one side. Picking it up, |
found that it was made of silver, and that
it was very old. The inscription, which
was in Italian. was as follows:
MICHAEL SPEZZI,
Claimed by the Devil,
June 10, 1850.
On my way home met a German savant
with whom | was intimate. | showed him
the plate, and was surprised to see an ex-
preston of the most intense horror come
upon his face.
There is terrible story connected with
this thing he said, after a moment.
Michael SpeZzi was a half German, half
Italian, who came here into the HartZ
Mountains about 1880. He was of royal
blood and married niece of the King.
Five years later daughter was born to
them, and soon afterward they fell into
disfavor with the King and went to live in
France. But when Spezzi's beautiful
daughter was about twenty-five disaster
again came upon him. He had no alterna-
tive, so history says, except appealing to
the devil. The fiend came in answer to
SpeZZi's incantation, and promised him
every thing he wanted. The price de-
manded was the soul of SpeZZi's beloved
daughter. After a time the unfortunate
man signed the compact, but within a
month he repented having done SO, and
begged that his own soul might be sacrificed
instead of his daughters. The devil con-
sented, upon certain conditions. Spezzi
was to yield himself to the cunning fiend
beauty were to be perpetual for five hun
dred years. If, at the end of that time,
she was still virgin. her soul was to be
free, and the soul of her father was
also to be relinquished from torment. In the
mean time, if the girl found any man, who
knowing that she was in the devils grip,
would still love and marry her, that would
end the Internal compact, and she and her
father would both be free. Even then the
devil was still to have three chances. Ii,
on the night she first met her loverhe failed
to clasp her in his arms. in defiance of the
DEVILS presence, the fiend could then claim
her soul. On the first and second anniver-
saries of that night the devil would also
have the same awful power unless she was
in either her husbands or her lovers arms.
If she passed these three ordeals safely the
compact would be ended and the devil
foiled.
That is the story. 1t is said that the devil
came for Spezzi, and that his relatives put
this very silver plate upon his tomb, which
was made in some unknown corner in the
Hartz mountains. Nobody knows what be
fell the daughter. 1t is very singular,
though. that you should have found the
plate; it has been lost SO long"
Ny learned friend went on talking upon
other subjects, but scarcely heard q word
he said. My whole mind was full Of the
story that he had told me.
1t was now all perfectly clear to me.
The supposed legend was true, and | had
really married the daughter of the ill-fated
Michael Spezzi! Instead of being horrified
l was filed with deep sense of gLadness
that had brought so much happiness into
such an overshadowed life. Ny manner
toward my wife was even more tender
than ever after that, aud she seemed in
stinctively to feel that at last l knew all.
The day before the anniversary upon
which SO much depended l was strolling
about in the mountains when my right leg
was broken by slight fall. At first 1
could not move, but late in the night some
of my strength returned and began crawl
ing homeward. l had many miles to go,
and some of the journey had to be made