Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-22
- IN CINERIS.

OuC VI Nhcsc houStst etdlNtiN Nh"h
hoyel, on low pallet bed, a man lay toss
ing feverishiy from side to side
He was "A powerfully built man, and
might once have been handsome, but time
and exposure had laid cruel hands upon
him, and there was little left Ia attract IN
the furrowed face, the sunkeu eyes and
the griZZled and matted beard.
! Beside him knelt woman She was ut
longer young but there were traces OF
| great beauty in her wellcut features, in
the marvellous dark eyes and the rich col
oring OF her complexion, set of by the
scarlet handkerchief around her neck
/ Her hair was streaked with silver, but
was still glossy ami abundant.
Il am dying he said. The end will be
soon. Swear to me' An expression OF
agony convulsed her features, but she was
| silent. swear to me that you will do my
| bidding" There was look of entreaty
| in his eyes, but his voice was imperious
command He stretched out his hand
! towards her "Felicita"
She took it.
Il swear, Too late too late!" she
mOaned What matters anything now.
send to Carlo Bdssi. at Tore dell An
nunziata when | am dead. He will bring
the others, and they will do your bidding.
Then carry me up in the night and lower
me down into the crater SO only can my
fathers crime be eXpiated and my soul
have rest
She shuddered.
But, Luigi-the authorities. How can
such thing bef'
"YOu had ever will like rock" he
answered. "YOu can do it secretly. |
trust you. You have sworn
His vital forces Were fast ebbing away;
the exertion he had made had fastened
the end. More and more fee bly, came the
breath, in short gasps, and one by one the
beads dropped through her fingers.
"You have sworn" once more came the
merest whisper. Kiss me-"
She laid the cruciiix upon his lips and
pressed hers TO it and to his. IL was the
last caress, but the cross lay between
them, and when she lifted her head she
looked upon the face of the dead.
Many years before was il that Luigi
and Felicita had been afiianced lovers, and
dwelt near each other in the beautiful
island of Capri He and his father were
alone. She was one of several sisters and
father still living
HOt-tempered and cross grained was Gil
ovanni Moretto, not much loved by either
children OF acquaintance, and only too
ready to pick quarrel with any one. For
this, occasion was not lacking with Pietro
Branca for a neighbor and the crossing
of fowl over the boundary line between
them was enough for hot words and hot
Ter blows. The dispute waxed ever
6ercer and fiercer; it threatened to sepa-
rate the lovers, and vows of vengeance
were uttered; while Feiicita's fair young
face was clouded with apprehension, her
eyes which had been so sunny and spark
ling were wet with tears. Time passed
on, mending nothing. The end came at
last, and dirk-thrust from Pietro fin
ished the quarrel 1t was but the tremb-
ling of the balance whether Pietro killed
Giovanni, or Giovanna, Pietro; but it was
written in the book of fate tnat Pietro
should do the deed, though in his heart
was no more the intent to murder than in
that of his victim
They met by chance in a solitary place,
and none was witness TO the act. Only in
the dusk of evening P.etro stole home
ward, and telling Luigi, bade him pre-
pare to fly with him. No thought of re-
sistance, no-hope for the future, entered
the young mans mind. His happiness
lay In ruins: at once and forever lie
abandoned the idea that it could be built
up again
Silently, swiftly he prepared for fight,
then sought FelicitG 20 bid her farewell
He drew her away into lonely road and
by a wall, in few words told
his story. The girl listened, half incredu-
lOus, but silent: then in a burst of pas
sionate weeping she clung TO him.
1T is no deed of yours, Luigi mio (Ah,
my fathery You will come back 10 me
again, after awhile, when time has gone
by"
Never" he said with a groan, as he
clasped her closer. at may not be! A
gulf we cannot pass divides us"
So fled the two, father and son, away
into the night, and returned no more.
All acquitted Luigi of the crime when
it was discovered; indeed, he was known
to have been elsewhere at the time it must
have been committed, and to have had no
share in the i'll feeling between the older
men.
AL, too, pitied Felicia, and in time
some even tried to win her; for among
the fairest Of the Capri girls was none
more beautiful, none whose laugh had
been gayer none whose step had been
lighter wien in the evening they had
gathered together TO dance the "Tarau-
tella" But laughter had fed her lip, and
her heart was heavy. Sometimes in her
bitterest hours she almost hated the man
who had deserted her, and tried TO turn
her thoughts to some other-but in vain;
she loved him still
Then her mother became hateful TO her
The blue shining water as it broke
a. gainst the rocky shores seemed to mock
her, and she lOnged to get away. OF her
sisters, one died and another married. One
brother married and went to Naples, and
the other went out into the wide |
world, no one knew whither and so at |
last she was free to 90 where she would |
The buried city of Pompeii seemed 10 have |
q strange fascination for her, and some |
people OF her acquaintance having gone !
there, she followed, and thenceforth made |
/ her home. Hour after hour she spent |
sitting or wandering among the ruins, |
never seeming TO weary of them
Here, after the lapse of years, returned !
Luigi At first hope, which had died |
iown to ashes, famed up once more in 1
Felicitas heart; but it was a changed !
Luigi, and no thought of a renewed re
alton between them was in his mind |
Only some strange links seemed to bind |
lim to Felcita, and though he had little |
lirect intercourse with her. he came back |
low and again to the place where she
iwelt After his fathers death he had
afar with comrades
Jut more often solitary and homeless, liv-
ng ever under the shadow of crime that /
more and more seemed to haunt him, and
rom which alone his unbalanced mind
ound relief in this strange expiation
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