Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-04

whom the gods would destroy, they mrs
e make blind , many sailor will see onl
d its glory and never suspect the lurkin
danger" the Count replied.
"AHons, am glad that if there is to b
a storm we can enjoy it at a safe distance,
2 Janet said, giving the horses cut tina
), sent US into Amali in great style and witt
|, imminent danger to the inhabitants. WIFI
, have way of lettering in the streets ant
l expect horses to give place to them. w
! left the landau at stable, and sending GU
! luggage to the Albergo -, we wandered
up the old stone steps worn by the feet o
many generations and lost ourselves IL
the devious windings of quaint old paths
until guided by the vesper bell we founC
the cathedral.
i, After much agnosticism at the putativs
tomb of St. Andrew, we went to the Al
bergo, which was an abandoned monas
J terry, and in the cells of departed monk.
we gave our bangs becoming set anc
added bunch of violets to our simple
travelling dresses. Dinner was served II
the refectory. We were the only guests
and we did our best to be joyous, so that il
any old monks were present in spirit they
might be cheered by our enjoyment of rir
ordinaire and feel responsive touch in oul
delight at the fish served la Capuchin
An omelette souffiee, fit to be the solace Of
the blacklist Friday and longest Lents, was
the pride of the chef, and the bland Luigi
handled it as reverently as if it had been a
relic of st. Francis preserved by Santa
Chiara; truly no jolly prior could have
relished it more than we did, and after the
coffee We went into a pleasant salon, and
the fire was so bright that we felt encour-
aged to listen to a weird old story of the
Dead Lady of Malatesta, which the Count
told with realistic horror. The storm
which he had predicted was weeping and
wailing around us, and the sea, dashed to
fury, broke with sullen roar against the
mighty rock.
Did you ever see the Dead Lady your
selfP' Janet asked, drawing close to
mamma.
"One night, Halloween, of course, 1
went to the haunted room, lighted lamp
and laying my pistols on the table de-
te-mined to face all corners. All went
well until the last stroke OF u sounded
from the tower; then fell asleep, and
when l awoke sensation of intense cold
was creeping over me, the lamp was flick
ering ftfully-approaching me slowly, not
walking and not flying, l was conscious of
something. don't know what, for yield
| ing to an insane terror, rushed from the
room, and the horror Of that night was
such that l have never been able to per-
suade myself to make second attempt to
meet the Desd Lady. Don't think me a
coward" he said appealingly to Janet,
'for you know l fought under Prince
Alexander and charged with more than
one forlorn hope"
"Of course | don't, but you know l
don't believe in ghosts"
Neither do |, but l have an illogical
fear of them," he said; and l added with
some asperity, "Janet, if you ever were
alone in the dark you would believe in
them, too, but you know it would take a
very enterprising spook to catch you
while mamma is around. If you don't be-
lieve in them, please try my cell tonight,
it is regular ghost trap"
81 didn't say | wasn't afraid of them,
Camilla; said l didn't believe in them,
didn't l, Count Guido% Janet answered !,
appealing to subsidized Judiciary, for the
Count of course agreed to everything she
asked, and finding myself in a hopeless
minority, | began to explore the room.
There was picture near the window
| which possessed a strange fascination for
me; it was evidently the portrait of
young man who had lived centuries ago;
vet there was marvellous freshness in the
rich coloring, and the melancholy beauty
of the features might have been traced by
| Van Dyck, so exquisite was the sad yet
| tender sweetness of the eyes which fol-
lowed one with weird persistency. One
hand was laid on the hilt of a sword, the
other held plumed hat as black as his
raven hair.
ado ask Luigi the history of this ro-
mantle portrait" | said to the Count, and
Luigi was summoned, but it was hard to
get any information from him; he was
plainly reluctant to speak of the portrait,
and | saw him furtively make the sign of
the cross when he looked at it.
II wonder how far five francs would 60
towards clearing up the mystery% [
asked, laying them one by one on the
| table.
Luigi wavered, then yielded. at is a
terrible story, and the Marchese may haunt
me forever if l tell, signora," he said du-
biously.
ooh, get the priest to sprinkle holy
water on you" Count Guido said.
The Marchese is no more afraid of holy
water and rabbit feet than-than priest"
Luigi said slowly. "You see an Ameri-
can gave me the rabbit foot, it does very
well for their ghosts, for they are not very
old, but when you come to the Marchese,
vino has been here three hundred years, it
| isn't worth pocket room. But Pll risk it
anyhow" We sat close around the fire,
Janet next to Count Guido, and mamma
on the sofa beside.me, and, as we looked to
Luigi, involuntarily the portrait met and
held our gaze, and the wind sighed like a
lost soul out in the arcade. Luigi began:
'The Marchese lived at that old castle
lust before you reach Amalf. He was
handsome, as you see in that portrait, but
there were dark stories about him; people
said that his black horse galloped down to
the sea at night and waited there for him
while he Joined the Saracens and ravaged
land and water with them; and belated
travellers sometimes heard the music of a
lutte from the old castle, and a woman's
voice singing strange songs, and when the
monks who lived in this monastery then
were told those tales they went to the
castle and tried to see the lady, but they
could not.
"At last one young monk was returning
after he had shrived fisherman, and he
heard the music and followed it, and came
to high wall, and there. was narrow
beam of light coming through the gothic
window, and the monk climbed up by the
carvings and looked in the window, and
he saw the fairest woman in the world
singing there all alone, and he watched
her spell-bound until he heard the Mar
chese coming home, and then he glided
away, and after that every night the monk
goes to the castle and listens to the lady
singing.
Zone night he listened as usual, and the
Count did not come back, and the monk
climbed in through the window, and the
| - ....o..l- ...Il L.,. l