The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-06-04

link, that united him, for the moment,
with the world beyond. There was
ecstasy in the thought. As he gazed,
long and earnestly, it seemed us If the
windows had lowered sufficiently for
nm to reach them. With one bound
ne was beneath them-with one wild
spring he chung to the bars Whether
was so con;rived, purposely to madden
with delight the wretch who looked he
knew not; but, at the extremity
of Il long vista cut through the
solid rocks, the ocean, the sl<v.
the setting sun, olive groves.
shady walks, and, in the farthest dis
tancc, delicious glimpses of magnificent
Sicily. burst upon his sight. How ex-
quisitc was the cool breeze rs it swept
across his cheek, loaded with fragrance!
He inhaled it rs though it were the
breath of continued life. How he gazed,
painted, and still chung to his hold!
sometimes hanging by one hand, some
times by the other, and then grasping
the bars with both, as loath to quit tho
smiling paradise outstretched before
him; till exhausted. and his hands
swollen and benumbed he dropped
helpless down, and lay stunned for
considcra bic time by the fall.
~ hcH lie TeCOVeTcut Cilc GLORIOUS VISION
had vanished. He was in darkness He
doubted whether it was not a dream
that had passed before his sleeping
fancy: but gradually his scattered
thoughts returned, and with them came
rememb rance. Yes. he had looked once
again upon the gorgeous splendor Of
nature! Once again his eyes had trem-
bled beneath their yelled lids, Mt the
ra1 tnn ~ ;,,.+
soft verdure of the olive tree, or the
gentle swell of undulatng waves
Oh, that he were a mariner exposed
upon those waves to the worst fury Of
storm and tempest; or very wretch,
loathsome with disease plague
stricken, and his body one leprous con-
tagion from crown to sole hunted
forth to gasp out the remnant of infec-
tious life beneath those verdant trees,
so he might shun the destiny upon
whose edge he tottered!
Vain thoughts like these would steal
over his mind from time to time, in
| spite of HIMSELF but they scarcely
moved it from that stupor into which
it had sunk, and which kept him, dur
| ing the whole night, like one who had
been drugged with opium.
In this pitiable condition, the sixth
and last morning dawned upon Viven-
zio, if dawn it might be called-the
| dim, obscure light which family strug-
| glcd through the ONE SOLITARY window
| of his dungeon. He could hardly be
said to notice the melancholy token.
| And vet he did notice it: for as he
raised his eyes and saw the portentous
| sign, there was IL slight convulsive dis
torton of his countcnance But what
did attract his notice, and at the Sigh
OF which his agitation was excessive
was the change his iron bed had under
gone. 1t was Il bed no longer Itstood
before him, the visible sem blancc of a
funeral couch or bier! When he bchcld
this, he started from the ground; and
in raising himself, suddenly struck his
head against the roof, which was now
so low that he could no longer stand
upright Gods will be done" was all
he said, as he crouched his body, and
placed his hand upon the bier; for such
it was The iron bedstead had been so
contrived, by the mechanical art OF
ludovico SforZa, that, as the advanc-
ing walls came in contact with it's head
and feet, pressure was produced upon
concealed springs, which, when mude
to play, set in motion very simple
cry, that effected the transforma-
| ton
Nivenzio seated himself on his bier
Then he knelt and prayed fcrvently;
| and sometimes tears would rrsh from
him. The air seemed thick, and he
breathed with difficulty; or it might be-
that he fancicd it was so, from the mar
row limits of his dungeon, which were
N ii ir,ir had = l,t !, !
stand up nor lie down at his full
length But his wasted spirits and OPP
pressed mind no longer struggled
within him lie was past hope, and
fear shook him no more. Happy il
thus revenge had struck it's fatal blow;
for he would have fallen beneath it al
most unconscious of pang. But such
Il lethargy of the soul. after such an
| excitement of its passions. had entered
into the iabo!ical calculations of Tolii;
and the artiticer of his designs had i'm
| agined Il countcractng device
The tolling of an enormous bell struck
upon the ears of Vivenzio. He
started. 1t beat but once The sound
was so close and stunning that it
seemed TO shatter his very brain, while
it echoed through the rocky passages
like Icverberating peals of thunder.
This was followed by sudden crash
of the roof and walls, as if they were
about to fall upon and close around
him at once. Vivenzio screamed, and
instinctively spread forth his arms, as
though he had a giants strength to
hold them back. They had moved
nearer to him, and were now motion
less Vivenzio looked up, and saw the
roof almost touching his head. even as