The Washington times., 1895-03-03
Count Antonio and the Hermit.

ing" said Antonio, gently, for he per
ceiVed that the man was subject TO a mad
ness and deluded by fancied visions and,
voices.
| yet 1 love to talk to them of the time
when / shall also be dead
GOD comfort you,' said Count Antonio
again.
Now while Antonio and the herD,i; talked.
one OF those who guarded the vault chanced
! TO lay his ear against the door, listening
whether Antonio moved, and he heard TO
his great dread and CONSERVATION the voice
| or another who talked with Antonio; most
of what was said he did not hear, but lie
| heard Antonio say, "God comfort YOU"
and the hermit answer something and groan
! heavily. And the legs of the listener shook
under him, and lie cried to his comrades that
| the dead talked with Antonio himself
! being, from fright, mope dead than alive
And all came and listened, and still the voice
| OF another talked with Antonio, so that the
| guards Were struck with terror and looked
at one another's faces, saying, The dead
| speak! The count speaks with the dead!
Christ and the Blessed Mother OF Christ
and the saints protect us, and they looked
neither TO the right nor left but sat
quaking on the ground about the door of the
vault, and presently one ran and told the
syndic, and he caused himself carried
4iNANA III La, AA4eilts anu tAsO iltdIt
was very greatly afraid, saying: This
Antonio OF Monte Velluto is fearful
man." And the report spread throughout
Baratesta that Count Antonio talked with
the dead in the vault of the Peschelti,
whence came, doubt not, the foolish tales
OF which l have made mention.
A seed is enough; mems tongues water il
and it tgrows to a great plant Nor did any
man think thatit was the hermit that talked
for although they knew of his cave, they did
not know nor imagine of the passage he
had made. and his voice was utterly strange
seeing that he had spoken no word to any
living man for twenty years till he spoke
with the count that night. Therefore the
whole of Baratesta was in great fear; and
they came TO a certain learned priest who
was the priest OF the Church of st. John,
and told him. And he arose and came in
great haste, and offered prayers outside the
vault. and bade the unquiet spirits rest, but
he did not offer to enter, noT did any one of
them, but they all said, I'VE had determined
even before TO await the duke guard, and
that is still the wiser thing
For great while the hermit could not un-
derstand what Antonio wanted of him,
for his thoughts Were on his own state and
with the dead. But at length, having un-
derstood that Antonio would be guided
through the passage and brought to the
mouth of the cave, in the hope of finding
means to escape before the dukes COM
missaries came with the guard, he mHr
INJURED wonderingly, do you then desire
to live?'' and rose, and led Antonio where
the coffin stood upright AGAINST the wall
as Antonio had seen it. But it was now
moved little to one side, and there was n
narrow opening through which the colnt
had also to pass; and in his struggles he
upset the coffin, and it fell with a great
crash, whereat all who Were outside the
vault fled suddenly to q distance of
ha1ras
now to see the door of the vault open and
the dead walk forth, nor could they be per-
suadcd to come nearer again.
But Antonio, with a great effort, made
his way through the opening and followed
the hermit along a narrow, rough hewn
way, Antonio's shoulders grazing the rock
on either side as he went. And having
pursued this way for fifteen or twenty
PAGES they turned to the right sharply
and went on another ten PAGES, and having
passed through another narrow opening
were in the cave, and the river glistened
before their eyes, for it was now dawn,
And the hermit perceiying that it was dawn
and fearing to see the sun, turned to fly
back TO the vault, but Antonio, being full
of pity for him, detained him and besought
him to abandon his manner of life, assuring
him that by now his sin was certainly
purged and when the hermit would not
listen Antonio followed him back to the
opening that led into the vault, and for
getting his own peril, reasoned with him for
the space of an hour or more, but could not
prevail. So at last he bade him farewell
very sorrowfully, telling him that God had
made him that daS the instrument of saving
a mans life, wafeh should be to him
sign of favor and forgiveness, but the
hermit shook his head and passed into the
vault, and Antonio heard him talking to the
dead Peschelti and answering questions
that his own dieordercd brain invented.
Thus it was full morning when Antonio
came again to the little cave by the river,
and bethought him what he should do for
his own safety. And suddenly looking
across the river he beheld gentleman
whom he knew. Lepardo, conmissary
of the dukes, and with him thirty of the
dukes guard, and they were riding very
fast, for having started at midnight to
avoid the heat of the sun, it being high
summer, so soon as they reached the out
skirts OF Baratesta they had heard that
Antonio was in the vault, and were now
pressing on to cross the bridge and come
upon him. And Antonio knew that Le-
pardo was a man OF courage and hardihood
and would be prevented by nothing from
entering the vault. But on a sudden Le-
pardo checked his horse, uttering loud
cry, for, to his great amazement, he had
seen Antonio as Antonio looked forth from
the cave, and he could not tell how he came
himself into the shadow of the cave.
Now the banks of the stream on the side on
which Lepardo rode were high and precipi-
tous, and although it was summer, yet
the stream was too deep for him to wade,
and flowed quickly; yet, at Lepardo's
bidding, six of his stoutest men prepared
to leap down the bank and go in search of
Antonio; and Antonio discerning that they
would do this, and blaming himself for his
rashness, in looking out so incautiously,
was greatly at loss what TO do; for now
he was hemIned in on either side, andhe saw
nothing but to sell his life dearly, and do
some deed that would ornament his death.
So he retreated again along the passage,
and passed through the opening into the
vault, and he summoned the hermit to aid
him, and between them they set notonly one.
but dozen of the coffins of the Peschelti
against the opening, laying them lengthwise
and piling one on top of the other, hoping