Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-06-24

enc, and then came upon a close pile
| of brushwood. AS l gradually cleared
| this away large aperture disclosed it
self wide enough for any man to pass
through without trouble. Ny heart
/ beat with the rapture of expected lib
erty; [ clambered up-I looked-thank
| God! l saw the landscape-the sky!
In two minutes | stood outside the
vault on the soft grass, with the high
arch of heaven above me, and the
bread Bay of Naples glittering ielfci-
Cusly before my eyes! l cIapped my
hands and shouted for pure joy! | was
| free! Free to return to life, to love, to
the arms of my beautiful Nina-free
10 resume the pleasant course OF exist
ence On the gladstone earth-free 70
forget, if could, the gloomy horrors
! OF my premature burial. If Carmelo
| Neri had heard the blessings | heapad
upon his head--he would have for once
have deemd himself a saint rather than
a brigand. What die l not owe the
glorious ruf1iani Fortune and freedom!
for it was evident that this secret
passage into the Romani vault had
beer cunningy contrived by himself
or his followers for their own private
purposes. Seldom has any man been
more grateful to his best benefactor
than | was to the famous thief upon
whose grim head, as / know, a price
had been set for many months. The
poor wratch was in hiding Welt the
authorities should get no aid from
me, [ resolved; even if I should dis
cover his whereabouts. Why should
betray him? He had uncOnsciousIv
done more for me than my best friend.
Nay, what friends will you find at all
IN the world when you need substan-
tlal good? Few, or none. Touch the
purse-test the heart,
What castles in the air I built as
stood rejoicing in the morning light
and my newly acquired liberty-what
dreams Of perfect happiness fitted
radiantly before my fancy! Nina and
| would love each other more fondly
than before, l thought-our separation
had been brief, but terrible-and the
idea of what it might have been would
endear us to another with tenfold fer
vor. And little Stella, Whv-this very
evening l would swing her again I'M
der the orange boughs and listen to
ter sweet shrill laughter! This very
evening [ would clasp Guido's hand
in a gladnesS too great for words!
This very night my wife's fair head
would lie pillOwed on my breast IN an
ecstatic silence broken only by the
music of kisses. All! my brain grew
dizzy with the joyful visions that
crowded thickly and dazzlingly upon
me! The sun had rsen-his long
straight beams, like golden spears.
touched the tops of the green trees,
aid reused little flashes as of red and
blue fire on the shining surface of the
bay. | heard the ripping of water and
the measured soft dash of oars; and
somewhere from a distant boat the
mellifuous voice Of a sailor sung a
verse of the popular ritornello-
'Sciore d'amenta
Sta parotella mia tieul ammenta
Zompa llari llira,
SciOre limone!
LIE voglio ia mort de passione
Zompa llari IIira!"*
[ smiled-"Mori de passione,' Nina
and [ would know the meaning Of
those sweet words when the moon rose
and the nightingales sung their love
songs to the dreaming fiowersl Full
of these happy fancies, 1 inhaled the
pure morning air for some minutes,
and then re-entered the vault.