Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-02-03

Lei udu SIG UCth COl1lE O1lSu W cAk1pOGAA
on the scaffold looking hideous. She
was resolved to make the most of her
charms so long as life lasted. l
thought of that sweet-lipped, luscious
smiling queen as l parted from my
ur'f~ So :. few brief hours: royal and
ueep7y lhJured lady though she was,
she merited her fate, for she was
reacherous-there can be no doubt
of that. Yet most people reading her
history pity her-I know not why. 1t
is strange that so much CT the worlds
sympathy is wasted on false women
I strolled into one Of the broad log
gle of the hotel, from whence I could
see a portion of the Piazza del Po-
polo, and lighting a cigar, [ leisurely
watched the frolics OF the crowds. The
customary focling proper to the day
was going on, and no detail Of 1t
seemed to pail on the good-natured,
easily amused folks who must have
seen it all so often before. Much
laughter was being excited by the re-
marks Of a vender Of quack medicines,
who was talking with extreme volu-
bility to a number of gayly-dressed
girls and fishermen. l could not dis
tinguish his words, but [ judged he was
selling the elixir Of love-" from his
absurd amatory gestures-an elixir
compounded, no doubt, Of a little
harmless eau sucre.
Flags tossed on the breeze, trumpets
brayed, drums beat; improviSators
tWanged their guitars and mandollns
loudly to attract attention, and failing
III their efforts, sWore at each other
with the utmost joviality and hearth
ness; fower-girls and lemonade-sellers
made the air ring with their conhlCt-
ing cries; now and then a shower OF
chalky confetti flew out from adjacent
windows, busting with white powder
the coats Of the passers-by; clusters
of flowers tied with favors Of gay-cOI-
ored ribbon were lavishly flung at the
feet of bright-eyed peasant girls, who
rejected or accepted them at pleasure
with light words of badinage or play
ful repartee, clowns danced and tum-
bled. dogs barked, church bells
changed, and through all the waving
width of color and movement crept the
shrinking forms of diseased
and loathy beggars whining for a
soldo, and clad in rags that barely
covered their halting, withered limbs.
1t was a scene to bewilder the brain
and dazzle the eyes, and l was just
turning away from it out OF sheer
fatigue, when a sudden cessation of
movement in the swaylng, Whlrllng
crowd, and a slight hush, caused me
to look out once more. l perceived
he cause of the momentary Stiffness
4 funeral con tege appeared, moving at
1 slow and solemn pace; as it passed
across the square, heads were uncov-
cred and women crossed themselves
levoutly. Like black shadOwy
snake it coiled through the mass Of
shifting color and brilliance-anotheI
and it was gone. The de-
pressing effect of it's appearance Was
soon effaced-the merry crowds re-
sumed their thousand-and-One freaks
Of folly, their shrieking, laughing, and
dancing, and all was as before. Why
not?
The dead are soon forgotten; none
knew that better than l! Leaning my
arms lazily on the edge of the balcony
finished smoking my cigar. That
glimpse of death in the midst of life
bad filled me with a certain satisfac7
ton. Strangely enough, my thoughts
began to busy themselves with the old
modes of torture that used to be legal
and that, after all, were not so unjust
when practiced upon persons profess.
eddy vile. For instance, the iron cof-
fin of Lissa-that ingeniously con-
trived box in which the criminal was
bound fast hand and foot, and then
was forced to watch the huge lid de-
scending slowly, slowly, slowly, half
an inch at a time, till at last it's pom
derous weight crushed into a fiat and
mass the writhing wretch
within, who had for long agoniZed
hours watched death steadily APP
Suppose that l had such
a coffin now! [ stopped my train of
reflection with a slight shudder. No,
no; she whom l sought to punish was
so lovely, such a softly colored, witch
ing, gracious body, though tenanted
by a wicked soul-she should keep her
beauty! I would not destroy that
I1o ,o1o oil
ready devised.
| threw away the end of my smoked
out cigar and entered my own rooms.
Calling Vincenzo, who was now re-
signed and even eager to go to Avel>
limo, I gave him his final instructions,
and placed in his charge the iron
cash-boX, which, unknown to him,
$4,000 francs in notes and
gold. This was the last good action |
could do: it was a sufficient sum to set
him up as a well-to-do farmer and
fruit-grower in Avellino with Lila
and her little dowry combined. He
also carried a sealed letter to Signora
MCnti, which / told him she was not
to open till a week had elapsed; this
letter explained the contents of the
box and my wishes concerning it; it
also asked the good woman to send to
the Villa Romani for Assunta and her
helpless charge, poor old paralyzed
Giacomo, and to tend the latter as we'll
as she could till his death, which Z
knew could not be far off.
l had thought of everything as far
as possible, and l could already fore
see what a happy, peaceful home there