Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-02-16
THE BRONZE
AVENGER
Ccontiuued from last week.
BY JANE C. AUSTIN.

- 40 "a A~So ~Ad, SAS LII Jul IL ldhCS
time in the telling, and if the signor
likes, can give it to you better in the
evening at the A1bergo Rea1e.
That is our hotel, is it not? Well,
come there and tell us the story this
evening. Shall he not, Lionel? asked
Edith eagerly.
Surely dear, if it will amuse you,
said he with an indulgent smile. And
then the party moved on across the
| vestibule, to a point where square of
red marble let into the pavement marks
the scene of the reconciliation of the
Pope Alexander III, and the Emperor
Frederic Barbarossa, who was fain to
purchase peace by humiliating
himself to the ground before the
naughty pontiff, who, placing his foot
upon the imperial head, pronounced
the words, ''Thou shalt tread upon the
lion and the adder" and so through
the Byzantine door, into the body of
the grand, rich a nd gloomy church.
That evening, dinner over, the mar
| IlSQ lONCIS, SCdLCu III lESlI Dd1CO1ly
above the Riva de Schiavoni, dream
lily watching the day dying in soft
splendor from the deep blue sky and
the glossy surface of the 1agoons, 1eav-
| ing the bewi1dering ha1f-light, through
which everything looks 1ov1ier than in
the glare of monday. Even Edith's
fresh young beauty assumed a tender
er grace, aed Lionel gazing at her in
silent delight, thought that he. need
not have travelled thousands of miles
to gaze upon the pictured loneliness of
bygone years when the crown and
| jewel of all human beauty was his
own.
From this tender reverie the young
man was aroused by the soft, lisping
accents of Paola's Venetian tongue.
Will the signor and signora listen
now to the story of the church tower?
Lionel turned impatiently with re-
fusa1 upon his tongue; but Edith fore
stalled him with her reply:
| Yes indeed, this is the very time to
listen to story. 1 am so glad you
have come, Pao1a. Sit down there in
the window and begin.
had rather have told you a certain
old story over again, murmured Lion
Ell reproachfully; but Edith's only reply
was bewitching little grimace, aud
the valet began without further pre-
amb1e:
1t is a century or more ago that
Tomasso Candeo was appointed by the
| governors of the city as custodian OF
the Terre dell Oro1ogio and it's won
derful clock not to mention the Mons
and the bell they guard by night and
day. Tomasso, was a poor man, and
not by any means certain of his macca
roni, accepted the appointment joy
fully, and forthwith removed himself
his few belongings and his daughter
Giulia into the apartments in one OF
the wings of the tower reserved for the
keeper.
Giulia Candeo was at that time, OF
so the story runs, the most beautiful
woman in Venice, with soft dark eyes
and a wealth of red gold hair ripping
to her feet, lips that her father confess
or never dared to contemplate, and a
figure lent her by our fair Lady Venus
who queens it as you know in the
neighbor isle of Cyprus. With all this
the clock-keepers daughter was good
ac S1,o haa Il
scande1 mongers of Venice, who claim
the most venemous tongues and the
sharpest eyes in all Italy, found not a
word to say in her dispraise. Of course
she had lovers in plenty, although her
golden hair was all her wealth and
from among them all she had selected
Giuseppe Aretino, a handsome young
gondolier of the Canalazzo, for he1
special attendant, and possible hus.
band, although this preferment, as the
fair Guila took pains to make him
understand, depended altogether upon
her own sovereign caprice and pleasure
in the future. Meantime she allowed
him to accompany her to the festas
and church holidays, to offer flowers,
confetti, and ribbons, and to take her
out occasion1y in his gondola, with a
/ convenient old deaf aunt for duenna
1t was on one of these occasions that
Giuseppe, whose eyes and ears were
within his own gondo1a instead of on
the surrounding objects, had the mis-
fortune to drive the sharp prov of his
boat directly throug the side of gon-
dola belonging, as i11-luck would have
it, to Signor Andrea Manfrini, one OF
the wealthiest, wickedest and worst
tempered mobiles in Venice. The gon.
d ,la Manfrini wounded to the death
filled and sank almost immediately,
barely allowing time for its master
and his two gondo1iers to throw them
selves on board the craft of their as
sailant, who received them with every
attention and profuse apologies, none
of which, however, had the slightest
effect in softening the wrath of the
Signor Manfrini. who poured out such
torrent of abuse and profanity on the
unlucky Giuseppe that the poor youth
could hardly obey the command to
turn immediately in the direction of
the Pa1azzo Manfrini. But while the
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