"The dreadful deed was accomplished in the garden attached to the mansion of a certain Signor Wagner, whom the worldly-minded style a young man wondrously handsome."

"A fair exterior often conceals a dark heart, daughter," said the abbess. "But who was the hapless victim?"

"Rumor declares, holy mother----"

The nun checked herself abruptly, and glanced at Nisida, who, during the above conversation, had approached the windows which commanded a view of the convent garden, and whose back was therefore turned toward the abbess and Ursula.

"You may speak fearlessly, daughter," said the abbess; "that unfortunate lady hears you not--for she is both deaf and dumb."

"Holy Virgin succor her," exclaimed Ursula, crossing herself. "I was about to inform your ladyship," she continued, "that rumor represents the murdered woman to have been the sister of this Signor Wagner of whom I spoke; but it is more than probable that there was no tie of relationship between them--and that----"

"I understand you, daughter," interrupted the abbess. "Alas! how much wickedness is engendered in this world by the sensual, fleshly pa.s.sion which mortals denominate love! But is the murderer detected?"

"The murderer was arrested immediately after the perpetration of the crime," responded Ursula; "and at this moment he is a prisoner in the dungeon of the palace."

"Who is the lost man that has perpetrated such a dreadful crime?"

demanded the abbess, again crossing herself.

"Signor Wagner himself, holy mother," was the reply.

"The pious Duke Cos...o...b..queathed gold to this inst.i.tution," said the abbess, "that ma.s.ses might be offered up for the souls of those who fall beneath the weapon of the a.s.sa.s.sin. See that the lamented prince's instructions be not neglected in this instance, Ursula."

"It was to remind your ladyship of this duty that I ventured to break upon your privacy," returned the nun, who then withdrew.

The abbess approached Nisida, and touched her upon the shoulder to intimate to her that they were again alone together.

She had drawn down her veil, and was leaning her forehead against one of the iron bars which protected the window--apparently in a mood of deep thought.

When the abbess touched her, she started abruptly round--then, pressing the superior's hand with convulsive violence, hurried from the room.

The old porteress presented the alms-box as she opened the gate of the convent; but Nisida pushed it rudely aside, and hurried down the steps as if she were escaping from a lazar-house, rather than issuing from a monastic inst.i.tution.

CHAPTER XVII.

WAGNER IN PRISON--A VISITOR.

It was evening; and Wagner paced his narrow dungeon with agitated steps.

Far beneath the level of the ground, and under the ducal palace, was that gloomy prison, having no window, save a grating in the ma.s.sive door to admit the air.

A lamp burned dimly upon the table, whereon stood also the coa.r.s.e prison fare provided for the captive, but which was untouched.

The clanking of the weapons of the sentinels, who kept guard in the pa.s.sage from which the various dungeons opened, fell mournfully upon Fernand's ears, and every moment reminded him of the apparent impossibility to escape--even if such an idea possessed him.

The lamp had burned throughout the day in his dungeon; for the light of heaven could not penetrate that horrible subterranean cell--and it was only by the payment of gold that he had induced the jailer to permit him the indulgence of the artificial subst.i.tute for the rays of the glorious sun.

"Oh! wretched being that I am!" he thought within himself, as he paced the stone floor of his prison-house; "the destiny of the accursed is mine! Ah! fool--dotard that I was to exchange the honors of old age for the vicissitudes of a renewed existence! Had nature taken her course, I should probably now be sleeping in a quiet grave--and my soul might be in the regions of the blessed. But the tempter came, and dazzled me with prospects of endless happiness--and I succ.u.mbed! Oh! Faust! would that thou hadst never crossed the threshold of my humble cottage in the Black Forest! How much sorrow--how much misery should I have been spared!

Better--better to have remained in poverty--solitude--helplessness--worn down by the weight of years--and crushed by the sense of utter loneliness--oh! better to have endured all this, than to have taken on myself a new tenure of that existence which is so marked with misery and woe!"

He threw himself upon a seat, and endeavored to reflect on his position with calmness; but he could not!

Starting up, he again paced the dungeon in an agitated manner.

"Holy G.o.d!" he exclaimed aloud, "how much wretchedness has fallen upon me in a single day! Agnes murdered--Nisida perhaps forever estranged from me--myself accused of a dreadful crime, whereof I am innocent--and circ.u.mstances all combining so wonderfully against me! But who could have perpetrated the appalling deed? Can that mysterious lady, whom Agnes spoke of so frequently, and who, by her description, so closely resembled my much-loved Nisida--can she----"

At that moment the bolts were suddenly drawn back from the door of the dungeon--the clanking chains fell heavily on the stone pavement outside--and the jailer appeared, holding a lamp in his hand.

"Your brother, signor, is come to visit you," said the turnkey. "But pray let the interview be a brief one--for it is as much as my situation and my own liberty are worth to have admitted him without an order from the chief judge."

"With these words the jailer made way for a cavalier to enter the dungeon;" and as he closed the door, he said, "I shall return shortly to let your brother out again."

Surprise had hitherto placed a seal upon Wagner's lips; but even before the visitor had entered the cell, a faint suspicion--a wild hope had flashed to his mind that Nisida had not forgotten him, that she would not abandon him.

But this hope was destroyed almost as soon as formed, by the sudden recollection of her affliction;--for how could a deaf and dumb woman succeed in bribing and deceiving one so cautious and wary as the jailer of a criminal prison?

Nevertheless the moment the visitor had entered the cell--and in spite of the deep disguise which she wore, the eyes of the lover failed not to recognize the object of his adoration in that elegant cavalier who now stood before him.

Scarcely had the jailer closed and bolted the ma.s.sive door again, when Fernand rushed forward to clasp Nisida in his arms;--but, imperiously waving her hand, she motioned him to stand back.

Then, with the language of the fingers, she rapidly demanded--"Will you swear upon the cross that the young female who has been murdered, was not your mistress?"

"I swear," answered Fernand in the same symbolic manner; and, as the light of the lamp played on his handsome countenance, his features a.s.sumed so decided an expression of truth, frankness, and sincerity, that Nisida was already more than half convinced of the injustice of her suspicions.

But still she was determined to be completely satisfied; and, drawing forth a small but exquisitely sculptured crucifix from her doublet, she presented it to her lover.

He sank upon one knee, received it respectfully, and kissed it without hesitation.

Nisida then threw herself into his arms, and embraced him with a fondness as warm, as wild, as impa.s.sioned as her suspicions had ere now been vehement and fearfully resentful.

Her presence caused Fernand to forget his sorrow--to forget that he was in a dungeon--to forget, also, the tremendous charge that hung over his head. For never had his Nisida appeared to him so marvelously beautiful as he now beheld her, disguised in the graceful garb of a cavalier of that age. Though tall, majestic, and of rich proportions for a woman, yet in the attire of the opposite s.e.x she seemed slight, short, and eminently graceful. The velvet cloak sat so jauntily on her sloping shoulder;--the doublet became her symmetry so well;--and the rich lace collar was so arranged as to disguise the prominence of the chest--that voluptuous fullness which could not be compressed.

At length a sudden thought struck Fernand, and he inquired, in the usual manner, how Nisida had gained access to him?

"A faithful friend contrived the interview for me," she replied, with her wonted rapidity of play upon the fingers. "He led the jailer to believe that I was a German, and totally unacquainted with the Italian tongue. Thus not a word was addressed to me; and gold has opened the door which separated me from you. The same means shall secure your escape."

"Dearest Nisida," signaled Wagner, "I would not escape were the door of my dungeon left open and the sentinels removed. I am innocent--and that innocence must be proved!"

The lady exhibited extraordinary impatience at this reply.

"You do not believe me guilty?" asked Wagner.

She shook her head in a determined manner, to show how profound was her conviction of his innocence.

"Then do not urge me, beloved one, to escape and be dishonored forever,"

was the urgent prayer he conveyed to her.