Influenced by these various motives, Wagner m.u.f.fled himself in a long Tuscan cloak and repaired to the vicinity of the Riverola mansion. He pa.s.sed through the gardens without encountering any one, and, perceiving a side door open, he entered the building. Ascending the stairs, he thought that he should be acting in accordance with the advice given him by Rosencrux, and also consistent with prudence, were he at once to seek an interview with Nisida privately. He therefore repaired in the direction of the princ.i.p.al saloons of the palace; but losing his way amidst the maze of corridors, he was about to retire, when he beheld the object of his search, the beautiful Nisida, enter a room with a lamp in hand. He now felt convinced that he should meet her alone, and he hurried after her. In pursuance of his cautious plan, he opened the door gently, and was already in the middle of the apartment, when he perceived Nisida standing by the side of a bed, and with her head fixed in that immovable manner which indicates intent gazing upon some object.

Instantly supposing that some invalid reposed in that couch, and now seized with a dreadful alarm lest Nisida, on beholding him, should utter a sudden e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n which would betray the secret of her feigned dumbness, Fernand considerately retreated with all possible speed: nor was he aware that Nisida had observed him, much less that his appearance there had excited such fears in her breast, those fears being greatly enhanced by his negligence in leaving the door open behind him.

Oh! had Nisida known it was thou, Fernand Wagner, how joyous, how happy she would have been; for the conviction that she bore the pledge of your mutual pa.s.sion had made her heart yearn that eve to meet with thee again. And was it a like attraction on thy part, or the mysterious influence that now guided all thy movements, which induced thee at midnight to enter the Riverola gardens again, that thou mightest be, as it were, upon the same spot where she dwelt, and scent the fragrance of the same flowers that perfumed the atmosphere which she breathed? Oh!

doubtless it was that mysterious influence; for thou hast now that power within thee which made thee strong to resist all the blandishments of the siren, and to prefer the welfare of thine own soul to aught in this world beside!

We said, then, at the commencement of this chapter that Fernand entered the Riverola gardens shortly after midnight. But scarcely had he crossed the iron railings, turned into the nearest path formed by shrubs and evergreens, when he was startled by hearing another person enter the grounds in the same unceremonious manner. Fernand accordingly stood aside in the deep shade of the trees; and in a few moments a figure, m.u.f.fled like himself in a cloak, pa.s.sed him rapidly by. Wagner was debating in himself what course he should pursue--for he feared that some treachery was intended toward Nisida--when to his boundless surprise, he heard the mysterious visitant say in a low tone. "Is it you, lady?"--to which question the unmistakable and never-to-be-forgotten voice of his Nisida answered, "'Tis I, Demetrius. Follow me noiselessly, and breathe not another word for the present!"

Fernand was shocked and grieved at what he had just heard, and which savored so strongly of an intrigue. Had not his ears deceived him? was this the Nisida from whom he had parted but little more than three weeks back, and who had left him that tender note which he had found in the hut on the island? But he had no time for reflection; the pair were moving rapidly toward the mansion--and Wagner unhesitatingly followed, his footsteps being soundless on the damp soil of the borders of flowers, and his form being concealed by the shade of the tall evergreens which he skirted.

He watched Nisida and her companion until they disappeared by a small private door at the back of the mansion; and this door was by them incautiously left unlocked, though shut close. It opened rapidly to Wagner's hand, and he found himself at the foot of a dark staircase, the sound of ascending steps on which met his ears. Up that narrow flight he sped, noiselessly but hastily; and in a few moments he was stopped by another door which had just closed behind those whom he was following.

Here he was compelled to pause, in the hope that the part.i.tion might not be so thick as completely to intercept the sounds of the voices in the chamber; but after listening with breathless attention for a few minutes, he could not catch even the murmuring of a whisper. It now struck him that Nisida and her companion might have pa.s.sed on into a room more remote than the one to which that door had admitted them; and he resolved to follow on. Accordingly, he opened the door with such successful precaution that not a sound--not even the creaking of the hinge was the result; and he immediately perceived that there was a thick curtain within; for it will be recollected that this door was behind the drapery of Nisida's bed. At the same time, a light, somewhat subdued by the thick curtain, appeared; and the sound of voices met Fernand's ears.

"Signor," said the melodious voice of Nisida, in its sweetest, softest tones, "it is due to myself to tender fitting excuse for introducing you thus into my private chamber; but the necessity of discoursing together without fear of interruption, and in some place that is secure from the impertinence of eavesdroppers, must serve as an apology."

"Lady," replied Demetrius, "it needed no explanation of your motive in bringing me hither to command on my part that respect which is due to you."

A weight was removed from Wagner's mind: it was a.s.suredly no tender sentiment that had brought Nisida and the Greek together this night; and the curiosity of Fernand was therefore excited all the more strongly.

"We will not waste time in unnecessary parlance," resumed Nisida, after a short pause; "nor must you seek to learn the causes--the powerful causes, which have urged me to impose upon myself the awful sacrifice involved in the simulation of loss of speech and hearing. Suffice it for you to know that, when on board the kapitan-pasha's ship, I overheard every syllable of the conversation which one day took place between the apostate Ibrahim and yourself,--a conversation wherein you gave a detailed account of all your proceedings at Florence, and in the course of which you spoke feelingly of your sister Calanthe."

"Alas! poor Calanthe!" exclaimed Demetrius, in a mournful tone; "and is she really no more?"

"Listen to me while I relate the manner in which I became aware of her fate," said Nisida.

She then explained the treacherous visit of the grand vizier to the cabin wherein she had slept on board the Ottoman admiral's ship--the way in which the Ethiopian slave had interfered to save her--and the conversation that had taken place between Ibrahim and the negro, revealing the dread fate of Calanthe.

"Is it possible that I have served so faithfully a man possessed of such a demon-heart?" cried Demetrius. "But I will have vengeance, lady; yes, the murdered Calanthe shall be avenged!"

"And I too must have vengeance upon the proud and insolent vizier who sought to violate all the laws of hospitality in respect to me,"

observed Nisida, "and who seeks to marry his sister, the low-born Flora, the sister of the base renegade, to the ill.u.s.trious scion of the n.o.ble house of Riverola! Vengeance, too, must I have upon the wretch Antonio, the panderer to my father's illicit and degrading _amours_--the miscreant who sought to plunder this mansion, and who even dared to utter threats against me in that conversation with his accomplice Venturo, which you, signor, overheard in the streets of Florence. This game wretch it is, too, who consigned my brother to the custody of banditti; and though, for certain reasons, I deplore not that captivity which Francisco has endured, inasmuch as it has effectually prevented him from interesting himself on behalf of Flora Francatelli, yet as Antonio was animated by vengeance only in so using my brother, he shall pay the penalty due on account of all his crimes!"

"And in the task of punishing Antonio, lady," said Demetrius, "shall I be right glad to aid--for did not the villain deceive me infamously in respect to the dispatches which I sought to forward to Constantinople when last I was at Florence? and, not contented with that vile treachery, even plotted with his accomplice Venturo against my life."

"Vengeance, then, upon our enemies, Demetrius!" exclaimed Nisida. "And this is how our aims shall be accomplished," she continued, in a lower and less excited tone: "The ambitious views of Ibrahim Pasha must experience a signal defeat; and as he is too powerful to be personally injured by us, we must torture his soul by crushing his relations--we must punish him through the medium of his sister and his aunt. This evening I had a long discourse with Dr. Duras, who is devoted to my interests, and over whom I wield a wondrous power of persuasion. He has undertaken to induce his brother, Angelo Duras, to abandon the cause of the Francatellis; and the inquisition will, therefore, deal with them as it lists. Father Marco I can also manage as I will; he understands the language in which the deaf and dumb converse, for he has so long been confessor to our family. To-morrow I will undertake to send him to Rome on some charitable mission connected with the church. Thus the only persons whom you secured when last you were in Florence, in the interests of the Francatellis, will cease to watch over them; and, as they are accused of being accomplices in the sacrilege perpetrated in the Carmelite Convent, naught will save them from the flames of the _auto-da-fe_."

"Oh! spirit of the murdered Calanthe," exclaimed Demetrius, with savage joy, "thou wilt be avenged yet! And thou, false vizier, shalt writhe in the flames at the stake!"

"Now, as for Antonio, and the rest of the banditti who stormed the convent and gave freedom to the hated Flora--who have likewise captured my brother--and who have so long been a terror to Florence," continued Nisida; "we must annihilate them all at one blow; not a soul of the gang must be spared!"

Nisida knew full well that at least some of the banditti were acquainted with the fact that she was the murderess of Agnes, and that they could also tell an awkward tale of how she sought to bribe them to rescue Fernand Wagner in case of an adverse judgment on the part of the criminal tribunal. The total annihilation of the horde was consequently the large aim at which she aspired, and her energetic mind shrunk not from any difficulties that might appear in the way toward the execution of that object.

"The design is grand, but not without its obstacles," observed Demetrius. "Your ladyship will moreover adopt measures to rescue the Lord Count of Riverola first."

"By means of gold everything can be accomplished amongst villains,"

returned Nisida, "and the necessary preliminaries to the carrying out of our object rest with you, signor. To-morrow morning must you seek Antonio. He knows not that you suspect his villainy and, as you will say nothing relative to the failure in the arrival of your dispatches at Constantinople, he will rest secure in the belief that you have not yet discovered that deed of treachery. You must represent yourself as the mortal enemy of the Count of Riverola, and so speak as to lead Antonio to confess to you where he is and offer to become the instrument of your vengeance. Then bribe Antonio heavily to deliver up Francisco into your power to-morrow night at a particular hour, and at a place not far from the spot where you know the secret entrance of the banditti's stronghold to be."

"All this, lady," said Demetrius, "can be easily arranged. Antonio would barter his soul for gold; much more readily, then, will he sell the Count of Riverola to one who bids high for the possession of the n.o.ble prisoner."

"But this is not all," resumed Nisida, "'tis merely the preface to my plan. So soon as the shades of to-morrow's evening shall have involved the earth in obscurity, a strong party of your soldiers, properly disguised, but well armed, must repair in small sections, or even singly, to that grove where you have already obtained a clew to the entrance of the robbers' stronghold. Let them conceal themselves amongst the trees in the immediate vicinity of the enormous chestnut that overhangs the precipice. When the robbers emerge from their lurking-place with Francisco, your soldiers will immediately seize upon them. Should you then discover the secret of the entrance to the stronghold, the object will be gained,--your men will penetrate into the subterranean den,--and the ma.s.sacre of the horde will prove an easy matter. But should it occur that those banditti who may be employed in leading forth my brother, do shut up the entrance of their den so speedily that your dependents discover not its secrets, then must we trust to bribery or threats to wrest that secret from the miscreants. At all events Antonio will be present to accompany Francisco to the place which you will appoint to meet them; and as the villain will fall into your power, it will perhaps prove less difficult to induce him to betray his comrades, than it might be to persuade any of the banditti themselves."

"Lady, your plan has every element of success," observed Demetrius; "and all shall be done as you suggest. Indeed, I will myself conduct the expedition. But should you thus at once effect the release of Don Francisco, will he not oppose your designs relative to the condemnation of Flora Francatelli by the inquisition?"

"Dr. Duras is well acquainted with the precise process," answered Nisida; "and from him I learnt that the third examination of the prisoners will take place to-morrow, when judgment will be p.r.o.nounced should no advocate appear to urge a feasible cause of delay."

"The arrests took place on the 3d of July," said Demetrius; "and Angelo Duras undertook to obtain a postponement for three months. To-morrow, lady, is but the 26th of September."

"True," responded Nisida; "but were a delay granted, it would be for eight days--and thus you perceive how nicely Angelo Duras had weighed all the intricacies of the case, and how accurately he had calculated the length of the term to be gained by the exercise of the subtleties of the inquisitorial law. Therefore, as no advocate will appear to demand delay, Flora is certain to be condemned to-morrow night, and the release of Francisco may take place simultaneously--for when once the grand inquisitor shall have p.r.o.nounced the extreme sentence, no human power can reverse it. And now," added Nisida, "but one word more. The grand vizier commanded you to dispatch a courier daily to Leghorn with full particulars of all your proceedings; see that those accounts be of a nature to lull the treacherous Ibrahim into security--for, were he to learn that his aunt and sister are in dread peril, he would be capable of marching at the head of all his troops to sack the city of Florence."

"Fear not on that subject, lady," answered Demetrius. "I will so amuse the demon-hearted grand vizier by my dispatches, that he shall become excited with joyous hopes--so that the blow--the dread blow which we are preparing for him--may be the more terribly severe."

The Greek then rose to take his leave of Donna Nisida; and Wagner, having closed the secret door as noiselessly as he had opened it, hurried away from the Riverola mansion bewildered and grieved at all he had heard--for he could no longer conceal from himself that a very fiend was incarnate in the shape of her whom he had loved so madly.

Having tossed on a feverish couch for upward of an hour,--unable to banish from his mind the cold blooded plot which Nisida and Demetrius had resolved upon in order to consign Flora Francatelli and her equally innocent aunt to the stake,--Wagner at last slept through sheer exhaustion. Then Christia.n.u.s Rosencrux appeared to him in a dream and said:--"Heaven hath chosen thee as the instrument to defeat the iniquitous purposes of Riverola in respect of two guiltless and deserving women. Angelo Duras is an upright man; but he is deluded and misled by the representations made to him by Nisida, through his brother, the physician, relative to the true character of Flora. In the evening at nine o'clock, hie to Angelo Duras--command him in the name of justice and humanity, to do his duty toward his clients--and he will obey thee. Then, having performed this much, speed thou without delay to Leghorn, and seek the grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. To him shalt thou merely state that Demetrius is a traitor, and that tremendous perils hang over the heads of the vizier's much-loved relatives. Manifest no hatred to the vizier on account of his late treacherous intention with regard to the honor of Nisida: for vengeance belongeth not to mortals.

And in these measures only, of all the deeply ramified plots and designs which thou didst hear discussed between Nisida and Demetrius, shall thou interfere. Leave the rest to Heaven."

The founder of the Rosicrucians disappeared: and when Fernand awoke late in the day--for his slumber had been long and deep--he remembered the vision which he had seen, and resolved to obey the order he had received.

Beneath the ma.s.sive and heavy tower of the Palazzo del Podesta, or Ducal Palace of Florence, was the tribunal of the holy inquisition. Small, low, and terribly somber in appearance was this court--with walls of the most solid masonry, an arched roof, and a pavement formed of vast blocks of dark-veined marble. Thither the light of heaven never penetrated; for it was situate far below the level of the earth, and at the very foundation of that tower which rose, frowning and sullen, high above.

Iron lamps diffused a lurid l.u.s.ter around, rendering ghastly the countenance alike of the oppressors and the oppressed; and when it was deemed necessary to invest the proceedings with a more awe-inspiring solemnity than usual, torches, borne by the familiars or officers of the inquisition, were subst.i.tuted for these iron lamps. Over the judgment-seat was suspended a large crucifix. On one side of the court were three doors,--one communicating with the corridor and flight of stone steps leading to and from the tribunal; the second affording admission into the torture-chamber and the third opening to the prisons of the inquisition.

It was about seven o'clock in the evening, on the 26th of September, that Flora Francatelli and her aunt were placed before the grand inquisitor, to be examined for the second time. When the familiars, habited in their long, black, ecclesiastical dresses with the strange cowls or hoods shading their stern and remorseless countenances, led in the two females from the separate cells in which they had been confined, the first and natural impulse of the unhappy creatures was to rush into each other's arms;--but they were immediately torn rudely asunder, and so stationed in the presence of the grand inquisitor as to have a considerable interval between them.

But the glances which the aunt and niece exchanged, gave encouragement and hope to each other, and the sentiments which prompted those glances were really cherished by the persecuted females; inasmuch as Father Marco, who had been permitted to visit them occasionally, dropped sundry hints of coming aid, and powerful, though invisible, protection--thereby cheering their hearts to some little extent, and mitigating the intensity of their apprehensions. Flora was very pale--but never, perhaps, had she appeared more beautiful--for her large blue eyes expressed the most melting softness, and her dark brown hair hung disheveled over her shoulders, while her bosom heaved with the agitation of suspense.

"Woman," said the grand inquisitor, glancing first to the aunt and then to the niece, his eyes, however, lingering upon the latter, "know ye of what ye are accused? Let the younger speak first."

"My lord," answered Flora, in a firmer tone than might have been expected from the feelings indicated by her outward appearance, "when on a former occasion I stood in the presence of your eminence, I expressed my belief that secret enemies were conspiring, for their own bad purposes, to ruin my beloved relative and myself; and yet I call Heaven to witness my solemn declaration that knowingly and willfully we have wronged no one by word or deed."

"Young woman," exclaimed the grand inquisitor, "thou hast answered my questions evasively. Wast thou not an inmate of that most holy sanctuary, the convent of Carmelite nuns? wast thou not there the companion of Giulia of Arestino? did not a sacrilegious horde of miscreants break into the convent, headed or at least accompanied by a certain Manuel d'Orsini who was the lover of the countess? was not this invasion of the sacred place undertaken to rescue that guilty woman? and did she not find an asylum at the abode of your aunt, doubtless with your connivance, until the day of her arrest?"

"None of those circ.u.mstances, my lord," replied Flora, "do I attempt to deny: but it is so easy to give them a variety of colorings, some of which, alas! may seem most unfavorable to my venerable relative and to myself. Oh, my lord, do with me what thou wilt," exclaimed Flora, clasping her hands together in a single paroxysm of anguish; "but release that aged woman, suffer not my beloved aunt--my more than mother to be thus persecuted! have mercy, my lord, upon _her_--oh! have mercy, great judge, upon her."

"Flora--dearest Flora," cried Dame Francatelli, the tears trickling fast down her countenance, "I do not wish to leave you--I do not seek to be set free--I will stay in this dreadful place so long as you remain a prisoner also; for though we are separated----"

"Woman," exclaimed the grand inquisitor, not altogether unmoved by this touching scene, "the tribunal cannot take heed of supplications and prayers of an impa.s.sioned nature. It has to do with facts, not feelings."

At this moment there was a slight sensation amongst the familiars stationed near the door of the judgment-hall; and an individual who had just entered the court, and who wore the black robe and the cap or toque of a counselor, advanced toward the grand inquisitor.

"My lord," said the advocate, with a reverential bow, "the day after the arrest of these females, I submitted to the council of state a memorial, setting forth certain facts which induced the president of the council to issue his warrant to order the postponement of the second examination of the two prisoners now before your eminence, until this day."

"And the case has been postponed accordingly," answered the grand inquisitor. "It will now proceed, unless reasonable cause be shown for further delay. The prisoners are obstinate. Instead of confessing their heinous crimes, and throwing themselves on the mercy of Heaven--for past the hope of human mercy they are--they a.s.suredly break forth into impa.s.sioned language, savoring of complaint. Indeed, the younger attributes to the machinations of unknown enemies the position in which she is placed. Yet have we positive proof that she was leagued with those who perpetrated the sacrilege which ended in the destruction of the Carmelite Convent; and the elder prisoner gave refuge not only to the young girl, her niece, but also to a woman more guilty still--thus rendering herself infamous as one who encouraged and concealed the enemies of the church, instead of giving them up to the most holy inquisition. Wherefore," continued the grand inquisitor, "it remaineth only for me to order the prisoners to be put to the torture, that they may confess their crimes and receive the condemnation which they merit."

At the terrible word "_torture_," Dame Francatelli uttered a cry of agony--but it was even more on account of her beloved niece than herself; while Flora, endowed with greater firmness than her aunt, would have flown to console and embrace her, had not the familiars cruelly compelled the young maiden to retain her place.

"My lord," said Angelo Duras--for he was the advocate who appeared on behalf of the prisoners--"I formally and earnestly demand a delay of eight days ere this final examination be proceeded with."

"It is impossible," returned the grand inquisitor, while his words went like ice-shafts to the hearts of the unhappy women. "In addition to the charges against them which I have already glanced at, it appeareth that one Alessandro Francatelli, who is nearly related to them both, hath abjured the Christian faith and become a Mussulman. This fact was reported many months ago to the council of state: and in the cottage lately habited by the prisoners was found a costly set of jewels, ornamented with sundry Moslem devices and symbols, all of which are hateful to the true Catholic. It is therefore natural to suppose that they themselves have secretly abjured their country's religion, and have already received the reward of their apostasy."

"No--never, never!" exclaimed the aunt, clasping her hands together, and showing more anguish by this cruel suspicion than by any other portion of the treatment which she had received at the hands of the inquisition.