ecially when she remembered
the coldness with which her mistress had treated her a day or two
previous to her forced abduction from the Riverola Palace. Those
suspicions seemed confirmed, too, by the nature of the discourse which
Sister Alba had first addressed to her, when she upbraided her with
having given way to "those carnal notions--those hopes--those
fears--those dreams of happiness, which constitute the passion that the
world calls love."

The reader will remember that Flora had suspected the coolness of Nisida
to have risen from a knowledge of Francisco's love for the young maiden;
and every word which Sister Alba had uttered in allusion to the passion
of love seemed to point to that same fact.

Thus was Flora convinced that it was this unfortunate attachment, in
which for a moment she had felt herself so supremely blest, that was the
source of her misfortunes. But then, how had Nisida discovered the
secret? This was an enigma defying conjecture; for Francisco was too
honorable to reveal his love to his sister, after having so earnestly
enjoined Flora herself not to betray that secret.

At times a gleam of hope would dawn in upon her soul, even through the
massive walls of that living tomb to which she appeared to have been
consigned. Would Francisco forget her? Oh! no, she felt certain that he
would leave no measure untried to discover her fate, no means unessayed
to effect her deliverance.

But, alas! then would come the maddening thought that he might be
deceived with regard to her real position; that the same enemy or
enemies who had persecuted her might invent some specious tale to
account for her absence, and deter him from persevering in his inquiries
concerning her.

Thus was the unhappy maiden a prey to a thousand conflicting sentiments;
unable to settle her mind upon any conviction save the appalling one
which made her feel the stern truth of her captivity.

Oh! to be condemned so young to perpetual prisonage, was indeed hard,
too hard--enough to make reason totter on its throne and paralyze the
powers of even the strongest intellect.

Sister Alba had sketched out to her the course of existence on which she
must prepare to enter. Ten days of prayer and sorry food in her own cell
were first enjoined as a preliminary, to be followed by admission into
the number of penitents who lacerated their naked forms with scourges at
the foot of the altar. Then the period of her penitence in this manner
wo