peared through the earth--as if a second time hurled down in
headlong flight before the thunderbolts of heaven. Wagner fell upon his
knees and prayed fervently.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE TRIAL OF FERNAND WAGNER.

On the ensuing morning Wagner stood before the judge of the Criminal
Tribunal of the Republic.

The judgment hall was a large and lofty room in the Palazzo del Podesta,
or ducal palace. The judges sat in antique and richly carved chairs,
placed on a platform, beneath a canopy of purple velvet fringed with
gold.

On the left, at a handsome desk covered with papers, was seated the
procurator fiscal or attorney-general of the republic, distinguished in
attire from the judges only by the fact of the ermine upon his scarlet
robe being narrower than theirs. Opposite to this functionary was a
bench whereon the witnesses were placed. The prisoner stood between two
sbirri in a small pew, in the center of the court. Defendants in civil
cases were alone permitted in that age and country to retain counsel in
their behalf; persons accused of crimes were debarred this privilege.
Wagner was therefore undefended.

The proceedings of the tribunal were usually conducted privately; but
about a dozen gentlemen and twice as many ladies had obtained orders of
admission on this occasion, the case having produced considerable
sensation in Florence, on account of the reputed wealth of the accused.
Perhaps, also, the rumor that he was a young man endowed with
extraordinary personal attractions, had exercised its influence upon the
susceptible hearts of the Florentine ladies. Certain it is, that when he
was conducted into the judgment hall, his strikingly handsome
exterior--his air of modest confidence--his graceful gait, and his
youthful appearance, so far threw into the back-ground the crime imputed
to him, that the ladies present felt their sympathies deeply enlisted in
his behalf.

The usher of the tribunal having commanded silence in a loud voice, the
chief judge began the usual interrogatory of the prisoner.

To the questions addressed to him, the accused replied that his name was
Fernand Wagner; that he was a native of Germany; that he had no
profession, avocation nor calling; that he was possessed of a large
fortune; and that having traveled over many parts of the world, he
settled in Florence, where he had hoped to enjoy a tranquil and peaceful
existence.

"The murdered female was reputed to be your sister," said