ave not only your
lordship's aunt and sister from the officers of the inquisition, but
also the young Count of Riverola from the power of his miscreant
enemies. Alas! my anticipations were not to be fulfilled! I lost my way
amongst a maze of gardens connected with the villas bordering on the
Arno; and much valuable time at such a crisis was wasted in the circuits
which I had to make to extricate myself from the labyrinth and reach the
bank of the river. At length I drew within sight of the cottage; but my
heart beat with terrible alarms as I beheld lights moving rapidly about
the house. 'It is too late,' I thought: and yet I rushed on toward the
place. But suddenly the door opened, and by a glare of light within, I
saw three females closely muffled in veils, led forth by several armed
men. It instantly struck me that the third must be the Countess Giulia
of Arestino to whom I heard the miscreants allude. I stopped short--for
I knew that any violent demonstration or interference on my part would
be useless, and that measures of another kind must be adopted on behalf
of the victims. As the procession now advanced from a cottage, I
concealed myself in the adjacent grove, wondering whether Count
Francisco had been already arrested or whether he had managed to elude
his enemies. The procession, consisting of the officers of the
inquisition with their three female prisoners, who were dragged rather
than led along, passed by the spot where I lay concealed; and the deep
sobs which came from the unfortunate ladies, gagged though they
evidently were, filled my heart with horror and anguish. As soon as they
had disappeared I struck further into the grove, knowing by its
situation that the outlet on the other side would conduct me to the
nearest road to that quarter of the city in which I lodged. But scarcely
had I reached the outskirts of the little wood in the direction which I
have named, when I saw a party of men moving on in front of me, through
the obscurity of the night. It struck me that this party might consist
of Antonio, Venturo, and other worthies, and I determined to ascertain
whether Count Francisco had fallen into their hands. I accordingly
followed them as cautiously as possible, taking care to skirt the grove
in such a manner that I was concealed by its deep shade, whereas those
whom I was watching proceeded further away from the trees. Thus the
party in advance and myself continued our respective paths for nearly a