was looking at him earnestly.
"Come!" he said in a faint whisper, "come to her bedside: we have no
time to lose. Get your hat, and leave it to me to put out the lamp."

He hurriedly extinguished the light while he spoke. They went down the
studio side by side toward the door. The moonlight streamed through the
window full on the place where the priest had been standing alone with
the lamp in his hand. As they passed it, Luca felt his brother tremble,
and saw him turn away his head.

. . . . . . . .

Two hours later, Fabio d'Ascoli and his wife were separated in this
world forever; and the servants of the palace were anticipating in
whispers the order of their mistress's funeral procession to the
burial-ground of the Campo Santo.

PART THIRD.

CHAPTER I.

About eight months after the Countess d'Ascoli had been laid in her
grave in the Campo Santo, two reports were circulated through the
gay world of Pisa, which excited curiosity and awakened expectation
everywhere.

The first report announced that a grand masked ball was to be given at
the Melani Palace, to celebrate the day on which the heir of the house
attained his majority. All the friends of the family were delighted
at the prospect of this festival; for the old Marquis Melani had the
reputation of being one of the most hospitable, and, at the same time,
one of the most eccentric men in Pisa. Every one expected, therefore,
that he would secure for the entertainment of his guests, if he really
gave the ball, the most whimsical novelties in the way of masks, dances,
and amusements generally, that had ever been seen.

The second report was, that the rich widower, Fabio d'Ascoli, was on the
point of returning to Pisa, after having improved his health and spirits
by traveling in foreign countries; and that he might be expected to
appear again in society, for the first time since the death of his wife,
at the masked ball which was to be given in the Melani Palace. This
announcement excited special interest among the young ladies of Pisa.
Fabio had only reached his thirtieth year; and it was universally agreed
that his return to society in his native city could indicate nothing
more certainly than his desire to find a second mother for his infant
child. All the single ladies would now have been ready to bet, as
confidently as Brigida had offered to bet eight months before, that
Fabio d'Ascoli would marry again.

For o