f her. His father was alive, however,
and as the old Earl had negotiated for him a marriage with the daughter
of some proud Marquis in England, he did not dare to acquaint him of
it--for though the title and the estate could not be alienated, yet the
enormous personal property could, and even his love for the fair Italian
could not reconcile him to risk the chance of enduring what he would
have called poverty. He purchased a villa at Leghorn, and leaving the
ship almost entirely at my command, lived for the time at least as
though there was nothing on this earth to care for but love and beauty.
The chaplain had been sworn to secresy, and the other officers of the
ship thought it was merely some amour of their commander's, and whatever
they thought of his morals, they of course took good care to say
nothing. The chaplain died soon after, and I remained the sole living
witness of the marriage. The birth of a son, however, instead of linking
their hearts closer together, became the apple of discord between them.
She pressed him to acknowledge her as his wife to the numerous English
families who were settled around Leghorn, and who refused to associate
with one in her equivocal position. She had borne their slights
patiently when only directed against herself, but the feelings of a
mother were aroused when the finger of scorn was pointed at her child.
It was too evident, also, that his affection for her was on the wane. He
was absent from her more frequently--spoke of the necessity of attending
to his duty--his duty! oh, the ready excuse man finds to do evil. Better
far for that poor girl would it have been to have been buried in the
deepest recesses of the cloister, than to have attracted the notice of
that vile unprincipled nobleman. It was about this time the old Earl
died, and he quitted the service. There was no bar now for his
acknowledging her as his wife--but he was satiated--his fleeting passion
had evaporated. He had visited England in the interval, and seen the
bride destined for him by his father: and her beauty, the enormous
addition to his wealth and power which would accrue from the marriage,
tempted him, and he now regarded the woman who had surrendered to him
the most sacred of man's earthly trusts--her young heart's first
affections, her hopes of earthly happiness--as a barrier to his pride
and the vile passion he dared to dignify with the name of love: and when
she now asked him to do her the justice which