o part of the palace unexplored. The
vaults were, it was believed, used as dungeons in the old times--say,
some centuries since. Air and light were only partially admitted to
these dismal places by two long shafts of winding construction, which
communicated with the back yard of the palace, and the openings of
which, high above the ground, were protected by iron gratings. The
stone stairs leading down into the vaults could be closed at will by a
heavy trap-door in the back hall, which we found open. The Baron
himself led the way down the stairs. We remarked that it might be
awkward if that trap-door fell down and closed the opening behind us.
The Baron smiled at the idea. "Don't be alarmed, gentlemen," he said;
"the door is safe. I had an interest in seeing to it myself, when we
first inhabited the palace. My favourite study is the study of
experimental chemistry--and my workshop, since we have been in Venice,
is down here."

'These last words explained a curious smell in the vaults, which we
noticed the moment we entered them. We can only describe the smell by
saying that it was of a twofold sort--faintly aromatic, as it were, in
its first effect, but with some after-odour very sickening in our
nostrils. The Baron's furnaces and retorts, and other things, were all
there to speak for themselves, together with some packages of
chemicals, having the name and address of the person who had supplied
them plainly visible on their labels. "Not a pleasant place for
study," Baron Rivar observed, "but my sister is timid. She has a
horror of chemical smells and explosions--and she has banished me to
these lower regions, so that my experiments may neither be smelt nor
heard." He held out his hands, on which we had noticed that he wore
gloves in the house. "Accidents will happen sometimes," he said, "no
matter how careful a man may be. I burnt my hands severely in trying a
new combination the other day, and they are only recovering now."

'We mention these otherwise unimportant incidents, in order to show
that our exploration of the palace was not impeded by any attempt at
concealment. We were even admitted to her ladyship's own room--on a
subsequent occasion, when she went out to take the air. Our
instructions recommended us to examine his lordship's residence,
because the extreme privacy of his life at Venice, and the remarkable
departure of the only two servants in the house, might have some
suspicious connection with the natur