u are!" exclaimed the child, looking on, with impatience,
to see the walls come down. "You should hit harder."

"The walls are very thick, Alberto," observed his father. "All these
niches, which have been blocked up, and in the olden time contained
statues, have to come down also."

"They are taking down a niche now, are they not, papa?"

"Not yet. They are removing the wall which has been built before it. It
appears fresher, too, than the rest; of more recent date."

"It seems extraordinarily fresh, my lord," observed one of the workmen.
"The materials are old, but it has certainly been rebuilt within a few
years--within ten, I should say."

"Not it," laughed the count. "These corridors have not been touched during
my lifetime."

"This portion of them has, my lord, you may rely upon it."

As he spoke, the remainder came down with a tremendous crash, leaving the
niches exposed, There was no statue there--but the corpse of the
unfortunate Gina Montani, standing upright in her night-dress, was
revealed to their sight--nearly as fresh as if she had died but yesterday,
having been excluded from the air. The features, it is true, were scarcely
to be recognized, but the hair--the long brown curls falling on her
neck--was the same as ever. This was her horrible death then--to be walled
up alive! The count grew sick and faint as he gazed. Before he had time to
collect his startled thoughts, the child pulled at and clung to his arm.
"Take me away. What is that dreadful thing? You look white and cold too,
not as you always do. Oh, what is it? Dear papa, take me from here!"

The workmen were affrighted--perhaps more so, though less shocked, than the
count. But one of them, partially recovering himself, touched the corpse
with an implement he had been using, and it came down a heap of dust. The
Lord of Visinara turned, and with steps that tottered under him, bore his
child back to the castle.

VII.

You may hear in Italy unto this day, various versions of this tradition.
One will tell you that the Lord of Visinara offered moneys and treasures,
to the half of his possessions, to the monks, if they would lay the
troubled spirit of Gina Montani, but that, although they tried hard, they
could not do it. According to another version, the friars would not try,
for that no heretic's soul may be prayed for in the Roman Church. But,
however the monks may have settled it amongst themselves, all versions of
the history agre