and satisfaction exhibited when a
Bible and hymn-book were drawn forth. Antonio fancied that he could see
the dark eyes of the familiars flashing under their hoods as they handed
the books to each other. The advocate knew well the language those eyes
spoke. "Here we have evidence which will convict him without doubt; no
hope for him, no prospect of escape." Yet he stood calm and motionless,
striving by a mighty effort to quell the agitated feelings of his bosom,
and to seek strength from the only Source whence it could be obtained.
He seemed as though he had succeeded, when a faint cry reached his ear.
He knew the voice; it was that of his wife. In an instant he had torn
asunder the bonds which held him; he had dashed on either side the
cowled alguazils who crowded round, and at a bound dashed through the
doorway, down the passage whence the sound proceeded.

"Leonor! Leonor! I come to you," he cried out; but as he uttered the
words, a blow from a heavy staff on the forehead laid him senseless on
the ground. When he returned to consciousness, it was to find himself
in a narrow, dark, and noisome cell, which he well knew must be one of
the secret prisons of that fearful institution, the Inquisition. He had
often heard of the horrors those gloomy walls could reveal. He knew
that thousands of his fellow-creatures had been confined within them;
that very many had never again seen the light of day; that others had
been brought forth as spectacles to be mocked at, dressed in fantastic
costumes, and thus had been committed to the flames.

On the hard flag-stones he knelt down, and then, in close communion with
his God, he obtained a strength and courage which no human power could
have given him. Hour after hour, and day after day, passed away, and he
remained alone in darkness, a cowled figure entering occasionally, and
as quickly retiring, without uttering a word or making a sign. When not
engaged in prayer, his thoughts were with Leonor; and even when thus
engaged, they often turned to her, and she became their chief and
absorbing subject, that she might have strength, that she might have
courage to hold to the truth.

At length the moment arrived when his powers of endurance were to be put
to the test--his faith, his courage. The door opened, and six
familiars, with their countenances masked, and their figures concealed
by dark robes, entered his cell. His eyes, long accustomed to darkness,
could scarcely e