things,
not
one
of
them
could
find
a
blemish
or
defect
in
Lily
,
and
our
fair
Balagnese
told
them
to
go
home
and
break
their
mirrors
.
It
was
a
sweet
spring
morning
,
and
amid
a
fearful
din
of
guns
and
trumpets
,
mandolins
and
fiddles
,
I
waited
with
a
nervous
smile
under
the
triumphal
arch
in
front
of
my
fictitious
house
.
A
sham
house
had
been
made
of
boards
,
and
boughs
,
and
flowers
,
because
it
is
most
essential
that
the
bride
should
be
introduced
to
the
bridegroom
's
dwelling
.
Here
I
was
to
receive
the
procession
,
which
at
last
appeared
.
First
came
fifty
well-armed
youths
,
crowned
with
leaves
and
ribbons
;
then
four-and-twenty
maidens
dressed
alike
,
singing
and
scattering
flowers
,
and
then
a
boy
of
noble
birth
,
mounted
on
a
pony
,
and
carrying
the
freno
,
symbol
of
many
scions
.
None
of
them
I
looked
at
;
only
for
my
Lily
.
On
a
noble
snow-white
palfrey
,
decked
from
head
to
foot
with
flowers
,
her
father
walking
at
her
side
,
came
the
bloom
,
the
flower
,
the
lily
of
them
all
,
arrayed
in
clear
white
muslin
,
self-possessed
,
and
smiling
.
One
glorious
wreath
was
round
her
head
;
it
was
her
own
black
hair
by
her
own
sweet
fingers
twined
with
sprigs
of
myrtle
.
A
sash
,
or
fazoletto
,
of
violet
transparent
crape
,
looped
at
the
crown
of
her
head
,
fell
over
the
shy
lift
of
her
bosom
,
parting
like
a
sunset
cloud
,
where
the
boddice
opened
below
the
pear-like
waist
.
To
me
she
looked
like
a
white
coralline
rising
through
an
amethyst
sea
.
Behind
her
came
the
authorities
of
the
commune
.
The
sham
keys
were
already
hanging
at
her
slender
zone
.
It
was
my
place
to
lift
her
down
and
introduce
her
formally
.
This
I
did
with
excellent
grace
,
feeling
the
weight
of
eyes
upon
me
.
But
when
I
got
her
inside
,
I
spoiled
the
folds
of
the
fazoletto
.
I
heard
the
old
man
shouting
,
"
Who
are
ye
gallant
sons
of
the
mountain
,
who
have
carried
off
my
daughter
?
To
me
,
indeed
,
ye
seem
to
be
brave
and
noble
men
,
yet
have
ye
taken
her
rather
after
the
manner
of
bandits
.
Know
ye
not
that
she
is
the
fairest
flower
that
ever
was
reared
in
Corsica
?
"
"
Yes
,
old
fellow
,
I
know
that
well
enough
;
and
that
's
the
very
reason
why
I
have
got
her
here
.
"
One
more
virgin
kiss
,
and
with
Lily
on
my
arm
,
forth
I
sally
to
respond
.
"
Friends
we
are
,
who
claim
some
hospitality
.
We
have
plucked
the
fairest
flower
on
all
the
strands
of
Corsica
,
and
we
bear
her
to
the
priest
,
fit
offering
for
Madonna
.
"
"
Bide
on
,
my
noble
friends
;
then
come
and
enjoy
my
feast
.
"
No
more
delay
.
The
maids
have
got
all
they
can
do
to
keep
in
front
of
us
with
their
flowers
.
The
armed
youths
stand
on
either
side
at
the
entrance
to
the
church
.
The
tapers
are
already
lit
,
the
passage
up
the
little
church
is
strewed
with
flowering
myrtle
.
Lily
,
holding
her
veil
around
her
,
walks
hand
in
hand
with
me
.
Fiordalisa
Della
Croce
now
is
Lily
Vaughan
;
amidst
a
world
of
shouting
,
shooting
,
and
cornamusas
,
we
are
led
to
the
banqueting-room
;
there
they
seat
us
in
two
chairs
,
and
a
fine
fat
baby
is
placed
on
Lily
's
lap
,
to
remind
her
of
her
duties
.
She
dandles
it
,
and
kisses
it
as
if
she
understood
the
business
,
and
then
presents
it
with
a
cap
of
corals
and
gay
ribbons
.
Now
Lily
Vaughan
throws
off
her
fazoletto
,
and
gives
me
for
a
keepsake
the
myrtles
in
her
hair
.
Then
all
who
can
claim
kin
with
her
,
to
the
fortieth
generation
,
hurry
up
and
press
her
hand
,
and
wish
the
good
old
wish
.
"
Long
life
and
growing
pleasure
,
sons
like
him
,
and
daughters
like
yourself
.
"
After
the
banquet
,
we
were
free
to
go
,
having
first
led
off
the
ballo
in
the
Cerca
dance
.
Thank
God
,
my
Lily
is
at
last
my
own
;
she
falls
upon
my
bosom
weary
and
delighted
.
Clara
,
remember
this
:
the
little
church
in
which
we
were
married
is
called
St.
Katharine
's
on
the
cliff
;
and
I
signed
the
record
in
my
proper
name
,
Edgar
Malins
Vaughan
:
the
Malins
,
very
likely
,
they
did
not
know
from
Valentine
,
for
I
always
wrote
it
with
a
flourish
at
the
end
.
The
Signor
,
with
all
his
friends
,
escorted
us
to
the
limits
of
his
domain
;
there
we
bade
them
heartily
farewell
,
and
they
returned
to
renew
the
feast
.
My
little
yacht
was
in
the
bay
,
and
we
saw
the
boat
push
off
to
fetch
us
as
had
been
arranged
.
We
were
to
sail
for
Girolata
,
where
the
Signor
had
a
country-house
,
lonely
enough
even
for
two
such
lovers
.
Three
or
four
hours
would
take
us
thither
,
and
the
sun
was
still
in
the
heavens
.
As
no
one
now
could
see
us
,
Lily
performed
a
little
dance
for
my
especial
delight
.
How
beaming
she
looked
,
how
full
of
spirits
,
now
all
the
worry
was
over
.
Then
she
tripped
roguishly
at
my
side
to
the
winding
rocky
steps
that
lead
to
St.
Katharine
's
cove
.
The
cove
was
like
a
well
scooped
in
the
giant
cliffs
.
As
we
descended
the
steep
and
narrow
stairs
,
my
Lily
trembled
on
my
arm
.
The
house
and
all
the
merry-makers
were
out
of
sight
and
hearing
.
Of
course
we
stopped
every
now
and
then
,
for
the
boat
could
not
be
at
the
landing
yet
,
and
we
had
much
to
tell
each
other
.
As
we
stepped
upon
the
beach
,
and
under
the
eaves
of
a
jutting
rock
,
a
tall
man
stood
before
us
.
His
eyes
and
beard
were
black
as
jet
,
and
he
wore
the
loose
dress
of
a
Southern
seaman
.
Three
sailors
,
unmistakeably
English
,
were
smoking
and
playing
cards
in
the
corner
shade
of
the
cliff
.
Lily
started
violently
,
turned
pale
,
and
clung
to
me
,
but
faced
the
intruder
bravely
.
He
was
quite
amazed
at
her
beauty
,
I
at
his
insolent
gaze
.
"
Fiordalisa
Della
Croce
,
"
he
said
with
a
pure
Tuscan
accent
,
"
behold
me
!
I
am
come
to
claim
you
.
"
He
actually
laid
his
small
,
but
muscular
hand
upon
my
Lily
's
shoulder
.
She
leaped
back
as
from
a
snake
.
I
knew
it
must
be
Lepardo
.
"
Sir
,
"
I
said
,
as
calmly
as
I
could
,
"
oblige
me
by
allowing
my
wife
to
pass
.
"
The
sneering
,
supercilious
look
which
he
hardly
deigned
to
spare
me
,
was
honest
,
compared
to
his
foul
stare
at
her
.
"
Signor
,
she
is
too
beautiful
.
I
must
have
my
rights
.
Come
for
her
when
I
am
tired
,
if
any
can
tire
of
her
.
"
And
he
thrust
his
filthy
,
hairy
lips
under
my
own
pet
's
hat
.
My
muscles
leaped
,
and
my
soul
was
in
the
blow
.
Down
he
went
like
a
flail
,
and
I
thought
he
was
stunned
for
an
hour
;
but
while
I
was
bearing
my
pet
to
the
boat
,
which
now
was
close
to
the
beach
,
up
he
leaped
,
and
rushed
at
me
with
a
dagger
—
a
dagger
like
one
which
you
know
.
I
did
not
see
him
,
but
Lily
did
over
my
shoulder
;
she
sprang
from
my
arms
and
flung
herself
between
us
.
He
thrust
her
aside
,
and
leaped
at
me
like
a
panther
,
aiming
straight
at
my
heart
.
How
he
missed
me
I
cannot
tell
,
but
think
it
was
through
Lily
.
Before
he
recovered
,
I
closed
with
him
,
wrested
away
the
weapon
and
flung
it
far
into
the
sea
.
But
one
main
thing
I
omitted
;
I
ought
to
have
stunned
him
thoroughly
.
Into
the
boat
with
Lily
—
I
caught
up
an
oar
,
and
away
we
dashed
.
The
three
English
sailors
were
running
up
.
As
a
wave
took
the
boat
about
,
one
of
them
grasped
the
stern
;
down
on
his
knuckles
crashed
my
oar
,
and
with
a
curse
he
let
go
.
All
right
,
all
clear
,
off
for
the
yacht
for
your
lives
.
I
would
show
fight
,
for
my
blood
is
up
,
but
what
would
become
of
Lily
?
And
we
are
but
three
against
four
,
and
none
of
us
have
arms
.
Meanwhile
,
that
black
Italian
,
I
can
never
call
him
a
Corsican
,
sneaked
away
to
a
tuft
of
sea-grass
for
his
double-barrelled
fusil
.
Bowing
with
all
my
might
,
I
saw
him
examine
the
priming
,
lay
his
red
cap
on
a
rock
,
and
the
glistening
gun
on
the
cap
,
and
,
closing
one
eye
,
take
steady
aim
,
not
at
me
,
but
at
Lily
.
Poor
Lily
sat
on
the
thwart
at
my
side
,
faintly
staring
with
terror
.
No
time
to
think
;
oar
and
all
I
dashed
in
front
of
my
darling
.
A
ping
in
the
air
,
a
jar
on
my
wrist
,
a
slight
blow
on
my
breast
,
and
at
my
feet
dropped
the
bullet
.
It
had
passed
through
the
tough
ash
handle
.
Down
,
Lily
,
down
,
for
God
's
sake
;
he
is
firing
the
other
barrel
.
I
flung
her
down
in
the
bilge
water
;
the
brute
cannot
see
her
now
.
Not
quite
so
easily
off
.
Up
a
steep
rock
he
climbed
like
a
cat
,
the
cursed
gun
still
in
his
hand
.
He
won
fifty
feet
of
vantage
,
and
commanded
the
whole
of
the
boat
.
We
were
not
eighty
yards
away
.
There
he
coolly
levelled
at
my
prostrate
Lily
.
I
had
grey
hairs
next
morning
.
Forward
,
I
threw
myself
,
over
my
wife
;
me
he
might
kill
if
he
chose
.
One
lurch
of
the
boat
—
a
short
sea
was
running
—
and
my
darling
's
head
was
shown
.
He
saw
his
chance
and
fired
.
Thank
God
,
he
had
too
little
powder
in
;
my
own
love
is
untouched
.
The
ball
fell
short
of
Lily
,
and
passed
through
my
left
foot
,
in
at
the
sole
and
out
below
the
instep
.
Luckily
I
had
retained
my
dancing
shoes
,
or
my
thick
boots
would
have
kept
the
ball
in
my
foot
.
The
brute
could
not
see
that
he
had
hit
any
one
,
and
he
cursed
us
in
choice
Italian
.
Poor
Lily
had
quite
swooned
away
,
and
knew
nothing
of
my
wound
.
Over
the
side
of
the
yacht
I
lifted
her
myself
,
standing
upon
one
leg
.
No
one
else
should
touch
her
.
So
furious
I
was
with
that
cold-blooded
miscreant
,
that
if
I
could
only
have
walked
,
I
would
have
returned
to
fight
him
.
My
men
,
too
,
were
quite
up
for
it
.
But
when
Lily
came
to
herself
,
and
threw
her
arms
round
me
and
wept
,
and
thanked
God
and
her
saints
,
I
found
my
foot
quite
soaked
in
a
pool
of
blood
,
and
stiffening
.
Poor
little
dear
!
what
a
fuss
she
did
make
about
it
!
I
would
have
borne
ten
times
the
pain
for
the
smiles
and
tears
she
gave
me
.
One
thing
was
certain
—
under
the
mercy
of
God
,
we
owed
our
lives
to
each
other
,
and
held
them
henceforth
in
common
.
As
,
with
a
flowing
sheet
,
we
doubled
the
craggy
point
,
concealed
close
under
the
rocks
we
saw
a
low
and
snake-like
vessel
,
of
the
felucca
build
.
She
was
banked
for
three
pair
of
sweeps
,
and
looked
a
thorough
rover
.
This
was
,
of
course
,
Lepardo
's
boat
.
We
now
bore
away
for
Ajaccio
,
dear
Lily
having
implored
me
not
to
think
of
Girolata
,
where
no
medical
aid
could
anyhow
be
procured
.
Moreover
,
she
wanted
to
fly
from
that
dark
Lepardo
;
and
I
am
quite
willing
to
own
that
,
despite
my
delicious
nursing
,
I
was
not
ambitious
to
stand
as
target
again
during
our
honeymoon
.
CHAPTER
XIII
.
EDGAR
VAUGHAN
's
STORY
CONTINUED
.
At
first
I
thought
a
great
deal
more
of
the
pain
than
the
danger
of
my
wound
;
but
when
I
showed
it
to
the
French
surgeon
at
Ajaccio
,
he
surprised
me
by
shrugging
his
shoulders
formidably
,
and
declaring
that
it
was
the
good
God
if
I
kept
my
foot
.
Being
of
a
somewhat
sceptical
turn
,
I
thought
at
first
that
he
only
wanted
to
gild
the
frame
of
his
work
;
but
when
I
began
to
consider
it
,
I
found
that
he
was
quite
right
.
The
fact
was
,
that
I
had
thought
much
more
of
my
bride
than
of
my
metatarsals
.
Two
of
these
were
splintered
where
the
bullet
passed
between
them
,
and
it
was
a
question
whether
it
had
not
been
poisoned
.
Many
of
the
mountaineers
are
skilled
in
deadly
drugs
,
and
use
them
rarely
for
the
bowl
,
not
so
rarely
for
the
sword
and
gun
.
At
one
time
there
were
symptoms
even
of
mortification
,
and
my
wife
,
who
waited
hand
and
foot
upon
me
,
joined
the
surgeon
in
imploring
me
to
submit
to
amputation
.
"
Sweetest
mine
!
do
you
suppose
that
I
shall
love
you
any
the
less
because
you
walk
on
crutches
,
and
all
through
your
love
of
me
?
And
what
other
difference
can
it
make
to
either
of
us
?
I
shall
cry
a
great
deal
at
first
,
for
I
love
your
little
toe-nails
more
than
I
do
my
own
eyes
;
but
,
darling
,
we
shall
get
over
it
.
"
As
she
loved
my
toes
so
much
,
I
resolved
to
keep
them
,
if
it
was
only
for
her
sake
;
and
,
after
a
narrow
crisis
,
my
foot
began
to
get
better
.
To
her
care
and
tenderness
I
owed
my
recovery
,
far
more
than
to
the
skill
of
the
clever
surgeon
.
Six
months
elapsed
before
I
could
walk
again
,
and
our
little
yacht
was
sent
to
Calvi
to
explain
the
long
delay
.
Fond
as
I
was
of
the
"
Lily-flower
,
"
I
was
anxious
now
to
sell
her
;
but
my
darling
nurse
,
although
she
knew
before
our
marriage
that
I
was
not
a
wealthy
man
,
would
not
listen
to
the
scheme
at
all
;
for
the
doctor
ordered
me
,
as
I
grew
stronger
,
to
be
constantly
on
the
water
.
"
Not
by
any
means
,
my
own
,
will
we
sell
our
little
love-boat
.
I
should
cry
after
it
like
a
baby
;
and
another
thing
,
far
more
important
,
you
can
bear
no
motion
except
on
board
our
Lily
.
Papa
has
got
great
heaps
of
money
,
and
he
never
can
refuse
me
anything
when
I
coax
in
earnest
.
"
Conscious
as
I
was
of
my
vile
deceit
,
I
would
rather
have
died
than
apply
to
Signor
Dezio
,
albeit
I
am
quite
sure
that
he
would
soon
have
forgiven
me
.
So
I
wrote
again
to
my
good-natured
brother
and
banker
,
and
told
him
all
that
had
happened
,
but
begged
him
not
to
impart
it
even
to
your
mother
.
I
have
strong
reason
for
suspecting
that
he
did
not
conceal
it
from
her
;
but
as
I
never
alluded
to
the
subject
before
her
,
she
was
too
much
a
lady
ever
to
lead
me
towards
it
.
My
motive
for
this
reserve
was
at
first
some
ill-defined
terror
lest
my
fraud
upon
Signor
Dezio
should
come
to
light
prematurely
.
Also
I
hate
to
be
talked
about
among
people
whom
I
despise
.
Afterwards
,
as
you
will
perceive
,
I
had
other
and
far
more
cogent
reasons
.
I
need
not
say
that
your
father
—
dear
Clara
,
I
ought
to
love
you
,
if
only
on
his
account
!
—
your
father
wrote
me
a
kind
and
most
warm-hearted
letter
,
accompanied
by
a
most
handsome
gift
—
no
loan
this
time
,
but
a
wedding-gift
,
and
a
very
noble
one
.
Also
he
pressed
me
to
come
home
with
my
bride
the
moment
I
could
endure
the
voyage
.
Ah
!
if
I
had
only
obeyed
him
,
not
Lily
and
Henry
,
but
myself
would
have
been
the
victim
.
We
returned
as
soon
as
possible
to
Vendetta
tower
,
and
found
the
good
Signor
in
excellent
spirits
,
delighted
to
see
his
sweet
daughter
again
,
and
still
more
delighted
by
hope
of
a
little
successor
to
the
gray
walls
and
the
olive
groves
.
When
this
hope
was
realized
,
and
a
lusty
young
grandson
was
laid
in
his
arms
,
he
became
so
wild
in
his
glory
,
that
he
went
about
boasting
all
over
the
commune
,
feasting
all
who
came
near
him
,
forgetting
the
very
name
of
the
blood-revenge
.
Many
a
time
we
reminded
and
implored
him
to
be
more
careful
.
He
replied
,
that
his
life
was
of
no
importance
now
;
he
had
come
to
his
haven
among
his
own
dear
ones
,
and
was
crowning
the
old
ship
with
flowers
.
Moreover
,
he
knew
that
the
De
'
Gentili
were
of
a
nobler
spirit
than
to
shed
the
blood
of
a
gray-haired
man
,
when
institution
did
not
very
loudly
demand
it
.
And
so
I
believe
they
were
.
Alas
!
the
poor
old
man
!
—
a
thorough
and
true
gentleman
as
one
need
wish
to
see
—
choleric
albeit
,
and
not
too
wide
of
mind
;
but
his
heart
was
in
the
right
place
,
and
made
of
the
right
material
,
and
easy
enough
to
get
at
.
He
was
free
to
confess
his
own
failings
,
and
could
feel
for
a
man
who
was
tempted
.
Deeply
thankful
I
am
that
,
before
his
white
beard
was
laid
low
,
I
acknowledged
to
him
my
offence
,
and
obtained
his
hearty
forgiveness
.
Little
Henry
was
on
his
lap
,
going
off
into
smiles
of
sleep
,
with
his
mother
's
soft
finger
in
his
mouth
.
At
first
my
confession
quite
took
the
poor
Signor
aback
;
for
I
did
not
attempt
to
gloss
the
dishonour
of
what
I
had
done
;
but
I
told
him
truly
that
the
meanness
was
not
in
my
nature
,
and
although
I
had
won
my
pet
Lily
,
the
road
ran
through
hemlock
and
wormwood
.
And
now
I
perceived
how
uncalled-for
and
stupid
the
fraud
had
been
.
When
the
old
man
recovered
a
little
from
the
shock
caused
by
the
dishonesty
—
towards
which
recovery
the
tears
of
his
daughter
and
the
smiles
of
his
grandson
contributed
—
he
was
really
glad
to
find
that
I
was
not
a
landed
Signor
.
He
rubbed
his
hands
and
twitched
his
beard
with
delight
,
for
now
his
little
Enrico
would
never
be
taken
away
to
the
barbarous
English
island
.
Was
he
not
rightful
successor
to
the
lands
of
the
Della
Croce
?
and
what
more
could
he
possibly
want
?
What
could
he
care
for
the
property
in
Gloisterio
?
However
,
he
made
us
promise
that
if
the
present
remarkable
baby
,
Master
Henry
Vaughan
,
should
ever
enjoy
the
property
in
the
unpronounceable
county
,
Lily
's
second
child
,
if
she
had
one
,
should
take
the
Corsican
lordships
;
for
his
great
fear
was
,
that
the
Malaspina
and
Della
Croce
estates
should
become
a
servient
tenement
to
the
frozen
fields
of
the
North
.
To
express
and
ensure
his
wishes
,
he
had
a
deed-poll
prepared
according
to
his
own
fancy
,
read
it
to
us
and
some
witnesses
,
then
signed
,
sealed
,
and
enrolled
it
.
This
was
one
of
the
documents
which
you
,
my
brave
Clara
,
rescued
from
that
vile
,
stealthy
ghost
.
And
now
,
for
a
short
time
,
we
enjoyed
deep
,
quiet
,
delicious
happiness
.
The
crime
which
had
haunted
me
was
confessed
and
forgiven
.
Amply
possessed
of
the
means
,
and
even
the
abundance
of
life
,
I
was
blessed
with
strong
health
again
,
and
freedom
among
the
free
.
Richest
and
best
of
all
blessings
,
I
had
a
sweet
,
most
lovely
,
and
most
loving
wife
,
and
loved
her
once
and
for
all
.
No
more
beautiful
vision
has
any
poet
imagined
than
young
Lily
Vaughan
sitting
under
the
vine-leaves
,
her
form
more
exquisite
than
ever
,
her
soft-eyed
infant
in
her
lap
wondering
at
his
mother
's
beauty
,
while
her
own
deep-lustred
eyes
carried
to
her
husband
's
,
without
the
trouble
of
thinking
,
all
that
flowed
into
her
heart
—
joy
at
belonging
to
him
,
hope
of
bliss
to
come
,
fear
of
over-happiness
,
pride
in
all
the
three
of
us
,
and
shame
at
feeling
proud
.
Then
a
gay
coquettish
glance
,
as
quick
youth
warms
the
veins
,
and
some
humorous
thought
occurs
,
a
tickle
for
the
baby
,
and
a
feint
of
cold-shouldering
me
.
But
,
jealous
as
I
was
,
desperately
jealous
,
for
my
love
was
more
passionate
than
ever
,
I
can
honourably
state
that
Lily
's
one
and
only
trial
to
arouse
my
jealousy
was
an
ignominious
failure
,
recoiling
only
on
the
person
of
the
dear
designer
.
However
exacting
little
Harry
might
be
,
I
never
grudged
him
his
double
share
of
attention
.
In
the
first
place
I
looked
upon
him
as
a
piece
of
me
,
still
holding
on
;
and
,
in
the
next
place
,
I
knew
that
all
he
laid
claim
to
was
only
a
loan
to
him
,
and
belonged
in
fee
simple
to
his
father
.
At
this
time
I
wrote
to
my
brother
again
,
announcing
the
birth
of
our
boy
,
and
that
we
had
made
him
his
namesake
;
dispensing
,
too
,
with
all
further
reserve
on
the
subject
of
our
marriage
.
This
letter
was
never
delivered
to
your
dear
father
.
That
much
I
know
,
for
certain
;
and
at
one
time
I
strongly
suspected
that
our
cold-blooded
,
crafty
foe
contrived
to
intercept
it
.
But
no
;
if
he
had
,
he
would
have
known
better
afterwards
.
After
that
cowardly
onslaught
upon
my
bride
and
myself
,
I
had
of
course
learned
all
I
could
of
the
history
of
this
Lepardo
.
He
was
the
only
son
of
the
Signor
's
only
brother
,
but
very
little
was
known
of
him
in
the
neighbourhood
,
as
he
came
from
Vescovato
on
the
east
side
of
the
island
.
He
was
said
to
have
great
abilities
and
very
great
perseverance
,
and
under
the
guardianship
of
his
uncle
had
been
intended
and
partly
educated
for
the
French
Bar
.
But
his
disposition
was
most
headstrong
and
sullen
;
and
at
an
early
age
he
displayed
a
ferocity
unusual
even
in
a
Corsican
.
Neither
had
he
the
great
redeeming
trait
of
the
islanders
,
I
mean
their
noble
patriotism
.
One
good
quality
,
however
,
he
did
possess
,
and
that
was
fidelity
to
his
word
.
With
one
of
the
contradictions
so
common
in
human
nature
,
he
would
even
be
false
in
order
to
be
true
:
that
is
,
he
would
be
treacherous
wherever
he
was
unpledged
,
if
it
assisted
him
towards
a
purpose
to
which
he
was
committed
.
While
he
was
yet
a
boy
,
his
intended
career
was
cut
short
by
an
act
of
horrible
violence
.
He
disliked
all
the
lower
animals
,
horses
and
mules
especially
;
and
one
day
he
was
detected
by
a
master
of
the
Paoli
College
,
screaming
,
and
yelling
at
,
and
lashing
,
from
a
safe
distance
,
a
poor
little
pony
whom
he
had
tied
to
a
fence
.
The
master
,
an
elderly
man
,
very
humane
and
benevolent
,
rebuked
him
in
the
most
cutting
manner
,
and
called
him
a
low
coward
.
The
young
villain
ran
off
,
with
his
eyes
flashing
fire
,
procured
a
stiletto
,
and
stabbed
the
poor
man
in
the
back
.
Then
he
leaped
on
the
horse
he
had
been
ill-treating
,
and
pricking
him
with
the
dagger
,
rode
away
furiously
in
the
direction
of
Bastia
.
The
pursuers
could
not
trace
him
through
the
wild
mountain
district
,
but
it
was
believed
that
he
reached
the
town
and
took
refuge
in
an
English
brig
,
which
was
lying
off
the
harbour
,
and
sailed
for
Genoa
that
evening
.
The
pony
was
found
dead
,
lying
by
the
roadside
with
the
brute
's
dagger
in
its
throat
.
No
wonder
Lily
,
who
told
me
all
this
,
with
true
Corsican
rage
in
her
eyes
,
no
wonder
my
Lily
hated
him
.
Even
as
a
little
girl
,
for
she
was
but
ten
years
old
when
he
disappeared
,
she
always
felt
a
strong
repugnance
towards
him
.
He
was
about
six
years
older
than
Fiordalisa
,
and
four
years
younger
than
I
;
so
when
he
shot
at
Lily
,
he
must
have
been
three-and-twenty
.
It
was
reported
that
after
his
disappearance
he
took
to
a
sea-faring
life
,
and
made
himself
very
useful
,
by
his
knowledge
of
languages
,
in
the
English
merchant
service
.
Quarrelling
with
his
employers
,
he
was
said
to
have
resorted
to
smuggling
in
the
Levant
,
if
not
to
downright
piracy
.
Clara
,
for
reasons
I
cannot
explain
,
I
wish
you
to
follow
my
story
step
by
step
in
its
order
,
noting
each
landing-place
.
To
do
this
with
advantage
,
you
must
have
the
dates
carved
upon
each
of
the
latter
:
therefore
I
beg
you
to
copy
them
as
you
pass
.
I
arrived
in
Corsica
,
as
you
heard
,
during
the
month
of
May
,
1829.
On
the
12th
of
August
in
that
same
year
I
first
beheld
my
Lily
.
That
day
I
remember
,
beside
other
reasons
,
because
I
had
wondered
,
as
I
rode
idly
along
,
whether
my
brother
was
opening
his
usual
Highland
campaign
,
and
whether
he
would
like
to
shoot
the
muffrone
.
Lily
and
I
were
married
on
the
21st
of
March
,
1830
,
when
I
was
twenty-seven
years
old
:
and
our
little
Henry
first
saw
the
light
on
the
24th
of
December
following
,
more
than
two
years
before
your
birth
.
Your
father
having
no
children
as
yet
,
I
looked
upon
my
Harry
as
heir
presumptive
to
these
estates
.
Although
your
birth
appeared
to
divest
him
of
the
heirship
,
it
has
since
,
through
causes
then
unknown
to
me
,
proved
otherwise
;
and
if
he
were
living
now
,
he
would
in
strict
law
be
entitled
to
this
property
after
my
death
.
But
if
he
were
alive
,
he
never
should
have
an
inch
of
it
,
that
is
if
I
could
prevent
it
;
because
in
strict
righteousness
all
belongs
to
you
.
And
now
I
hold
the
property
in
fee
simple
,
under
an
Act
which
abolishes
fines
and
recoveries
;
for
I
have
suffered
so
much
from
remorse
,
ever
since
your
dear
mother
's
death
,
that
even
before
you
saved
my
life
,
dearest
child
,
I
enrolled
a
deed
in
Chancery
,
which
gives
me
disposing
powers
;
and
as
I
think
you
know
,
I
made
thereupon
a
will
devising
the
lands
to
you
.
This
also
was
one
of
the
documents
you
caught
that
vile
hypocrite
stealing
.
To
return
to
the
old
Signor
.
He
was
now
as
happy
as
the
day
was
long
,
and
desirous
,
as
an
old
man
often
is
,
to
set
on
foot
noteworthy
schemes
,
which
might
survive
his
time
.
Of
this
desire
I
took
advantage
to
inoculate
him
with
some
English
views
.
It
was
rather
late
to
learn
another
catechism
,
at
threescore
years
and
five
;
but
a
green
old
age
was
his
,
hale
and
hearty
as
could
be
.
"
Why
should
all
those
noble
olives
shed
,
and
rot
upon
the
ground
,
all
those
grapes
of
divers
colours
be
of
no
more
use
than
rainbows
?
Why
should
all
the
dazzling
marbles
slumber
in
the
quarry
,
the
porphyry
of
Molo
,
the
verde
antique
of
Orezza
,
the
Parian
of
Cassaconi
,
the
serpentine
near
Bastia
,
and
the
garnets
of
Vizzavona
—
nay
even
the
matchless
white
alabaster
—
"
Mother
of
our
Lord
,
I
have
got
such
pretty
stuff
in
my
cavern
on
the
gulf
of
Porto
.
Some
one
told
me
it
was
the
very
finest
alabaster
.
But
then
it
would
require
cutting
out
.
"
The
last
thought
seemed
a
poser
.
"
Well
,
father
"
—
so
I
called
him
now
—
"
when
Harry
has
finished
his
tooth
,
suppose
we
go
all
together
in
the
yacht
and
see
it
.
"
And
so
we
did
;
and
it
was
worth
a
voyage
all
the
way
from
London
only
to
look
at
it
.
Pillars
of
snow
,
pellucid
,
and
fancifully
veined
,
like
a
glacier
shot
with
sea-weed
;
clean-working
moreover
,
and
tough
,
and
of
even
texture
,
as
I
proved
to
my
Lily
's
delight
.
There
is
now
a
small
piece
in
the
drawer
of
my
walnut-wood
desk
.
But
I
took
home
a
square
block
with
me
,
and
under
my
wife
's
most
original
criticisms
,
worked
it
into
a
rough
resemblance
of
the
baby
Henry
.
Perhaps
I
have
a
natural
turn
for
sculpture
,
perhaps
it
was
a
wife
's
flattery
;
but
at
any
rate
the
young
mother
was
so
charmed
with
it
,
that
in
one
of
her
pensive
moments
she
even
made
me
promise
,
that
if
she
died
soon
and
alone
,
I
would
have
the
little
recumbent
figure
laid
upon
her
breast
.
Meanwhile
the
Signor
was
gayer
than
ever
:
he
told
us
to
have
no
anxiety
about
anything
less
than
a
score
of
children
;
to
such
effect
would
he
work
his
great
olive
grounds
,
quarries
,
and
vineyards
.
Some
ingenious
plan
he
formed
,
which
delighted
him
hugely
,
but
was
past
my
comprehension
.
As
fast
as
he
quarried
his
alabaster
,
he
would
plant
young
vines
in
the
holes
,
and
every
one
knew
how
the
vine
delighted
to
run
away
over
the
rocks
.
So
at
once
he
must
set
off
for
Corte
,
the
central
town
of
the
island
,
to
procure
a
large
stock
of
tools
well-tempered
in
the
Restonica
.
That
turbulent
little
river
possesses
a
magic
power
.
Its
water
is
said
to
purify
steel
so
highly
that
it
never
can
rust
again
.
I
have
even
heard
that
the
cutlers
of
Northern
Italy
import
it
,
for
the
purpose
of
annealing
their
choicest
productions
.
For
my
part
,
little
as
I
knew
of
commerce
,
I
strongly
recommended
that
arrangements
for
shipping
and
selling
the
alabaster
should
be
made
,
before
it
was
quarried
.
But
the
Signor
scorned
the
idea
.
Having
in
prospect
all
the
riches
of
Croesus
,
and
in
possession
enough
to
make
us
happy
,
and
having
worked
,
as
we
thought
,
uncommonly
hard
,
we
all
four
indulged
in
a
tour
through
Sicily
and
Italy
,
proposing
to
visit
and
criticise
the
principal
marble
quarries
.
By
the
time
we
had
done
all
this
and
enjoyed
it
thoroughly
—
dear
me
,
how
my
wife
was
admired
in
the
sculptor
's
studio
!
—
and
by
the
time
we
had
fallen
to
work
again
,
surveyed
and
geologised
all
the
estates
,
taken
,
or
rather
listened
to
,
long
earfuls
of
advice
,
settled
all
our
plans
summarily
over
the
Rogliano
,
and
reopened
them
all
the
next
morning
,
by
this
time
,
I
say
,
nearly
three
years
of
bliss
had
slipped
by
,
since
my
recovery
from
the
lingering
wound
;
and
it
was
now
the
summer
of
1833.
My
loving
wife
was
twenty
years
old
,
and
we
were
looking
forward
to
the
birth
of
a
brother
or
sister
for
Harry
.
Meanwhile
we
had
heard
of
your
birth
,
which
delighted
us
all
,
especially
my
Lily
.
She
used
to
talk
,
in
the
fond
way
mothers
discover
,
to
Harry
,
now
gravely
perched
up
on
a
stool
,
about
his
little
sweetheart
away
in
the
dark
north
country
.
It
was
in
the
month
of
July
1833
that
the
Signor
found
he
could
no
longer
postpone
his
visit
to
Corte
.
Alone
he
would
go
,
riding
his
favourite
jennet
,
as
sure-footed
as
a
mule
,
and
as
hardy
as
a
mustang
.
Behind
him
he
slung
his
trusty
fusil
,
with
both
barrels
loaded
,
for
he
had
to
traverse
a
desert
and
mountainous
district
haunted
by
banditti
.
He
was
to
travel
through
by-ways
to
Novella
,
and
so
on
to
the
bridge
where
the
roads
from
Calvi
and
Bastia
meet
,
put
up
in
rude
quarters
there
for
the
night
,
and
follow
the
steep
descent
to
the
town
of
Corte
next
day
.
In
vain
we
begged
him
to
take
some
escort
,
or
at
least
to
let
me
go
with
him
.
No
,
I
must
stop
to
guard
the
Lily
and
the
little
snow-drop
;
could
he
possibly
take
me
at
such
a
time
from
home
,
and
did
I
think
a
Della
Croce
was
afraid
of
bandits
?
It
was
a
Monday
morning
when
he
left
the
tower
,
and
he
would
be
back
on
Saturday
in
good
time
for
supper
.
He
kissed
and
blessed
his
Lily
,
and
the
little
snow-drop
as
he
called
young
Harry
,
who
cried
at
his
departure
;
and
then
he
gave
me
too
an
earnest
trembling
blessing
.
By
this
time
he
and
I
had
come
to
love
each
other
,
as
a
father
and
a
son
.
I
went
with
him
quite
to
the
borders
of
the
commune
;
and
there
,
in
a
mountain
defile
,
I
lit
for
him
his
cigar
.
With
some
dark
foreboding
,
I
waited
till
I
saw
him
reach
and
pass
the
gap
at
the
summit
of
the
rise
.
There
he
turned
in
the
saddle
to
wave
his
last
adieu
,
and
his
beard
,
like
a
white
cloud
,
floated
on
the
morning
sky
.
CHAPTER
XIV
.
EDGAR
VAUGHAN
's
STORY
CONTINUED
.
On
the
Saturday
night
,
an
excellent
supper
was
ready
:
the
Signor
's
own
particular
plate
was
at
the
head
of
the
table
,
and
by
it
gleamed
,
in
a
portly
bottle
,
his
favourite
Rogliano
.
Little
Harry
,
who
could
say
anything
he
was
told
,
and
knew
right
well
what
was
good
,
or
at
least
what
tasted
good
—
that
beloved
child
was
allowed
to
stop
up
,
that
grandpapa
might
kiss
him
;
this
was
a
sovereign
specific
,
believed
in
the
nursery
creed
,
to
ensure
sweet
sleep
for
both
.
That
silver
beard
never
kissed
the
chubby
cheek
again
.
All
night
we
waited
and
wondered
:
Harry
was
sent
to
bed
roaring
;
no
grandpapa
appeared
.
The
olives
rustled
at
midnight
,
and
out
I
ran
;
the
doors
creaked
afterwards
,
and
I
opened
them
,
all
in
vain
;
the
sound
of
hoofs
came
up
the
valley
before
the
break
of
day
;
but
no
step
or
voice
of
man
,
no
bark
of
his
favourite
mountain
hound
,
no
neigh
of
the
jennet
to
her
sleepy
brother-horses
.
All
Sunday
we
remained
in
terrible
uneasiness
,
trying
to
cheer
each
other
with
a
hundred
assurances
that
the
dear
old
man
must
have
turned
aside
to
see
an
ancient
friend
living
now
at
Prato
.
When
Monday
morning
came
,
but
brought
no
tidings
of
him
,
I
set
off
,
amid
a
shower
of
tears
,
to
seek
the
beloved
father
.
The
old
fusileer
was
left
on
guard
,
and
I
took
two
young
and
active
men
,
well
acquainted
with
the
mountain
passes
.
All
well
mounted
,
and
well
armed
,
we
purposed
to
ride
hard
,
and
search
the
track
quite
up
to
the
town
of
Corte
.
There
,
if
indeed
he
had
ever
arrived
,
we
should
be
sure
to
hear
of
him
.
But
it
proved
unnecessary
to
go
so
far
from
home
.
Along
that
dreary
mountain
road
,
often
no
more
than
a
shepherd
's
walk
difficult
to
descry
,
we
found
no
token
of
any
traveller
either
living
or
dead
,
until
we
came
to
the
Ponte
Leccia
,
where
the
main
roads
meet
.
Here
our
fears
were
doubled
,
and
the
last
hope
nearly
quenched
;
for
on
asking
at
the
shepherd
's
hut
,
where
Signor
Dezio
meant
to
put
up
,
we
found
that
he
had
slept
there
on
the
Friday
night
,
as
he
was
returning
from
the
town
.
The
shepherd
's
wife
,
who
had
known
him
for
years
,
assured
us
that
he
was
in
wonderful
spirits
and
health
,
insisted
upon
her
supping
with
them
—
which
is
contrary
to
Corsican
usage
—
and
boasted
much
of
the
great
things
he
would
do
,
and
still
more
of
his
beautiful
grandson
.
His
goatskin
wallet
was
full
of
sample
tools
,
which
were
to
astonish
his
English
son
,
and
he
had
a
toy
gun
no
bigger
than
the
tail
of
a
dog
,
with
which
he
intended
to
teach
the
baby
to
shoot
.
Telling
us
all
these
little
things
,
and
showing
us
her
presents
,
the
poor
woman
cried
at
the
thought
of
what
must
have
happened
to
him
.
Right
early
on
Saturday
morning
he
set
off
,
as
impatient
as
a
child
,
to
see
his
beloved
ones
again
,
and
exhibit
all
his
treasures
.
For
love
of
the
Della
Croce
her
husband
had
groomed
the
mare
thoroughly
,
and
she
neighed
merrily
down
the
hill
at
thought
of
her
stable
friends
.
Moreover
,
the
shepherd
's
wife
told
us
that
there
had
been
in
those
parts
no
bandit
worth
the
name
,
since
the
death
of
the
great
Teodoro
,
king
of
the
mountains
,
whose
baby
still
received
tribute
.
After
resting
our
horses
awhile
,
with
heavy
hearts
we
began
to
retrace
our
steps
through
that
awful
wilderness
.
Instead
of
keeping
together
,
as
we
had
done
in
the
morning
,
we
now
rode
in
parallel
lines
,
right
and
left
of
the
desert
track
,
wherever
the
ground
permitted
it
.
All
this
district
is
very
barren
and
rugged
,
and
the
way
winds
up
and
down
,
often
along
the
brink
of
crags
,
or
through
narrow
mountain
gorges
.
The
desolation
and
loneliness
grew
more
oppressive
,
as
the
shadows
lengthened
.
We
had
thoroughly
searched
two-thirds
of
the
distance
homeward
,
and
had
crossed
some
granite
heights
whence
the
sea
was
visible
;
the
sun
was
low
over
Cape
Bevellata
,
and
the
vapours
from
the
marsh
were
crouching
at
the
mountain
's
foot
.
Here
as
I
rode
to
the
left
of
my
two
companions
,
I
heard
the
faint
bay
of
a
dog
far
down
a
deep
ravine
,
that
trended
leftward
from
our
course
.
Putting
my
jaded
animal
to
his
utmost
speed
,
I
made
for
the
hollow
which
echoed
the
dismal
sound
—
a
feeble
bark
prolonged
into
a
painful
howl
.
Turning
the
corner
sharply
I
scared
two
monstrous
vultures
,
who
were
hovering
over
and
craning
at
a
dog
.
The
dog
so
gaunt
and
starved
,
that
at
every
bark
the
ribs
seemed
bursting
the
skin
,
still
was
fighting
past
despair
with
his
loathsome
enemies
.
He
stood
across
the
breast
of
the
noble
Signor
Dezio
.
There
lay
that
gallant
cavalier
,
stark
and
rigid
,
with
his
eyes
wide
open
,
and
his
white
beard
tipped
with
crimson
.
There
he
lay
upon
his
back
,
his
kingly
head
against
a
rock
,
his
left
hand
on
his
clotted
breast
and
glued
thereto
with
blood
;
his
right
hand
hung
beside
his
chin
whence
it
had
slipped
in
death
,
and
in
it
still
securely
grasped
was
a
trinket
newly
made
,
containing
a
little
sheaf
of
the
baby
's
flossy
hair
tied
with
a
black
wisp
of
the
mother
's
.
The
poor
old
man
had
dragged
himself
thither
to
die
,
and
died
with
that
keepsake
on
his
lips
.
The
fatal
shot
had
been
fired
from
above
,
and
passed
completely
through
his
body
.
It
pierced
his
lungs
,
and
I
believe
that
he
felt
little
pain
,
but
gasped
his
simple
life
away
.
Near
him
was
his
wallet
,
with
the
tools
still
in
it
;
I
think
he
had
been
playing
with
the
toy
gun
when
he
received
the
wound
;
at
any
rate
it
lay
separate
from
the
rest
,
and
at
the
old
man
's
side
.
Examining
by
the
waning
light
,
with
icy
awe
upon
me
,
the
scene
of
this
damned
atrocity
,
I
found
that
the
hoary
traveller
must
have
dismounted
here
,
to
eat
his
frugal
dinner
.
A
horn
cup
and
a
crust
of
bread
were
on
a
rocky
shelf
,
and
a
little
spring
welled
down
the
dingle
,
with
the
mark
of
the
dog
's
feet
here
and
there
.
The
craven
foe
had
been
sneaking
along
behind
,
and
took
advantage
of
the
old
man
's
position
,
as
he
sat
upon
a
stone
to
make
certain
of
him
from
the
granite
loophole
.
We
found
the
very
place
where
the
murderer
must
have
crouched
,
but
the
cliff-side
kept
no
footprint
.
The
victim
's
gun
was
gone
,
and
so
was
the
Spanish
mare
:
no
other
robbery
seemed
to
have
been
committed
.
This
glen
led
to
a
shorter
but
more
difficult
track
towards
home
,
which
the
Signor
,
in
his
impatience
,
must
have
resolved
to
try
.
Reverently
we
laid
him
on
the
freshest
horse
;
while
I
with
the
faithful
mountain
dog
on
my
saddle
—
for
he
was
too
exhausted
to
walk
—
rode
on
to
break
the
melancholy
news
,
and
send
assistance
back
.
To
break
bad
news
—
the
phrase
is
a
failure
,
the
attempt
it
implies
a
much
worse
one
.
Lily
knew
all
in
a
moment
,
and
in
her
delicate
state
she
received
so
appalling
a
shock
,
that
for
a
week
she
lay
on
the
very
threshold
of
death
.
At
the
end
of
that
time
,
and
three
days
after
the
old
man
's
funeral
—
at
which
for
his
daughter
's
sake
I
allowed
no
wailings
or
voceros
—
a
lively
little
girl
was
born
,
who
seemed
to
be
none
the
worse
for
her
mother
's
bitter
sufferings
.
Her
innocent
caresses
,
or
some
baby
doings
optimised
by
her
mother
—
though
even
as
a
new-born
babe
she
seemed
a
most
loving
creature
—
all
those
soft
endearing
ways
,
which
I
could
not
understand
,
did
more
to
bring
my
Lily
's
spirit
back
than
even
my
fond
attentions
.
But
as
yet
,
though
able
to
walk
again
,
and
nurse
her
child
,
whom
she
would
not
commit
to
another
,
my
wife
remained
in
a
fearfully
sensitive
and
tremulous
condition
.
The
creak
of
a
door
,
the
sound
of
a
foot
,
the
rustle
of
the
wind
—
and
she
,
so
brave
and
proud
of
yore
,
started
like
a
cicale
,
and
shook
like
a
forest
shadow
.
In
everything
she
feared
the
ambush
of
that
sleuth
cold-blooded
reptile
,
on
whom
alone
,
truly
or
not
God
knows
,
she
charged
the
blood
of
her
venerable
father
.
But
still
she
had
the
comfort
of
a
husband
's
love
,
a
husband
even
fonder
than
when
the
flowers
fell
on
his
path
;
and
still
she
had
the
joy
of
watching
,
with
a
mother
's
tender
insight
,
the
budding
promise
of
two
sweet
infants
.
Infants
I
call
them
,
why
Master
Harry
was
now
a
thorough
chatterbox
!
With
all
this
love
around
her
,
she
by
far
the
loveliest
,
the
pride
and
glory
of
all
,
was
sure
to
find
her
comfort
soon
upon
the
breast
of
time
,
even
as
small
Lily
found
it
in
her
own
sweet
bosom
.
Deeply
and
long
we
mourned
that
ancient
Signor
,
chivalrous
and
true
gentleman
,
counsellor
of
all
things
.
Every
day
we
missed
him
;
but
could
talk
of
it
more
as
time
flowed
on
.
Rogliano
had
no
sparkle
,
Luri
not
the
tint
of
old
:
never
could
I
pour
out
either
from
his
favourite
flagon
,
without
a
thought
of
him
who
taught
us
the
proper
way
to
do
it
;
who
ought
to
be
teaching
us
still
,
but
was
lying
foully
murdered
in
his
lonely
grave
at
St.
Katharine
's
on
the
Cliff
.
We
had
done
our
utmost
to
avenge
him
:
soon
as
I
could
leave
my
wife
,
I
had
scoured
all
the
neighbourhood
.
The
Sbirri
too
had
done
their
best
,
but
discovered
nothing
.
Brave
fellows
they
are
,
when
it
comes
to
fighting
,
but
very
poor
detectives
.
Only
two
things
we
heard
that
seemed
at
all
significant
.
One
of
these
was
that
a
Spanish
jennet
,
like
the
Signor
's
favourite
"
Marana
,
"
but
dreadfully
jaded
and
nearly
starved
,
had
been
sold
on
the
Friday
after
the
murder
,
being
the
very
day
of
the
funeral
,
at
the
town
of
Porto
Vecchio
on
the
south-eastern
coast
.
I
sent
my
coxswain
Petro
,
an
intelligent
and
trusty
Corsican
,
to
follow
up
this
clue
;
for
I
durst
not
leave
my
wife
as
yet
.
Petro
discovered
the
man
who
had
bought
the
mare
,
and
re-purchased
her
from
him
,
as
I
had
directed
:
but
the
description
of
the
first
seller
did
not
tally
with
my
recollections
of
Lepardo
.
However
,
it
proved
to
be
the
true
Marana
;
and
glad
she
was
to
get
home
once
more
.
The
other
report
,
that
seemed
to
bear
upon
the
bloody
mystery
,
was
that
a
swift
felucca
,
flush-built
and
banked
for
triple
sweeps
,
had
been
seen
lying
close
in
shore
near
point
Girolata
,
during
the
early
part
of
the
week
in
which
the
Signor
left
home
.
And
it
was
even
said
that
two
Maltese
sailors
,
belonging
to
this
felucca
,
had
encamped
on
shore
in
a
lonely
place
near
Otta
,
and
were
likely
to
be
found
there
still
.
Lily
being
stronger
now
,
I
determined
to
follow
this
last
clue
myself
;
and
so
I
put
the
little
yacht
into
commission
again
,
and
manned
her
with
Calvi
men
,
for
all
my
English
crew
had
been
dismissed
long
ago
.
Leaving
my
wife
and
children
under
the
care
of
the
old
fusileer
,
away
I
sailed
from
St.
Katharine
's
,
intending
to
return
in
three
days
'
time
.
All
this
coast
I
now
knew
thoroughly
,
and
Otta
was
not
far
beyond
the
poor
Signor
's
cave
of
alabaster
.
It
is
a
wild
and
desert
region
,
far
away
from
any
frequented
road
,
and
little
visited
except
by
outlaws
.
We
found
no
trace
of
any
tent
,
no
sign
of
any
landing
,
and
an
aged
fisherman
,
whom
we
met
,
declared
that
no
felucca
or
vessel
of
any
sort
had
lately
been
near
the
bay
.
I
began
to
fear
that
,
for
some
dark
purpose
,
I
had
been
beguiled
from
home
,
and
despatched
upon
a
fool
's
errand
.
The
dreary
coast
was
still
the
home
of
solitude
,
the
alabaster
cave
untouched
since
our
pic-nic
survey
;
the
marks
of
which
were
undisturbed
except
by
wind
and
weather
.
So
I
crowded
sail
,
and
hurried
back
to
St.
Katharine
's
,
with
a
strange
weight
on
my
heart
.
To
add
to
my
vexation
,
a
strong
north
wind
set
in
,
and
smartly
as
our
cutter
sailed
,
we
were
forced
to
run
off
the
land
.
When
at
last
we
made
the
cove
,
it
was
unsafe
for
the
yacht
to
anchor
,
and
so
I
was
compelled
to
send
her
on
to
Calvi
.
It
was
nearly
midnight
on
the
2d
of
October
,
when
Petro
and
myself
plodded
up
the
wooded
hill
on
which
the
old
tower
stands
.
Weary
and
dispirited
,
though
glowing
every
now
and
then
with
the
thought
of
all
my
darlings
,
in
vain
I
called
myself
a
fool
for
fearing
where
no
fear
was
.
When
we
reached
the
brow
of
the
hill
,
my
vague
alarm
was
doubled
.
The
rude
oil-lamps
that
marked
the
entrance
,
why
were
they
unlighted
?
I
had
especially
ordered
that
they
should
be
kindled
every
night
,
and
Lily
had
promised
to
see
to
it
herself
.
No
challenge
from
the
watchman
,
no
click
of
the
musket
hammer
,
even
the
vinea
was
not
in
its
place
.
In
vain
we
knocked
and
knocked
at
the
old
chesnut
doors
;
no
one
answered
,
no
one
came
to
open
.
None
of
the
loopholes
showed
a
light
;
the
house
was
dark
and
silent
as
the
ivy
.
Wild
with
terror
I
ran
to
the
little
side-door
,
whence
first
my
Lily
met
me
.
This
too
was
locked
,
or
fastened
somehow
;
and
only
the
echo
of
my
knock
was
heard
.
Petro
and
I
caught
up
a
great
bough
of
ilex
,
which
myself
had
lopped
last
week
,
rushed
at
the
door
with
the
butt
,
and
broke
it
in
with
one
blow
.
Shrieking
for
Lily
,
Lily
,
I
flew
from
room
to
room
,
tumbling
over
the
furniture
,
blundering
at
the
doorways
.
No
voice
of
wife
,
no
cry
of
child
,
no
answer
of
domestic
;
all
as
silent
as
if
ten
fathoms
under
water
.
Having
dashed
through
every
room
,
I
turned
to
rush
off
to
the
hamlet
,
when
my
foot
struck
something
—
something
soft
and
yielding
;
was
it
a
sack
or
bolster
?
I
stooped
to
feel
it
;
it
was
Lily
,
laid
out
,
stiff
and
cold
Dead
,
my
Lily
dead
!
Oh
,
God
can
never
mean
it
;
would
He
let
me
love
her
so
?
For
all
intents
of
actual
life
,
for
all
that
we
are
made
for
,
for
all
the
soul
's
loan
of
this
world
,
I
died
that
very
moment
;
and
yet
a
mad
life
burned
within
me
,
the
flare
of
hope
that
will
not
die
.
How
I
forced
her
clenched
hands
open
,
bowed
her
rigid
arms
around
me
,
threw
myself
upon
her
,
breathed
between
her
lips
and
listened
,
tore
her
simple
dress
asunder
and
laid
my
cheek
upon
her
heart
;
feeling
not
a
single
throb
,
flooded
her
cold
breast
with
tears
,
and
lay
insensible
awhile
.
Then
,
as
if
awaking
,
felt
that
she
was
with
me
,
but
somehow
not
as
usual
;
called
her
all
our
names
of
love
,
and
believed
we
were
in
heaven
.
But
there
stood
Petro
with
a
light
,
sobbing
,
and
how
his
beard
shook
!
—
What
right
had
he
in
heaven
?
Would
they
let
him
in
without
shaving
?
I
rose
to
order
him
out
;
when
he
restored
my
wits
awhile
by
pointing
with
his
finger
.
"
Look
,
look
,
Signor
!
She
is
not
dead
,
I
saw
her
eyelid
tremble
.
"
Wide
she
opened
those
glorious
eyes
,
looked
at
me
with
no
love
in
them
,
shuddered
,
and
closed
them
again
.
Mad
with
rapture
,
I
caught
her
up
,
sent
Petro
headlong
lamp
and
all
,
and
kissed
her
enough
to
kill
her
.
She
was
not
dead
,
my
Lily
,
my
pet
of
eternal
ages
.
There
she
fell
trembling
,
fluttering
,
nestling
in
my
arms
,
her
pale
cheek
on
my
breast
,
her
white
hand
on
my
shoulder
;
then
frightened
at
her
nest
shrunk
back
,
and
gazed
with
unutterable
reproach
,
where
love
like
the
fallen
lamp
was
flickering
:
then
clung
to
me
once
more
,
as
if
she
ought
to
hate
,
but
could
not
yet
help
loving
.
She
died
the
next
morning
.
Clara
,
I
ca
n't
tell
you
any
more
now
.
CHAPTER
XV
.
EDGAR
VAUGHAN
's
STORY
CONTINUED
.
Before
my
own
and
only
love
departed
,
she
knew
,
thank
God
,
she
knew
as
well
as
I
did
,
that
I
had
never
wronged
her
pure
and
true
affection
.
But
it
was
long
before
I
learned
what
had
so
distressed
her
.
Though
she
appeared
quite
sensible
,
and
looked
at
me
,
every
now
and
then
,
with
the
same
reproachful
harrowing
gaze
,
it
seemed
to
me
ages
,
it
must
have
been
hours
,
before
she
could
frame
her
thoughts
in
words
.
In
an
agony
of
suspense
for
her
,
for
our
children
,
for
our
love
,
I
could
hardly
repress
my
impatience
even
at
her
debility
.
Many
a
time
she
opened
her
trembling
lips
,
but
the
words
died
on
them
.
At
last
I
caught
her
meaning
from
a
few
broken
sentences
.
"
How
could
he
do
it
?
How
could
he
so
betray
her
?
And
his
own
Lily
that
loved
him
so
—
no
,
she
must
not
be
Lily
any
more
,
she
was
only
Fiordalisa
Della
Croce
.
How
could
he
come
and
pretend
to
love
her
,
and
pretend
to
marry
her
,
when
all
the
while
he
had
a
young
wife
at
home
in
England
?
Never
would
she
have
believed
it
but
for
the
proofs
,
the
proofs
that
hateful
man
had
shown
her
.
How
could
he
shame
his
own
love
so
,
and
his
children
,
and
the
aged
father
—
there
was
no
hope
for
her
but
to
die
—
to
die
and
never
see
him
more
;
and
then
perhaps
he
would
be
sorry
,
for
he
must
care
about
her
a
little
.
"
Then
she
burst
into
such
a
torrent
of
tears
,
and
pressed
both
hands
on
her
bounding
heart
,
and
grew
white
with
terror
.
Then
as
the
palpitation
passed
,
she
looked
at
me
and
knew
me
,
and
crept
close
to
me
,
forgetting
all
the
evil
,
—
and
seemed
to
sleep
awhile
.
Of
course
I
saw
what
it
was
;
dazed
as
I
was
and
wild
at
her
sorrow
and
danger
,
I
slowly
perceived
what
it
was
.
The
serpent-like
foe
had
been
there
,
and
had
hissed
in
her
ear
what
he
thought
to
be
true
—
that
I
had
done
her
a
dastard
's
wrong
;
had
won
her
passionate
maiden
love
,
and
defiled
her
by
a
sham
marriage
,
while
my
lawful
wife
was
living
.
When
once
I
knew
my
supposed
offence
,
it
did
not
take
long
to
explain
the
murderer
's
error
,
an
error
which
had
sprung
from
my
own
deceit
.
But
my
children
,
where
are
my
children
,
Lily
?
In
her
ecstatic
joy
,
she
could
not
think
for
the
moment
even
of
her
children
;
but
pressed
me
to
her
tumultuous
heart
,
as
if
I
were
all
she
wanted
.
Then
she
began
to
revile
herself
,
for
daring
to
believe
any
ill
of
her
noble
husband
.
"
And
even
if
it
had
been
true
,
which
you
know
it
never
could
be
,
dear
,
—
I
must
have
forgiven
you
,
sweetest
darling
,
because
you
could
n't
have
helped
it
,
you
did
love
me
so
,
did
n't
you
?
"
This
sweet
womanly
logic
,
you
,
Clara
,
may
comprehend
—
But
where
are
the
children
,
my
Lily
?
"
Oh
,
in
bed
I
suppose
,
dear
:
let
me
get
up
,
we
must
go
and
kiss
the
darlings
.
When
I
first
came
in
,
I
could
not
bear
to
go
near
them
,
poor
pets
;
but
now
—
Oh
my
heart
,
holy
Madonna
,
my
heart
!
"
She
leaped
up
as
if
she
were
shot
,
and
a
choking
sound
rose
in
her
throat
.
.
Her
fresh
youth
fought
hard
in
the
clutches
of
death
.
"
Oh
save
me
,
my
own
husband
,
save
me
.
Hold
me
tighter
;
I
cannot
die
yet
.
So
young
and
so
happy
with
you
.
It
is
gone
;
but
the
next
pang
is
death
.
Hold
me
so
till
it
comes
again
.
God
bless
you
,
my
own
for
ever
.
You
will
find
me
in
heaven
,
wo
n't
you
?
You
can
never
forget
your
own
Lily
.
"
Her
large
eyes
rested
on
mine
,
as
they
did
when
she
first
owned
her
love
;
and
her
soul
seemed
trying
to
spring
into
the
breast
of
mine
.
Closer
to
me
she
clung
,
but
with
less
and
less
of
strength
.
Her
smooth
,
clear
cheek
was
on
mine
,
her
exhausted
heart
on
my
wild
one
.
I
felt
its
last
throb
,
as
the
death-pang
came
,
and
she
tried
to
kiss
me
to
show
that
it
was
not
violent
.
