A Siren

lo V

La Lalli; and had failed to obtain any recognition from her, even as a poet, to say nothing of his pretensions as a Don Juan. To a certain limited degree, it had been forced upon his perception, that he had been making an ass of himself; and the appreciation of that fact by the other young men among whom he

charity with all men, and, indeed, hardly with any man. He was feeling very sore, and would fain h

e in the presence of La Bianca; and he and she had spoken of the possibility of their being troubled with his company as of a nightmare. For the painful fact was that their uncomplimentary expressions had been heard by the poet; who, when he had left Ludovico and Bianca in the little supper-room together, had retreated no further than just to the other side of a curtain, which hung, Italian fashion, by the side of the open door.

hear more. But when he had thus learned the whole secret of the projected expedition, it struck him, as well worth considering, wheth

o their respective families had projected an alliance-was, instead of that, going off on a partie fine with the notorious Bianca Lalli! A tete-a-tete in the Pineta! Mighty fine, indeed! So sure, too, that nobody in the world

ed)-to seek out the Marchese Lamberto, whom he thought he should probably find in the card-room. For though the Marchese was no great card-player, and never touched a card in his own house,

id not find the Marches

s life; very strange that such a man, so calm, so judicious, so little liable to the gusts of passion of any sort; a man, the even tenor of whose well-regulated life had ever been such as to expose him rather to the charge of almost apathetic placidity of temper, should thus suddenly, in the full meridian time of his mature years, become subject to such violent oscillations of passion; to such buffetings

acking. Right ahead they drive before the wind with no doubtful course. But it was not and could not be so in the case of the Marchese Lamberto. The whole habits of a life-the ways, notions, hopes, desires, ambitions, that time had made into a part of the nature of the man; the passions, which though calm and unviolent in their nature, had become strong, not by forcible energy,

tween the extremities of love and hate, till his brain reeled in the terrible conflict; an

lgia" of the hell invented by the sombre imagination of the great poet could have surpasse

comparison with that raging, craving desire that he felt and sickened with for her? That was what he really wanted-what he must have or die. It was madness to see her, as he saw her then, in the arms of other men, laughing, sparkling, br

her, clearly the handsomest and best-matched couple in the r

er-room. Missing sight of them in the throng for a minute, he had followed on to the principal supper-room, and not finding them there (for the reason the reader wots of) had returned on his steps, and was sitting on the end of a divan, by the doo

came and sat down by his side; much,

ignor Leandro. I thought your place

they please. But I have just been getting a glass of wine and

wo supper-rooms? I

ess crowd in the supper-room,-and perhaps to have a quiet place for a tete-a-tete supper himself. Oh! I knew better than not to

hen?" said the Marchese, in the mo

hin such a distance as to overhear his words,-"the fact is, that I am afraid Signor Ludovico is less cautious than it would be well for him to be, circumstanced as he is! I am sure I did not want to listen to

ps of his pale lips; for he was grinding his teeth

tete-a-tete with La Bianca, on an excursio

and with difficulty; for his blood seemed suddenly to r

resently, in order to make all needful preparations, and to be at her door wi

ord. His head swam round. He felt sick. A cold perspiration broke out

ering himself by a great effort, sufficiently to enable h

s, that I thought your lordship would very likely think it well to put a sto

, you say?" ask

on the border of the forest, leave the bagarino there, and go into the woo

he Marchese, in as quiet tones as he could command; "and if you will complete your kind

ever have thought of mentioning it to you, but for thinking tha

. A rivederla!" said

ese," returned Leandro, rising a