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 c 
 
 LLOUVORKO.
 
 LLOUVORKO, 
 
 A TALE ; 
 
 SO^GS OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 THOMAS EAGLES, 
 
 AITTHOK OF BKBNDALI.AH, REVEI.DEK, KTC. 
 
 LONDON : 
 WHITTAKER & CO. AV MARIA LANE. 
 
 1840.
 
 T. THOMAS, I'KIXTEK, 
 
 EASTGATB STREET ROW, 
 
 CHESTER.
 
 TO 
 
 ROBERT JONES, ESQ. 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 HIS MUCH OBLIGED, 
 
 AND MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THOMAS EAGLES. 
 
 2O00544
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 An ashy paleness clothed his youthful cheek, 
 And hi his large and melancholy eye 
 Dark sorrow reigned. 
 
 OXE misty night, when the wind swept raoumfully 
 over the forests, a horseman moved slowly beneath 
 a group of huge trees which rose at the entrance of 
 a valley. A long dark cloak enwrapped his fonn ; 
 his hands were folded over his bosom, and his gaze 
 rested upon the ground. Awhile he seemed ab- 
 sorbed in meditation ; then, as if some sudden 
 thought aroused him, he started from his reverie 
 and urged his charger swiftly forwards. He 
 emerged from the deep shade of the wood, and 
 came upon a moor ; its extent was indiscernible 
 the heavy shadows hung upon the distance, and 
 closed the prospect from his gaze ; yet he seemed 
 no way daunted, for he put his horse to its speed, 
 and bounded over the waste with the rapidity 
 of wind. When he had rode some distance, 
 
 B
 
 2 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 he again drew the reins, gazed around, and seemed 
 considering which way he should proceed ; at 
 length he perceived through the darkness a faint 
 glimmering light, and, supposing it to come from 
 a cottage, darted off in that direction ; as he drew 
 near, he found that it came from a small inn on the 
 borders of a wood. He advanced cautiously to- 
 wards it, and stayed awhile to listen ; he heard a con- 
 fused mixture of voices; at times a loud laugh would 
 echo through the walls, then a curse, and then he 
 heard a dozen voices raised in strong contention 
 then a pause ensued, and then again a heavy sound 
 broke forth, of inarticulate words : at length the 
 strife ceased, and merriment seemed to have com- 
 menced, for he heard the music of a lute and voices 
 raised in song. He advanced to the door and struck 
 it with his riding whip, it was opened by an old 
 man with a bald head and a white beard, and 
 though his face was wrinkled as withered oak-bark, 
 yet did his eye seem bright enough for a man in 
 the prime of life, it was black and piercing, and 
 had within it a leer of the deepest cunning. A 
 slight expression of surprise rested on his features 
 when he beheld the stranger 'twas but momentary 
 a ghastly smile illumed his face, (which was of a 
 morbid yellow,) as he asked, 
 
 " What lack ye, friend ?" 
 
 " Can you find my horse a stable ? (said the 
 young man) he's travelled far, and stands in need 
 of rest."
 
 LLOUVORKO. 6 
 
 "Alight, Seignior, and enter 'neath my roof 
 methinks a slight repast would do thyself no harm. 
 The night is raw, and the cold east wind hath 
 doubtless put an edge upon thy stomach. Alight ! 
 alight ! A cup of wine and a slice of ham will " 
 " Stay what kind of guests have you within ?" 
 " A set of merrier fellows never turned a dice !" 
 " I'm in no mood for merriment. Canst not me 
 lodge in some obscure apartment ?" 
 
 " The house is small they're all engaged. Step 
 in, step in. So jovial a group will raise thy spirits, 
 if so it be thou hast aught sorrowful at thy heart. 
 I'll call the boy to take thy horse away. What ho ! 
 Divango ! Haste ye picaroon, and lead this horse 
 to the stable." The boy that appeared was a thin 
 faced Italian, with long straight black hair, and eyes 
 as dark as midnight, two balls of living fire that, 
 never rested for an instant, but kept constantly 
 rolling and darting and flashing, and peering into 
 the face as if they would read the hidden soul. He 
 led the horse away, whilst the old man and Llouvorko 
 (such the horseman's name) stepped into the cottage. 
 The room they entered was low and wide, and at 
 the further end was a group of men playing at 
 dice ; they wore slouched hats, which partly con- 
 cealed their dark faces ; they were deeply engaged 
 with the game and did not at first perceive the 
 entrance of the stranger, but continued to curse and 
 bawl, and strike the table, and give vent to sudden 
 bursts of passion, as the game changed for or against
 
 4 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 them ; they wore large mustachios, and their yellow 
 visages were slightly illumined by the unsteady ray 
 of a small lamp which was suspended^ from the 
 dark low ceiling. Their voices became louder, and 
 two of them seemed about to commence fighting, 
 for each grasped his dirk; when they perceived 
 Llouvorko the harsh tones instantly died into a 
 whisper, and their black eyes rested upon him with 
 a fixed and earnest gaze. 
 
 " Take this chair, by the fire (.said the old man) 
 whilst I spice a cup of muscadine. Fire and wine 
 are the two best things on earth for driving cold 
 from the body. And harkee, lads, be not so bois- 
 terous in your play; it may incommode the youth 
 but stay ; mayhap thoud'st like to join them. 
 Art fond of gaming ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay ; he'd perhaps like to join us (said one 
 of the men). Hand over that chair, Paulo. By the 
 virgin I could sit at the dice-box from the crow of 
 the cock to the hoot of the owl ! "What say you, 
 Seignior will you stand a throw r" 
 
 " Excuse me gaming is a pastime I never in- 
 dulge in ; besides I'm weary, and stand more in 
 need of rest than amusement-" 
 
 " Well, well, but a throw or two, some five or ten 
 ducats stake, will amuse }ou while the supper is 
 preparing. Hand me that box, Belando." 
 
 " I feel in no humour for play ; you must excuse 
 me." 
 
 " Let's to it my lads ! How stand we, Belando ?
 
 LLOtJVORKO. 5 
 
 By the holy saints you owe me four ducats! down 
 with them. Ha ! I like to palm the coin ! round 
 with the dice. Lost again, by the virgin ! Mark 
 me turn out the numbers like a wizard there ! 
 there ! Ha, ha, ha ! four ducats, my boy. Ere yon 
 old clock tells another hour I'll draw every coin out 
 of thy pouch !" 
 
 " Thou'st well nigh done that already. By 
 Paul! I'd as lief play with the devil! Thou'st 
 won six times successively ! I've a strong belief 
 thou'st to do with the infernal black art. I'll play 
 no more." 
 
 " Pshaw ! pshaw ! Rattle the dice, and give thy 
 heart a lift in thy body. Dost think fortune will 
 always keep aloof? What! dost stand at a few 
 paltry ducats ? On with the game stay, I'll throw 
 first." 
 
 " 1'hou'st a mind in very earnest to drain me. So 
 it is, when thou'st fingered one's coin ; thou'rt not 
 content with taking two thirds, but must have every 
 denier." 
 
 " Out upon such preaching ! I sny hand over the 
 dice. I'd as lief be in purgatory as sit before an 
 idle box !" 
 
 " Let me examine my pouch Ha ! by the blessed 
 Evangelists, there's but four ducats left ! Well, 
 there they go. I'll have first throw." 
 
 "Ha! ha! ha! good! good! If thou throw'st 
 no better I'll just stroke them over like a trout-tickler. 
 Out with them ^ha ! ha ! ha!" " If it is'nt enough
 
 6 LLorvoRKO. 
 
 to make a man poniard himself! Thou'st cast a 
 spell over me ! Some cursed imp turns the dice 
 as they're falling to the table ! There! I might as 
 well attempt to split the earth as throw a number to 
 night !" 
 
 "Hand me the box. Ha! ha! ha! Look at 
 that! it makes thine eye wink with merriment 
 and that ! The ducats ! the ducats ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 There's naught like clearing the bag. It gives me 
 more pleasure to clean a man out, though he were 
 possessed of only twenty ducats, than to receive a 
 hundred in fair trade !" 
 
 " Now by the sweet St. John ! boaster ! I'll have 
 another thrust at thee ! Dost see this miniature ? 
 I'll stake it against forty ducats. What dost say ? 
 'Tis worth a hundred." 
 
 " Let me see Ha ! a costly trinket. What sweet 
 creature's this ? the picture of some love-lorn dove, 
 I suppose. Ah ! that thou hadst the original, 
 Belando ! I would give all my ducats for one kiss 
 of her lips. By heaven ! she's lovely ! I've seen 
 beauty, but by my father's ghost I never saw aught 
 like this! Step forward, Seignior, if thou'rt fond 
 of surveying the features of lovely woman, and pass 
 thy judgment upon this miniature." 
 
 The youth, during this conversation, had been 
 sitting gazing on the fire in deep abstraction, ap- 
 parently heedless of all that was going on ; but 
 when the gambler addressed him, he advanced 
 slowly to the table and held his hand out for the
 
 LLOUVORKO. 7 
 
 picture, but no sooner had his eye rested upon the 
 features than he started as though he'd received the 
 flash of heaven at his heart. 
 
 " Where got you this ! speak ! speak ! Where 
 got you this ?" (he exclaimed, whilst the perspira- 
 tion started from his brow, and his breast heaved 
 with agitation.) 
 
 " Where got I that ? Why ask'st thou, Seignior?" 
 
 " For the love of heaven answer me quickly and 
 candidly ! How came this miniature in your pos- 
 session ?" 
 
 " Why as to that but why art thou so curious ? 
 'Tis strange a bit of painted ivory set with a few 
 jewels, should affect thee thus ! Mayhap she's thy 
 betrothed ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, (said the other man,) thou'st hit it 
 Belando. One look of the sweet face from which 
 that drawing was taken would bewitch a man for 
 the rest of his days. My heart fairly dances with 
 the sight of the portrait !" 
 
 " Pshaw! thou'rt a fool ! Thou talk'st like a green 
 sapling of a boy. 'Tis not the girl's beauty that 
 affects him." 
 
 " Tell me, good friend, and you'll be entitled to 
 my everlasting gratitude, how you came by this 
 picture ?" (said Llouvorko.) 
 
 " Tell him, tell him, (said the other man.) Why 
 stand you there staring like a captured shark ? If 
 you came by it honestly what need of this silence? 
 Out with it man keep him no longer in suspense."
 
 8 l.LnrvoKKc. 
 
 " Why, then, I got it from a Jew." 
 
 " When ? Where ? (exclaimed Llouvorko.) Is 
 he in this house ?" 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! In this house !" 
 
 " Doth he reside near ? Where is he to be 
 found ? I must see that Jew." 
 
 " Hath the trinket been stolen ?" 
 
 " Will you conduct me to him ? Will you go with 
 me even now to that Jew's residence ?" 
 
 " What ! seek an old Israelite in the dead of the 
 night, and the wind sweeping 1 across the moor as if 
 it would hurl tho rocks before it, and the Hark ! 
 Dost hear the thunder rumbling amongst the 
 mountains ? No, no, Seignior. Take my advice, 
 and leave not a warm house and good cheer. 1 " 
 
 " I'll give you ten ducats, (said Llouvorko,) if you 
 will guide me now to that man's house." 
 
 " Ten ducats why that's fair, but see you, 
 Seignior, I'll start with you at the first peep of light 
 in the morning." 
 
 " No, no ; to night, to night ! I must, and will, 
 by the living God! see him to night!'' 
 
 " It cannot be, and for an excellent reason ; I 
 can't find his house in the dark. Why there's not 
 light sufficient to discern a ' 
 
 " Enough, enough ; in the morning be it." 
 
 " I care not how soon in the morn." 
 
 " Ere the shadows have left the earth, and while 
 the stars are bright in the heavens, we must depart. 
 Oh ! that the night was over! Heaven knows how
 
 LLOUVORKO. 9 
 
 I shall get through this night ! Try, good friend, 
 to find the house in the dark I'll double thy re- 
 ward. Thou know'st not what a weight of sorrow 
 'twill take from my heart !" 
 
 " I dare not go I dare not, on iny soul!" 
 
 " Show me to my room, old man show me to 
 my room." 
 
 " The miniature, Seignior, the miniature." 
 
 "Ha! the miniature! I cannot part with it, 
 I would rather part with the last drop of my 
 heart's blood." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! Thou'rt jesting, Seignior." 
 
 " No, by heaven !" 
 
 "So you intend walking off with the trinket ? 
 Now by the saints thou'rt one of the boldest 
 cavaliers ever " 
 
 " What did it cost thee ?' 
 
 " Forty ducats." 
 
 " I'll give you forty ducats for it." 
 
 " What ! the sum I gave ? No, no ; every trader 
 must have a profit, else where's the use of doing- 
 business ? You shall have it for fifty, and, seeing 
 the store you seem to set by it, you've a bargain." 
 
 " You will find fifty in this purse. And harkce, 
 be in readiness, ere the first streak of dawn, to con- 
 duct me to the Jew." 
 
 " Ay, ay, Seignior ; we'll be across the moor 
 before the last star's left the sky." 
 
 Llouvorko beckoned to the old man to conduct 
 him to his chamber.
 
 10 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 "Will you take a draught of warm wine, Seignior? 
 'twill help you to sleep." 
 
 " No, no; lead on, lead on." 
 
 The old man lighted a small lamp, and walked 
 slowly to the stairs, which lay in a deep recess ; 
 they were old and foot-worn, and creaked and 
 tremhled as they moved over them, and seemed 
 scarcely capable of bearing their weight. The 
 feeble lamp threw a fitful gleam upon the wall, 
 which was grimy and dark ; the plaster in many 
 places had fallen off and disclosed the naked stones, 
 over which crickets were racing, startled by the 
 sudden appearance of the light. ^ 
 
 " Mind how you step, (said the old man.) It's an 
 old house this ; the stairs are rotten as spunk, and 
 creak like a ship in a tempest. Ha ! the light's 
 gone ! Confound that imp of a lad ! he's neglected 
 closing the upper windows. The night's rough, 
 and the wind sweeps wildly down the stair case. 
 Stay here a moment, whilst I descend for a light. 
 Stir not, else you may get your foot entangled in 
 the rents of the stairs." 
 
 So saying, the old man left Llouvorko in total 
 darkness. He heard him creeping slowly down the 
 stairs, as if fearful of falling. 
 
 " I don't half like that old fellow (said he) 
 there's something in the expression of his face 
 that strikes a chill to the heart. And those 
 gamblers below a set of wilder looking men I 
 never saw. What if they should prove banditti?
 
 LLOUVORKO. 1 1 
 
 I thought I heard whispering- when I handed the 
 purse to the man for the miniature. 'T\vere as 
 well if I was fifty miles from this hovel. But the 
 Jew ! the Jew ! I must remain here though the 
 house were inhabited by demons ! Doth the old 
 man intend to keep me here all night ? 'Tis 
 strange ! 'tis strange ! They may creep up in the 
 dark and murder me! By heaven ! I think I hear 
 a creaking of the stairs !" 
 
 He drew his sword quickly from the scabbard, 
 grasped a pistol in his left hand, and listened in 
 breathless anxiety. 
 
 '"Tis but the cricket chirping in the wall. 
 Hark ! I hear the gamblers' voices ; the fellows are 
 deeply engaged in play ; and now loud laughter 
 shakes the trembling walls. I'll just steal down 
 Hark! 'tis he! I hear approaching steps; and 
 now the light comes quivering up the stairs." 
 
 The withered man, like some old miser's ghost, 
 came creeping slowly up ; the light he held illu- 
 mined his hairless head, and half disclosed his time- 
 worn features, which shone livid and ghastly in the 
 faint unsteady light. He drew up to Llouvorko, 
 and said in a low dull voice, " I fear I've tired you, 
 but the lamp slipped from my hand and spilt the 
 oil, and I had to go round to the stable to replenish 
 it. I have brought you some hot wine, (and 
 he held out to him a cup as he spoke,) to drive 
 from your body any cold which you may have im- 
 bibed while waiting here in the draught. Why
 
 12 LLouvorKo. 
 
 you shake like a leaf ! Drink it whilst 'tis 
 hot." 
 
 " No, no drink it thyself, old man ; I lack it 
 not. Lead the way to the chamber." 
 
 " Dost refuse what is essential to thy health? 
 'Tis a cold night the house is none of the warmest 
 and this hot wine will keep the chill from thy 
 vitals. I have spiced it well. Take my advice and 
 drink it, Seignior." 
 
 " I tell thee I'll none oft ! Show me to my 
 room." 
 
 The old man, in sullen mood, led the way up the 
 stairs. They came at length to the room ; it was 
 square and lofty, there were many closets 'in it, so 
 many that the walls appeared of wood ; the 
 windows were small, the shutters closed, and there 
 was a small padlock, without a key, at the end of 
 each bar. An old oil picture, of large dimensions, 
 hung over the fire place, representing a duel, so like 
 to life, so exquisitely natural, that the figures ap- 
 peared to breathe. One of the combatants was re- 
 ceiving the sword of his adversary in his heart 
 and the turned up ghastly eye-ball half glazed 
 with death, the livid hue of the cheek, the singular 
 curl of the mouth produced by awful agony, were so 
 truly portrayed, that, as the lamp-light fell upon the 
 figures, Llouvorko involuntarily started back, and 
 exclaimed, " What's that, old man ? Speak ! speak ! 
 What's that ?" 
 
 "'Tis but a picture, Seignior.'"
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 13 
 
 " Ha ! a picture ?" 
 
 " Ay, a picture." 
 
 " By heaven, I could have sworn the figures were 
 flesh ! So complete an illusion never fell upon me 
 before. Allow me the lamp a moment to con- 
 template this beautiful work of art." 
 
 The man gave him the lamp, and he gazed upon 
 the picture in silent admiration. 
 
 " I little thought (at length he said) that painting 
 could be brought to such perfection. That is a 
 gem, old man, and worth far more than you have 
 any idea of." 
 
 " I care little about pictures ; I never had one in 
 my possession before, and should'nt now but that I 
 found this one in an old lumber closet when I came 
 to the house. You had better take the wine, 
 Seignior 'tis yet warm and this room, being with- 
 out a fire, is chilly." 
 
 " No, no. Leave me the lamp. I'll go to bed." 
 
 In one corner of the apartment stood the bed ; it 
 was large the curtains seemed once to have been 
 rich and splendid, but time had put his teeth in 
 them ; they had been completely riddled by the 
 moths, and the deep crimson, which had once been 
 their colour, had given place to a dingy brown. 
 The old man, seeing Llouvorko gaze upon the bed 
 with surprise, said 
 
 " It's a strange aflair that ; it seems at first glance 
 but a heap of tattered tapestry, but the bed-clothes 
 are dry and clean. The old heavy curtains will 
 keep the wind from annoying you.''
 
 14 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " A strange bed indeed for a house like this." 
 
 " It too, I suppose, belonged to the former in- 
 habitant ; I found it in the house when I came." 
 
 " What was the person's name who last resided 
 here ?" 
 
 u I know not." 
 
 " What kind of a man was he ?" 
 
 " I never even saw him." 
 
 " Indeed !" 
 
 " Some eccentric individual, doubtless, for I found 
 many curious things scattered about." 
 
 " Hark ! the storm's increasing. The thunder 
 peals directly over head." 
 
 " Ay, ay, (said the old man, drawing the curtains 
 of the bed and peering within,) a snug corner this, 
 a snug corner ! Thou'lt sleep like an owl in the 
 sun-light." 
 
 " You had better retire. I feel my eye-lids heavy 
 a drowsiness overpowers me. Leave me the 
 light." 
 
 " Should you require anything in the night you 
 can ring this bell." 
 
 The old man laid a small bell on the table and 
 retired. No sooner had he left the apartment than 
 Llouvorko took the miniature from his bosom ; his 
 eyes fell upon the features of the lovely girl he 
 gazed and gazed, and kissed the senseless ivory ; 
 one large tear rolled down his cheek, and his breast 
 rose with sighs. He paced, with lengthened strides, 
 the gloomy apartment, and ever and anon a low 
 groan burst from his heart. At length he said
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 15 
 
 " She's lost she's lost for ever ! Almighty God ! 
 pour comfort to my soul! add strength unto my 
 heart ! My good, my beautiful Plesina ! Oh ! that 
 'twas morning ! the dreary time drags heavily away. 
 I yearn to see that Jew ! how came he by the 
 picture ? 'Tis strange most strange ! Oh ! that 
 I could have seen him to night ! I cannot bear 
 delay my soul's on fire! But the weather is 
 awful 'tis better as it is. I hear the wind bellow- 
 ing in the forest, and the heavy rain beats wildly 
 against the windows. What noise is that ? I heard 
 a rustling on the stairs! Is any one lurking near 
 the room ?" 
 
 He seized the lamp and advanced with noiseless 
 steps to the door; he listened attentively; but 
 nothing met his ear save the sighing of the wind 
 as it rushed down the stair-case. He opened the 
 door and thrust his head forward to see if any one 
 was near, but saw nothing save heavy blackness, on 
 which the lamp's faint beam danced and quivered 
 like the meteor of the swamp. He descended a 
 few steps and gazed into every recess. 
 
 " It was but fancy, then (said he as he retraced 
 his steps to the room). Doubtless the moaning of 
 the wind through the stair-rails. I'll not extin- 
 guish the light I don't feel at my ease in this 
 place, there's something frightfully mysterious 
 about it." 
 
 He drew back the curtains of the bed, and laid 
 his sword upon the pillow; then examined his
 
 16 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 pistols, and put an extra ball in each barrel. He 
 began to disrobe himself, then, as if a sudden 
 thought struck him, replaced his dress, and threw 
 himself carelessly upon the bed. He had not lain 
 long before he was again startled by a noise on the 
 stairs ; he half raised himself, and listened with 
 intense anxiety. It seemed as if some one was 
 approaching, with cautious foot, the room door. 
 He extinguished the lamp, seized his sword and 
 pistols, crept softly across the room, and placed 
 himself directly behind it. He heard a kind of 
 shuffling noise, and a rustling of garments against 
 the wall, then a creaking of the stairs. He yet was 
 doubtful whether the sounds were produced by 
 men ; but he remained not long in doubt, for a 
 hurried whisper brought the cold sweat upon his 
 brow, and made his heart jump with terror. He 
 grasped his sword more tightly, and crept yet nearer 
 to the door. He heard fingers gliding over the 
 panels. He raised his weapon over his head to be 
 in readiness to fell the first that entered, when his 
 attention was aroused by the noise of carriage 
 wheels a moment more and a loud knocking was 
 heard, and those who had been at the door rushed 
 quickly down the stairs. Llouvorko began to 
 breathe more freely. 
 
 " Are these men banditti ? (said he) am I 
 then encaged within a robber's den? Thot hoary 
 villain ! I thought he pressed me over-much to 
 take his accursed wine; without a doubt 'twas
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 17 
 
 poisoned ! 'twas a snare for my life, and because it 
 failed, the infernal gang were stealing to my room 
 to dispatch me ! Had they not been interrupted by 
 the knocking at the door, I should ere now have 
 been a corse ! This single sword would have 
 availed nothing against such a band!. ...All hath 
 died away to silence ; I hear not the slightest sound 
 
 through the building 'Tis strange a carnage 
 
 should drive up to this obscure house at such a time 
 in the morning ! ..They may be honest men yet !.... 
 'Twas perhaps some intoxicated idiot, that was 
 groping about my door.. ..for, were they robbers, and 
 intent upon murdering me, they had many opportu- 
 nities of doing so before I left their company/' 
 
 He again threw himself upon the bed, and tried 
 to compose himself to sleep. He had not rested 
 long before he was again startled by a noise from 
 below, and he thought he heard a faint cry of 
 murder. He sprung from the bed and rushed to 
 the landing, he leaned his head over the bannister 
 to catch the slightest sound, but all was still ; he 
 heard naught save the whispering of the restless 
 wind, and the chirping of the crickets. Supposing 
 it to be fancy, he retraced his steps, once more laid 
 himself down, and fell a sleep.
 
 18 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Beneath huge rocks his dwelling lay, 
 "Which ne'er was pierced by light of day, 
 The bird alone, above the spray, 
 
 Could tell of the secret entrance. 
 
 BESIDE a small fire, whose dying embers cast forth 
 a feeble rubid gleam, four men were sitting; the 
 gamblers of the preceding night and the old man. 
 In one corner, upon a low form, lay two others, 
 overcome with wine, and at their feet reposed a 
 large wolf-dog. The rays from the fire tinged their 
 swarthy faces with red, and threw a lurid light 
 through the apartment. Upon the table lay flagons, 
 dice-boxes, and half smoked cigars, with an un- 
 sheathed sword and two naked daggers. 
 
 " I wish thou'dst bring us a flagon of wine, 
 Girosso, (said one of them, addressing the old 
 man). My throat's as rough as a horse-rasp !" 
 
 "Ay, ay, (said another) let us have a pull at the 
 wine. By Peter, I shake like a reed after this 
 night's work !" 
 
 " Why ay it was a hot affair and so cursed
 
 LLOUVORKO. 19 
 
 sudden. But the wind blew the right way, and the 
 
 sound of the whistle fell into the right ear By 
 
 the holy saints ! I'd no more idea of " 
 
 " Hush ! be silent as the mole ! These shattered 
 walls are like ear trumpets ! The wine, Girosso, 
 the wine the wine ! Why thou look'st as sulky 
 as a robbed miser." 
 
 The old man placed two flasks on the table, and 
 resumed his seat by the fire. 
 
 " I wonder how that wench-faced lad slept." 
 
 " He'd have slept sounder had it not been for 
 No matter, I'm glad it's turned out so it will bring 
 more coin into our pouches. Ha ! ha ! ha ! when I 
 think of the Jew my sides ache with merriment! 
 Harkee, Girosso ; did you give him the wine ?" 
 
 " I might as well have offered it to a sea-gull." 
 
 " Ha ! Did he suspect ?" 
 
 " I know not ; but he turned from it with disgust 
 whenever I tendered it to him." 
 
 " Pshaw ! thou know'st as much about tendering 
 cordials as a buffalo ! Thou'st pressed him too 
 much, and peered too often in his face with that 
 diabolical eye of thine. Why man, if thou'dst 
 placed it on the table, and said naught, he'd have 
 swallowed it like a dolphin." 
 
 " Harkee, Belando ; old as I am, I'd like to have 
 a thrust at thee !" 
 
 " Hold thy peace, old fool ! I'm glad he's clear 
 of it; we'll work him another way. Where's 
 Divuiigo r"
 
 20 LLOUV011KO. 
 
 "He's in the stable. There's more cattle there 
 than usual." 
 
 " The young devil played me a trick, for which 
 I'll tear the grisel out of his nose." 
 
 " A very imp that !" 
 
 " Imp ! Why there's not an imp in the infernal 
 regions fit to cope with him ! he's the look of 
 Lucifer in his face. That lad's committed more 
 crime, young as he is, than any man in the band, 
 not excepting old Girosso there." 
 
 " Beware of thine own hide ! (growled the old 
 man, and he grasped the hilt of his dirk.) 
 
 "Ha! dost threaten? (said Belando ; and he 
 seized him by the throat and threw him violently 
 to the ground, then, unsheathing his sword, he laid 
 on the old man's back and ribs with the flat part so 
 lustily, that he roar'd aloud for mercy.) 
 
 Take that, thou wincing old dotard, and threaten 
 and touch thy steel again. We've lost more spoil 
 by thy cursed folly than e'er was gained by thee ! 
 Thou'rt not fit to be trusted even with a pass word. 
 What ho ; old Roquel ! (said he to the dog, which 
 had crept close to the fire.) A stanch old devil 
 this ; his jaw's like a vice, and his teeth never rest 
 till they fall dead upon the bone. By the saints, 
 I'd rather have him, when hard pressed, than any 
 two men !" 
 
 " He did us some service last night." 
 
 " See you, Gimasto; I'd have been a bloody corse 
 now, had it not been for this dog! One of the
 
 LUH'VORKO. 21 
 
 cavaliers we dealt with, drove me into a corner of 
 the stable. We'd had a pass or two, but I found 
 he was too sly of fence for me, so I e'en retreated, 
 expecting to get out at the small spring door under 
 the manger, but he was upon me like a kite. He 
 drew a pistol from his belt, (I had o fire arms, 
 mind you,) and took a deliberate aim ; another 
 moment and my brains would have splashed against 
 the wall, but the old dog rushed upon him ere he'd 
 time to draw the trigger, and dragged him to the 
 earth in the next instant my dagger was buried in 
 his heart." 
 
 " Ay, ay, he's a stanch old fiend. His teeth have 
 closed on many a man's throat. More wine, Girosso, 
 more wine." 
 
 " How goes the hour ? I must awake the cavalier. 
 If we're not on the road by daylight he may with- 
 hold the reward." 
 
 " Pshaw ! pshaw ! man ! Sit down and drain a 
 flask or two. Our frames require something after 
 the heavy work of last night." 
 
 " Ay, ay : but you see the reward all falls to 
 myself. I doubt not I shall draw a fair number of 
 ducats from him. I wonder if there's any light in 
 the sky. I'll just step to the door and see." 
 
 He went to the door, and returned in a few 
 moments. 
 
 " The sky's as black as the roof of hell, and the 
 swamp-fires are dancing wildly over the common." 
 
 " Hath the storm abated r"
 
 ^ LLOVOURKO. 
 
 " The wind's down, but the thunder yet growls 
 in the distance." 
 
 " A good night for business." 
 
 " Ay, ay, we've mostly business in weather like 
 this. I should'nt be much surprised if we had 
 more customers before daylight. Why, you see, 
 the house is lonely....there's a wide common before 
 it and a heavy wood behind the neighbourhood is 
 wild and bewildering travellers often lose their 
 way and that moor is to us like the web to the 
 spider, for no sooner doth a passer enter upon it 
 than he makes directly for this house, as we always 
 keep a bright light burning in one of the upper 
 windows, as a decoy. By holy St. Luke there's not 
 a band in Italy that touches one tenth of the booty 
 we do ! We've had five visitors here in one night- 
 five ! and it takes no small quantity of cunning and 
 scheming, I tell you, when there's such a troop, to 
 dispose of them all comfortably without exciting 
 suspicion." 
 
 " Look at last night." 
 
 " Last night ! pshaw ! 'twas nothing ! mere play 
 to some of the affairs I've been engaged in ! when 
 you've been as long in the band as I, you'll have 
 had your eye opened to a manoeuvre or two. But 
 harkee I hope that winner with the miniature's 
 no wiser. We did what we could to stifle their 
 infernal cries, but they got vent twice or thrice, and 
 echoed through the walls like the howls of a demon, 
 I stole up the stairs occasioualy to see if he was stir-
 
 LLOUVOIIKO. 23 
 
 ring 1 , but all seemed still iu the apartment. By the 
 holy virgin, if I'd caught him listening, I'd have 
 let the night air through his carcass !" 
 
 " 'Twere best to have done that long ago. We 
 might then have secured what gold he had about 
 him, and there would have been no more trouble ; 
 but now, who knows where 't may end ? Why, his 
 ear may have caught every sound uttered through 
 the building ! He may carry himself in such a way 
 as to avoid suspicion.... appear ignorant of the com- 
 pany he is in. ...have you seized on your way to the 
 Jew.. ..and ere nightfall have a body of soldiers in 
 the house, and us all shackled !.... See you; 'twere 
 best, ay, by the holy heaven ! to creep up and dis- 
 patch him even now!" 
 
 " I doubt not but thou'rt right.. ..the safest way.... 
 but then.... no, no, we'll let him breathe a little 
 longer." 
 
 " Tush ! Up the stairs ! up the stairs ! Thou'lt 
 find him fast locked in sleep. ...he's weary with yes- 
 terday's travail ; plunge thy steel through his heart, 
 and the gold is our own. ...Mark that ! our own!.... 
 Or stay.... I'll do it myself." 
 
 " Sit down man....I say sit down ! It must not 
 be ; I dare not do it ! He must be taken to the 
 Captain. Didst see the concern he showed about 
 the miniature ? Who knows what 't may lead to! 
 He may be useful to the discovering of certain 
 things our leader wishes to be informed of. The 
 miniature was pait of a valuable booty we got from
 
 LI.OtVOHKO. 
 
 some persons of distinction. 'Tis as much as our 
 lives are worth to do it! So I'll just finish the 
 flask, and then for the Jew . It must be some where 
 about day-break." 
 
 " Well, as thou lik'st." 
 
 He finished his wine, lighted a lamp and moved 
 towards the stairs, which he began to ascend ; he 
 stepped lightly and cautiously, as though afraid of 
 making a noise : at length he came to Llouvorko's 
 door ; he paused a moment, and then placed his ear 
 against the key-hole, but all appearing still, he 
 exclaimed in a loud voice, "What ho! save you, 
 Seignior! save you! Arise! arise! The sun's 
 over the hills." 
 
 He was answered by a faint voice from within, 
 which said 
 
 " Descend, descend. I'll be down immediately." 
 
 " Lose not a moment the moor is wide we've a 
 long distance to go and the Jew may have left his 
 habitation." 
 
 So saying, Belando retraced his steps, and took 
 his station again by the fire. 
 
 " Bring me another flask, Girosso (said he) The 
 morning's raw, there ? s no house on the road, and 
 mayhap I shall have cause to try my strength before 
 I enter beneath this roof again. Now go round to 
 the stable and get the horses ready. Ha ! the 
 cavalier ! Save you, Seignior save you !" 
 
 "What's the hour?" 
 
 f< The morning's just bieaking."
 
 I.LOl VORKO. SJ.J 
 
 " Is my horse saddled ?" 
 
 " He will be ready immediately. Will you take 
 a cup of wine ?" 
 
 " Not any. Let us depart." 
 
 " Will you walk with me to the stables, Seignior?" 
 
 " Lead the way." 
 
 They left the house, and moved about thirty 
 yards down the lane. They now came to what ap- 
 peared at first sight a small hill covered with 
 foliage, but which was in reality a thick stone wall, 
 on which ivy, grass and shrubs, grew so thick and 
 luxuriantly, that the smallest particle of stone or 
 mortar was not visible. Belando thrust his hand 
 among the leaves, and Llouvorko heard a key turn 
 in a lock ; the next moment a large door flew back, 
 through which they entered. It opened into a long 
 passage, the walls of which were green with moss, 
 and long tufts of grass shot out from between the 
 stones. At the extremity of the passage was a 
 yard, partially covered with weeds, and at one side 
 of it stood a group of trees, through which the 
 waning moon, fast sinking over the mountains, cast 
 her trembling gleam. At one end of this yard was 
 a stable, where Divango and Girosso were busily 
 engaged in accoutring the horses. They were soon 
 mounted and Belando, perceiving Llouvorko mak- 
 ing his way to the passage by which they entered, 
 said 
 
 " WV11 go out by a different route. Follow me, 
 Seignior."
 
 ~l> LLOUVOKO. 
 
 And ho led the way across tho yard to the trees 
 before mentioned, round which he turned. They 
 moved along till they came to an open door, which 
 led to another long passage; it was lighted by a few 
 feeble lamps, placed against the wall at great dis- 
 tances. Llouvorko was surprised to see lights in 
 such an obscure place, and he said to his guide, 
 
 " Would it not have been belter to have gone out 
 by the way we came ? I like not travelling in these 
 intricate places. Besides it causes delay, and I'm 
 all impatience to have an interview with that man. 
 We had better retrace our steps and go out by the 
 other door." 
 
 " I am going this way, Seignior, to prevent loss 
 of time ; it will save us half a mile at least. I've 
 not been this long in these parts without knowing 
 the nearest cuts. We'll be out upon the moor 
 presently." 
 
 They had now reached the end of the passage, 
 which led into another yard, much larger than the 
 last ; there was a square building at one side, which 
 appeared to have no entrance on the ground floor, 
 but there was a long step-ladder, which seemed 
 capable of being removed at pleasure, that led to 
 the upper stories, from the windows of which 
 streamed a strong and vivid light : and Llouvorko 
 thought he could distinguish the sound of voices. 
 Presently there appeared on the steps a dark visaged 
 man, so dark indeed, that one could almost have 
 mistaken him for a negro, but his features were
 
 LLOUVORKO. ;37 
 
 prominent and ilnely formed, and his eye was 
 large and unusually piercing-. He beckoned to 
 Belando, who immediately dismounted, saying to 
 Llouvorko, 
 
 " Stir not. I'll return in an instant." 
 
 He ascended the ladder they conversed together 
 a few minutes he then returned, mounted his horse, 
 and they rode on. At the farther end of the yard, 
 behind a ruined house, and concealed by trees, was 
 a pile; it was fastened by a ponderous bar, which 
 required Belando's utmost strength to unloose ; they 
 passed through it, an 1 LLmvorko was surprised to 
 find himself in a forest. 
 
 "Ha! (said he to Belando) hast thou" deceived 
 me ? (And he half drew his sword from the scab- 
 bard). By heaven ! " 
 
 " Put up your metal. Be not so festinate, young 
 man ; fall not out with your friends. You wished 
 me to conduct you to Shirwalto the Jew, and I ana 
 doing so." 
 
 " Did you not say we were to cross the moor ? 
 I see no moor ! We seem to be in the very heart of 
 a forest ! By the virgin, this mansion of yours is a 
 mysterious place ! it seems to the front but a simple 
 cottage, but I find it is more spacious than I had 
 any idea of. I perceived, as I came along the 
 passages, steps half hid in recesses, which, doubt- 
 less, lead to vaults under ground. I understand it 
 not! Beware of treachery !" 
 
 " Calm thy fears, there's naught unfair intended.
 
 Li.orvonxo. 
 
 I'll do as I promised I'll conduct thec to the Jew, 
 for which I shall expect the reward you offered." 
 
 " But why not cross the common ? Why have 
 you brought me into this dreary wood ? By heaven ! 
 I like it not !" 
 
 " Like it not ! like not what ? I tell thee 'tis a 
 nearer way. If thou would'st rather return, why do 
 so and welcome." 
 
 " What dark looking man was that who beckoned 
 you ?" 
 
 " He was merely one of a company that were 
 throwing dice in the room you saw illuminated; he 
 Lade me hasten back to join them. But if we 
 waste time in this way, Seignior, the Jew will have 
 gone out, and we shall lose our journey." 
 
 " Do we go far into this wood ?" 
 
 " About half a mile. Do you see yon cluster of 
 pine trees ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " And those rocks a little beyond?" 
 
 " Well." 
 
 "We shall penetrate no further into the wood 
 than there. A little behind those rocks there is a 
 road which leads directly to the shore." 
 
 " The shore ! W r hat want we with the shore ?" 
 
 " Shirwalto's house is by the shore." 
 
 " Indeed." 
 
 " He's lived there many years." 
 
 " What if we should be set upon by robbers? This 
 wood seems a fit place for banditti to harbour in."
 
 LLOUVOKKO. ^U 
 
 " Ay, there's good cover here, Seignior ; but I 
 have travelled this road often and never fell in with 
 any. We are well armed, well mounted, and lack 
 not courage. The prowlers would look twice ere 
 they attacked us." 
 
 " You think there are robbers in the wood then ?" 
 
 " I tell you I never met any ; there may be some 
 at the other end of the forest, which communicates 
 with the high way, where they have a better chance 
 of plunder, but they never approach this unfre- 
 quented part. Why, they might range these gloomy 
 wilds for a life time, and not see a single human 
 face ; the dogs know better than waste their time 
 in a desert ; they like to hear the noise of carriage 
 wheels the clatter of the feet of the lone traveller's 
 horse the voices of unsuspecting men journeying 
 in groups as they lay like watchful tigers amongst 
 the low brush -wood." 
 
 " Is the forest wide ? I see no light between the 
 trunks of the trees, all heavy blackness Jesu ! 
 what's that?" 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! 'tis but an eagle stealing with his 
 prey from amongst the rocks yonder. See how the 
 black devil flaps through the shadow." 
 
 They had now reached the rocks spoken of by 
 Belando. The ground here was high, and Llou- 
 vorko could perceive, through the millions of 
 branches, the sea rolling away in beauty and majesty, 
 illumined by the rosy light of morning. To the 
 loft lay a wild dingle, m-rr which thr ui-iiiitu- IHT-.
 
 30 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 threw their huge arms, casting a heavy shadow on 
 every object, and making all 'indistinct save the 
 sheets of water that lay in death-like stillness 
 beneath the sombre canopy : to the right was a 
 narrow pass, which seemed to lead to the 
 ocean, small rocks covered with fern, broom, and 
 creeping plants of various kinds, formed its sides, 
 out of which sprung stark fir trees, their dusky 
 heads rising to a great height, and peering down 
 upon the forest as though in scorn. Belando said 
 
 " Our nearest way is through that dingle, but if 
 thou'rt not fond of travelling in gloom, we'll e'en 
 turn to the right here, where the light hath freeer 
 play." 
 
 " No, no ; let us go by the nearest route. Turn 
 thy horse's head to the dell. Let us lose no more 
 time in converse. What distance have we to go 
 yet ?" 
 
 " Another half hour will bring us to the shore. 
 Hark Dost not hear the breakers ?" 
 
 " They pushed their horses through the brambles 
 into the dingle, and moved on at as quick a pace 
 as the unevenness of the ground would allow. The 
 beasts of the wild fled startled away, and the birds 
 flitted into deeper hollows as they came upon their 
 haunts. All was still around .save the noise of the 
 torrent, and the moaning of the wind amongst the 
 upper branches. A sickly tintless grcyne.ss rested 
 upon every object, and quivered upon the mouths 
 of the caverns ; long stemmed pallid flowers, which
 
 LLOUVORKO. 31 
 
 had never felt the sun-beam, waved their pensive 
 heads as the .fetid breeze of the swamp swept 
 mournfully by. 
 
 " What a dreary solitude ! (said Llouvorko). So 
 cheerless a spot I never entered before ; it seems 
 as though the blast of death had fallen upon every 
 object." 
 
 " Why ay, 'tis gloomy enough, but naught to 
 some of the depths of this forest ; there are places 
 where darkness reigns for ever, where a single ray of 
 light never fell, and where it is almost impossible 
 to discern the trunks of the trees. Ay, ay, 'tis a 
 mighty wood this. Many a man hath given his 
 last sigh to these dismal wilds." 
 
 " How dost thou mean ?" 
 
 " Many have fallen by the knife of the brigand." 
 
 " Ha ! indeed ! We may be attacked any moment! 
 I should feel easier if we were clear of this dingle. 
 I almost wish we had gone the other way." 
 
 " 'Twas more open ; but there's little fear. We 
 shall be out of the shadow directly. Do you see 
 the rays creeping between the trees yonder ? Fifteen 
 minutes riding will bring us into daylight." 
 
 They spurred their horses, and soon got clear of the 
 gloom of the dell. The prospect which now rose be- 
 fore them was very different to the one they had left 
 it was bleak and barren ; swamps, beds of sand, and 
 patches] of sterile ground on which gorsc, fern, and 
 long harsh-bladed grass flourished, met the sight ; 
 great rocks reared their blackened heads and frowned
 
 32 LLOUVOKK. 
 
 upon the waste, some rising into the air almost per- 
 pendicular, others reared pile upon pile, and leaning 
 one over the other as though ahout to fall to the 
 earth; whilst below, the yellow shore spread its 
 curved bosom to the glittering sun-beam. 
 
 "The sea! behold the sea! (said Belando,) as 
 they emerged from the heavy shadow of the forest.) 
 We shall soon be at Shirwalto's." 
 
 " The road is now clear suppose we put our 
 horses to the gallop." 
 
 They rode on till they came to a cluster of rocks 
 which divided the shore from the moor, when Bel- 
 ando drew in his horse, and said 
 
 "We're not an arrow's flight from the Jew's 
 residence. I'll ride on before and tell him of your 
 arrival." 
 
 " I see no necessity for it. We'll go together. 
 But stay there are no houses." 
 
 " You'll see one presently, Seignior." 
 
 " Doth the Jew then live on this barren shore by 
 himself?" 
 
 " Even so." 
 
 " 'Tis a strange place for an Israelite to dwell in. 
 Men of his persuasion like mixing with the world. 
 A Jew, and one who buys and sells, (as I suppose 
 from his having sold you the miniature,) to fix his 
 residence amongst rocks by the dreary ocean ! 
 alone too ! astonishing !" 
 
 "He's rather an eccentric character, Seignior ; 
 you'll be belter acquainted anon."
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 33 
 
 He led the way through an opening in the rocks. 
 They'd proceeded about fifty yards, when Belando 
 said, 
 
 " We'd better dismount, and leave the horses in 
 this recess the road's too rugged to travel safely 
 on horseback." 
 
 They dismounted, and fastened the horses to the 
 root of a tree which had shot down into the cave. 
 
 " And now, (said Belando) follow me, and mind 
 how you tread ; it will require all your care to avoid 
 falling the rocks are slippery and pointed." 
 
 He walked on through a long natural alley, its 
 sides were formed of huge blocks of stone, down 
 which discoloured water tinkled and fell, with a 
 hissing noise, into the channels beneath. The clear 
 blue of the morning sky glittered at the summits of 
 the rocks, and contrasted finely with the sombre hue 
 of the stone. As they proceeded the passage 
 widened, but the gloom increased, for the rocks 
 hung one over the other, and nearly excluded the 
 light. 
 
 "Where art thou taking me to? (asked Llouvorko) 
 Doth this frightful road lead to a human habitation? 
 It seems more fitted for the abode of a savage than a 
 civilized being. Is this the only entrance to it ?" 
 
 " There are a do/en entrances but this is the 
 nearest way." 
 
 " I like not proceeding further I fear thou'rt 
 deceiving me ! 
 
 " Pshaw ! pshaw ! a dozen more steps will bring 
 
 D
 
 ol' LLOUVORKO. 
 
 us to the house. Hark ! I hear the barking of his 
 dog. We will go down this passage." 
 
 " Down that passage ! why 'tis as dark as pitch ! 
 Doth the man dwell underground? Thou'rt joking 
 surely ! It seems more like the entrance to the 
 infernal regions than aught else." 
 
 " I'll strike a light." 
 
 "'Tis useless put up thy steel I will not go 
 one step farther ! What ! enter a subterranean hole 
 like that ? Thou'st deceived me from the first !" 
 
 " This passage leads to the residence of Shirwalto. 
 Let us proceed, and in one minute we shall be in 
 his house." 
 
 "I'll return. I'm determined not to enter there." 
 
 " Well, as you like ; 'tis no affair of mine only 1 
 shall expect the money, Seignior ! I am willing to 
 guide you, and if you refuse to follow 'tis not my 
 fault." 
 
 " I care not for the money. You've acted scur- 
 villy by me ! I see not your motive. What in the 
 name of heaven possessed you to bring me to such 
 a wilderness as this ?" 
 
 " I might have saved myself the trouble ; I was 
 too willing to comply with your request. You seemed 
 nigh distracted when you first saw the miniature, 
 and said you would give the world to have an 
 interview with the man; but you seem cooled, 
 Seignior." 
 
 " I would give aught yet to see that man ! 
 and I did hope you were actiiur honestly by
 
 LLOUVORKO. 35 
 
 me; but when I see you leading me through 
 savage forests, dreary wildernesses, frightful ca- 
 verns, and wishing to allure me into a horrid 
 vault, for what purpose heaven knows, I find I've 
 been duped ! By the virgin the blood boils in my 
 veins! Beware Sir! beware! I am well armed! 
 You may yet repent the game you have played !" 
 
 " You are determined not to enter here, then ? 
 Tis a pity you should come this far and lose your 
 journey. I'll just call to him, he may perhaps hear 
 me. What ho, Shirwalto ! Shirwalto ! come forth ! 
 come forth ! What ho ! what ho !" 
 
 The neighbouring caverns repeated his words, 
 and distant hollows replied. Belando placed his 
 hand behind his ear, and listened attentively at the 
 mouth of the passage, but all was still as death ; 
 nothing was heard save the sigh of the restless air 
 as it fanned the damp walls, and the rustle of the 
 long grass which dangled from the roof. 
 
 " He's surely not gone abroad (said he) I'll call 
 again." 
 
 The hollow caves again echoed back his words, 
 and startled owls flitted from the fissures in the 
 rocks. 
 
 " I fear he's out (said he to Llouvorko). Ha ! I 
 see a glimmer through the darkness ! He's approach- 
 ing with a light. Stoop down, Seignior. Is not 
 that the reflection from a lamp ? It cannot be the 
 wisp, 'tis too broad and steady." 
 
 " It certainly proceeds from a lamp" (said Llou- 
 vorko).
 
 36 l.LOUVORKO. 
 
 " Let us step back a pace or two he'll be here in 
 a minute." 
 
 The rays kept gradually getting stronger; at length 
 they flashed upon the ground without, and the next 
 instant a man with a lantern in his hand stood at 
 the mouth of the passage. He was low of stature, 
 square built and robust ; there was a sternness in 
 his visage almost unearthly ; his eyes were small 
 and black, and nearly hid by bushy brows ; his 
 mouth was coarse and unpleasing ; he wore a thick 
 grizzly beard, and had a long poinard in his girdle. 
 He held the light above his head and gazed around 
 at length his eye fell upon Belando. 
 
 " Ha! And is it thee, fool ! that's disturbed me ? 
 Hast been attacked, that thou set'st up such a bull- 
 calf roar ? Why didst thou not come up the pass- 
 age ?" 
 
 He caught a glimpse of Llouvorko, who stood in 
 the shadow behind Belando. 
 
 " Ha ! a stranger ! Who's that thou hast with 
 thee, man :" 
 
 " A stranger who wishes to have some conversa- 
 tion with you. Lead the way to the house, Shir 
 walto lead the way to the house." 
 
 "Ha ! conversation ! How mean you, Belando ? 
 Conversation with me ! 'Tis some mistake, I tell 
 you, 'tis some mistake." 
 
 " Are you the person from whom this man got a 
 miniature?" (asked Llouvorko, stepping hastily for- 
 wards). 
 
 "A m'mialurer"
 
 I.LOUVORKO. ,'JT 
 
 "A miniature of a lady." 
 
 " What know I of miniatures ? I deal not in 
 such fooleries." 
 
 "Ha! Dost hear that?" (said Llouvorko to 
 Belando). 
 
 " He's a surly old brute, and requires humouring 
 and bribing (said Belando aside). He's one of 
 those fellows that will neither do or say aught with- 
 out being well paid for it ; he would demand pay- 
 ment for putting a benighted traveller in the right 
 path, so keen is his thirst for mammon. If thou 
 wishest to reap any information from him thou 
 must hold out a reward. Lead the way to the 
 house, Shirwalto the cavalier wishes to have a few 
 words with you in private." 
 
 Shirwalto cast upon Llouvorko a suspicious glance, 
 turned round in sullen mood, and walked slowly up 
 the passage. When they had got about half way 
 along it, Shirwalto stopped at a flight of steps ; they 
 were old, broken, and covered with mud. 
 
 " Mind how yc step, (said he) the stones are 
 slippy, and there is a deep well at the bottom, 
 which, should ye fall, would doubtless become your 
 grave." 
 
 They came now to a small landing, whose floor 
 seemed composed of one huge stone ; it was cracked 
 and broken, and Llouvorko thought he saw a light 
 issuing through the fissures. 
 
 " Is there an apartment beneath this stone ? (he 
 enquired of Belando) What light is that?"
 
 38 LL.OUVOR.KO. 
 
 " 'Tis merely the reflection of the lamp upon a 
 well of water, which the stone covers." 
 
 They now approached another flight of steps, 
 older and more foot-worn than the first, which 
 appeared to have been cut out of the solid rock, at 
 the to of these steps was a small door, so small 
 that it would not admit a man unless upon his 
 knees ; they passed through it and came into a 
 large room ; there was no lire place or furniture in 
 it, the walls were rough, hung with cobwebs, and 
 devoid of windows, and there was a square hole in 
 the centre of the floor covered with a grating. They 
 passed through this room and came to another row 
 of steps, which they descended ; and Llouvorko saw 
 a light as from a fire flickering on the humid walls. 
 They now approached a massy oaken door, inlaid 
 and rivetted with iron, which Shirwalto unlocked. 
 They were now in a great apartment in which was 
 only one window, guarded by strong iron bars ; 
 and Llouvorko could perceive the waves of the 
 sea foaming upon the rocks within fifty yards of 
 it, hear the screaming of wild fowl, and the 
 moaning of the wind as it rushed through the 
 caverns. There was a grate at one end, in which 
 was a small wood fire, before which a large black 
 dog was reposing ; a heavy gun was reared up in 
 one corner, and two horse pistols were laying upon 
 a ch'air ; there was a table in the centre, on which 
 was a flask of wine and a drinking cup ; placed 
 against the wall was a rapier unsheathed, on the
 
 LLOUVOKKO. o!) 
 
 point of which Llouvorko thought he could perceive 
 a tinge of red ; there was a door ajar at one side, 
 which he supposed belonged to a closet, but he 
 was surprised, when looking through it, to per- 
 ceive that it led to another apartment of immense 
 extent, filled with costly merchandise ; the roof was 
 of solid rock, rugged and fantastic, and seemed not 
 the work of man, but to have been formed, at some 
 time or other, by the action of the wind and sea ; 
 a large lamp was hanging from the centre, and it 
 threw an unsteady light upon the objects which 
 otherwise would have been clothed in total darkness, 
 there being on windows. 
 
 Shirwalto bade Llouvorko and Bolando be seated, 
 then disappeared for an instant, and returned with 
 a large flask of wine ; he filled each a cup took up 
 a short turkey pipe commenced smoking and then 
 said, 
 
 " You may now relate your buiness, Seignior." 
 
 " I wish to know from whom you procured the 
 miniature you gave to this man." 
 
 " A miniature a miniature." 
 
 " This miniature" (said Llouvorko, drawing it 
 from his bosom and handing it to Shirwalto}. He 
 gazed upon it some time without speaking, then said, 
 
 " Why ay I have some slight recollection of it." 
 
 " In the name of heaven tell me from whom you 
 received it ! Tell me, tell me, and you'll have my 
 everlasting gratitude !" 
 
 The Jew looked upon him some time in silence,
 
 10 IJ.OUVORKO. 
 
 then cast his eyes again upon the picture. At 
 length he slowly said, 
 
 " What is it agitates thee ? Why dost thou wish 
 to know from whom I got this ?" 
 
 " Tis of the utmost consequence to m* to know. 
 Keep me no longer in suspence ! From whom did 
 you receive it? Why do you keep silence r" 
 
 " A strange affair this ! Whom doth this picture 
 represent, Seignior ?" 
 
 " Of what consequence is it whom it represents ? 
 Where did it come from ? Is it your intention not 
 to tell r 
 
 " Why, Seignior, it's slipped out of niy memory." 
 
 " Slipped out of your memory !" 
 
 " Ay." 
 
 " Impossible ! I will give you twenty ducats if 
 you will tell me from whom you received it." 
 
 " Twenty ducats I tell you I know not I've 
 forgotten I never keep such trifles long in my 
 remembrance." 
 
 " All gracious heaven ! Oh, Sir ! strive to recol- 
 lect! Consider, consider ! in a little while you'll 
 doubtless call it to mind. You know not of what 
 consequence it is to me to know !" 
 
 " Is she thy sister ? 'Tis rather a mysterious 
 business. I like not to have dealings with things 
 which I cannot see the bottom of." 
 
 " But you surely can tell me who brought it to 
 you ?" 
 
 " You see I receive so many articles in the way
 
 U.OUVOKKO. II 
 
 of trade from different people, that it is a matter 
 almost of impossibility to recollect the precise person 
 who sold me this. I keep no books. I sometimes 
 see a dozen strange faces in the course of a day. 
 But I believe the person I got it from was a tall 
 dark looking man." 
 
 " A tall dark looking man !" 
 
 " I think so, Seignior." 
 
 " His name ! his name !" 
 
 "Stay, stay; now I recollect 'twas not him; it 
 was a jewelled cross which he sold me, not a minia- 
 ture ; ay, ay, a jewelled cross and a diamond neck- 
 lace. But why are you so anxious ? Hath the 
 trinket been stolen?" 
 
 "Stolen ay." 
 
 " And you wish to come at the thief ? Why 
 you've got it back, and what more do you want ? 
 Justice, I suppose. Take my advice, young man ; 
 return to your home, and let the matter drop. What 
 benefit would it be to you bringing the person to 
 justice ? it may perhaps bring a dagger in contact 
 with thy vitals." 
 
 " I care little for the miniature, it is not that 
 which disturbs me, but other and far more weighty 
 matters make it necessary for me to know from whom 
 you got it." 
 
 " More weighty matters ! Relate to me the whole 
 of the particulars of this ail air, Seignior; mayhap I 
 may be of assistance to you. I perceive by your 
 manner something strange hath happened."
 
 42 LLOl \ OftXO, 
 
 " In what way can you be of service to me if you 
 know not the person ? But I cannot help thinking 
 you do know him. Oh, Sir, if you will divulge that 
 person's name, the greatest reward I have in my 
 power to bestow shall be yours !" 
 
 " Proceed with the particulars." 
 
 "That picture represents Plesina, the daughter of 
 Count Griliscio. As she and her sire were riding 
 upon the borders of a forest, they were attacked 
 by a band of armed men, who dragged her from her 
 horse, (after securing the Count,) placed her on the 
 saddle before one of the villains, then galloped into 
 the depths of the wood." 
 
 "And what became of the Count ?" 
 
 " After taking him some way into the forest they 
 set him at liberty." 
 
 " Do you think they were banditti ?" 
 
 " I think not. It seems likely they had been 
 hired by some one, as the Count had many valuables 
 about him which they did not touch. The beautiful 
 maiden seemed all they looked for !" 
 
 " And this miniature you said it had been stolen ?" 
 
 " She had it in her possession when they bore 
 her off." 
 
 " And how comes it now in your possession ?" 
 
 " I received it from this man." 
 
 " How came you acquainted with him ?" 
 
 " I was travelling across the moor, and called at 
 a house, in which he lives, for refreshment." 
 
 " And how came you to see the miniature ?"
 
 LLOUVOUKO. 4, l > 
 
 " They were gaming-, and after he'd lost all his 
 money he staked the picture." 
 
 " And you bought it from him ?" 
 
 " I did." 
 
 " What sum did you give for it?'' 
 
 " Fifty ducats." 
 
 "Did you sleep at that inn ?" 
 
 " I did." 
 
 " Indeed! More than one night ?" 
 
 " One night only." 
 
 " You'll have some diiliculty I fear in recovering 
 the maiden. These Italian forests are like the 
 depths of the ocean, intricate, wild, and impenetra- 
 ble. Have you received no clue, no hint to direct 
 you in your search after the marauders ?" 
 
 " I have the miniature If I could find out the 
 person from whom you received it !'' 
 
 " Ay, if we could find that out but I fear it will 
 be a difficult matter. I have purchased and taken 
 in exchange much jewellery lately. What reward 
 did you say you would give ?" 
 
 " I care not what sum. Money is no object. Oh 
 could I but recover that lost angel !" 
 
 "You speak nobly, Seignior. You are a man 
 after my own heart. What is money compared with 
 the possession of so sweet a creature ? I'll do what 
 I can to assist you. Mark me ; call here about an 
 hour after night fall ; I doubtless shall have some 
 news for you. You don't value money, Seignior ? I 
 shall have a good reward for my exertions?"
 
 44 I.I.Ol VORKO. 
 
 " Yon shall, you shall." 
 
 "See you; you had better return with Belando 
 to the inn. Remain within doors all day ; stir not 
 out till the shadows of night fall. It were best for 
 you not to be seen in the neighbourhood, you're 
 most likely known ; there may be people who had a 
 hand in this affair lurking- about, should they see 
 you it may cause the villains to be on their guard, 
 and perhaps thwart our plans." 
 
 " I shall ever remember your kindness !" 
 
 " Belando, you will return with the cavalier. And 
 mark me ; come by the most unfrequented road." 
 
 They left Shirwalto, and made the best of their 
 way to the inn.
 
 LLOUVOUKO. 45 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 His eyes were as the snake's, 
 
 And in them shone such guile, and hellish fire 
 
 That th' very demons, from the pit of woes, 
 
 Could not withstand their glance, but hung their heads 
 
 Outfaced hy fouler villainy. 
 
 THE day appeared to Llouvorko as if it would never 
 have an end ; never before did hours drag so heavily 
 away ; oft and oft he would step to the window to 
 mark the progress of the sun. He paced backwards 
 and forwards in his chamber with quick unsteady 
 strides his face was flushed witli eagerness, and his 
 heart palpitated with joy at the thought of rescuing 
 his beloved Plesina. 
 
 " He's a strange man that Jew (at length he 
 said) So curious a dwelling too so wild so 
 lonely so near the sea half under ground and half 
 above no house near for miles. How doth he find 
 sale for his goods in such an obscure place ? - -'tis 
 perplexing. He may perhaps send them by sea to 
 market; 'tis likely vessels pass the rocks by his 
 dwelling. He must be immensely rich so great a 
 slock of goods I never saw collected in one place
 
 4-6 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 before. Tis strange one so wealthy should require 
 a reward for giving- me a little information ! on such 
 a subject too! Why the poorest man alive would 
 have given it and been ashamed to take reward! 
 Common humanity ! common humanity ! but he's 
 an avaricious old dog ! a very wolf in his den ! his 
 heart is colder than the rocks which cover him ! 
 He must know from whom he received the miniature 
 he must ! he must ! he pleaded ignorance pur- 
 posely that a reward might be tendered. But Oh ! 
 sweet Plesina! do I talk of rewards, when it is to 
 restore thee to my doting bosom ? I would give the 
 mighty world, thou adorable ! to once more behold 
 thee! my heart nigh breaks with ecstacy at the 
 thought! Oh ! that the night was here !'' 
 
 He was startled by a knocking at the room door, 
 and before he had time to unfasten it, it opened, 
 and Girosso stood before him. 
 
 " I have brought you some refreshment, Seignior 
 (said he). You have had a long fast, and must 
 stand in need of something." 
 
 " Why did you not wait until I'd opened the 
 door, old man ?" 
 
 " Why, Seignior, I thought you were asleep. I 
 knocked twice or thrice and received no answer." 
 
 " Lay the tray on the table and depart." 
 
 Girosso did as he was ordered and then left the 
 room. 
 
 " I feel iii no humour for eating (said Llouvorko) 
 my heart is sick within me, but I may have
 
 LLOUVORKO. 47 
 
 work to do to night which may require some 
 strength, so I'll e'en try to force an appetite. Rather 
 dainty fare this for such a house, but these fellows 
 keep an excellent larder, they live on the best ; and 
 as for the wine, I know not where they get it, but I 
 never tasted any so delicious." 
 
 When he had finished eating he walked again to 
 the window. 
 
 " The light's getting fainter (said he). The sun's 
 behind the hills ; the heavy mists are forming in the 
 vallies, and dusky grey ness is mixing with the hue 
 of every object. Oh! blessed, blessed sight! The 
 night will soon be here ; in one short hour the sable 
 curtain will have fallen over all." 
 
 About half an hour had elapsed when he was 
 again disturbed by a knocking at the room door, 
 and lie heard the voice of Belando. 
 
 " The sun's down, Seignior (said he). 'Tis time 
 we were preparing for our journey." 
 
 " Get the horses saddled. I'll be with you pre- 
 sently." 
 
 Belando hastened down stairs, and Llouvorko ex- 
 amined his fire arms. He put a pair of pistols in a 
 secret pocket, to be in readiness in case of his being 
 attacked, and he thrust a strong two edged poinard 
 under his dress so that it might escape observation. 
 
 " By heaven ! (said he) should there be treachery 
 they shall find I'm not such a craven as they take 
 me for '." 
 
 He left the chamber and walked slowly down the 
 stairs. He heard numerous voices in contention ;
 
 48 LLOLVORKO. 
 
 curses, murmurs and laughter, met his ear, and he 
 knew the men were gaming. "When he had got 
 into the room where they were assembled, he was 
 surprised at the number of strange faces which met 
 his gaze : There were some eighteen or twenty men 
 scattered about the apartment, some gambling-, some 
 smoking, some draining flagons, some engaged in 
 strong altercation, some sitting motionless as statues 
 gazing at space, some with their heads rested upon 
 their hands as if absorbed in gloomy meditation, 
 whilst others were stretched out on forms in deep 
 slumber. Belando stood with his back to the fire smok- 
 ing along dutch pipe; the large dog, before spoken of, 
 stood sulkily at the door like a huge wolf; and there 
 were now two other dogs, nearly as large as himself, 
 one lying under the table, and the other by the fire. 
 Belando seeing Llouvorko start with astonishment 
 at the strange sight, stepped up to him and said, 
 
 " Be not surprised at the appearance of these men. 
 oun t Rewforno, a nobleman in the neighbourhood, 
 intends having a great hunt on the morrow in the 
 forest hard by, and these men, being engaged for the 
 occasion, and wishing to be near the spot, have put up 
 here, and intend staying until it comes on. They are 
 a set of rough harmless fellows, who think of naught 
 but hunting, drinking, and gaming ; yon see two 
 thirds of them are engaged with the dice-box and 
 the wine cup even now." 
 
 " So dark and forbidding a set of men my eyes 
 never fell upon." 
 
 " It is the constant exposure to sun and air, an d
 
 LLOUVORKO. 49 
 
 the rough exercise in the woods that makes them 
 appear so." 
 
 " Is it dark yet ?" 
 
 " There is still a greyness on the horizon." 
 
 " We had better proceed." 
 
 " I think it would be advisable to wait another 
 half hour Shirwalto's injunctions were so strong 
 not to start until it was pitch dark." 
 
 u Are the horses ready ?" 
 
 " Divango is engaged in that business now. 
 What say you, Seignior? shall you and I have a 
 throw for a ducat or two, just while the shadows 
 are thickening a little ?" 
 
 " My mind is occupied with other thoughts." 
 
 " It will divert you from them. Come ! Ten or 
 fifteen ducats What say you ? I have a box here." 
 
 "Ask me no more !" 
 
 " What ho, Girosso bring a couple of flasks of 
 wine here, and a cigar or two. A draught of wine 
 will help to keep the night wind out of us. It's a 
 long ride to Shirwalto's, we shall feel the want of 
 some refreshment before we arrive there; I'll put a 
 flask in my pocket to revive us on the road. The 
 night is confoundedly cold in these forests." 
 
 " Let us lose no time, (said Llouvorko) but pro- 
 ceed instantly on our journey." 
 
 " I'll just step to the door (said Belando) and see 
 if it is dark." 
 
 He returned in a minute or two. 
 
 E
 
 50 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Not a speck of light to be seen, Seignior. Neither 
 moon, star, nor meteor, visible. We shall glide 
 undiscerned like the ghosts of the night." 
 
 They moved towards the door, and were just 
 upon the point of leaving the room, when Llou- 
 vorko, accidentally turning his head, was surprised 
 to see Belando whispering to one of the men, and 
 by their gestures he felt convinced he was the sub- 
 ject of their discourse. Belando perceiving that he 
 observed him, left the man abruptly and joined 
 him, saying, 
 
 " I was giving him some directions. It may be 
 some time before I return." 
 
 They now proceeded to the stables, where Di- 
 vango was waiting with the horses. They mounted 
 and rode off, but by a different route : they now 
 passed through the door, before spoken of, that was 
 covered with ivy, and which was a little way below 
 the main entrance to the house. The night was so 
 dark that they could scarcely see the road beneath 
 them ; not a ray of light was to be seen save the 
 gleams of the glow-worms, which shone through 
 the heavy blackness like stars, and the bright light 
 from the upper windows of the inn, which pierced 
 the darkness for a dozen yards around. 
 
 " I fear (said Llouvorko) you'll have some diffi- 
 culty in finding the way." 
 
 " Every tree in the forest is known to me. I've 
 wandered through these wilds from my youth."
 
 LLOUVORKO. 51 
 
 "What noise is that? (asked Llouvorko). By 
 heavens ! I hear the voices of men close at hand! 
 Hark! hark!" 
 
 " It proceeds from the house, Seignior. The men 
 are gambling I suppose, and they are apt to grow 
 quarrelsome and wax boisterous when they find the 
 ducats leaving their pouches." 
 
 " It appeared too near, I think, to proceed from 
 the house. Hark again!" 
 
 " I don't hear any thing all's silent. I tell you 
 it proceeded from the house. There are some hol- 
 low rocks in the neighbourhood the echo hath 
 deceived you." 
 
 " I could have sworn it was within ten yards of 
 us. Let us halt awhile and listen." 
 
 They drew up their horses, but the sounds not 
 being repeated, continued their journey. They were 
 now upon the common. They put their horses to a 
 sharp trot, the ground being even, and there being 
 no impediments in the way. They rode on for 
 about a mile, and Llouvorko perceived they were 
 approaching a forest, for he heard the moaning of 
 the wind amongst the branches of the trees, and the 
 hoarse sound of the cataract amidst the wood- 
 covered rocks. 
 
 " Do you intend to enter into the forest ?" (asked 
 Llouvorko). 
 
 "I know not how we shall get to the Jew's 
 else." 
 
 " Had we not better keep upon the common ? if
 
 52 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 the distance is greater it will be much easier tra- 
 velling." 
 
 " Why, in that case, we should have to go down 
 to the shore. It would be day light before we 
 reached his house. No, no; no road but the 
 wood." 
 
 " The darkness is so great, the horses will come in 
 contact with the trees." 
 
 " You have only to follow me Seignior, and all 
 will be well. I'll lead you through the openings." 
 
 Llouvorko now saw the huge trunks of the pine 
 trees rising before him, through whose heavy tops 
 the night wind rushed, emitting a wild and melan- 
 choly murmur. Belando spurred his horse through 
 the thick furze which grew at the edge of the forest, 
 and was followed by Llouvorko. The roar of un- 
 seen torrents the hollow moaning of the wind the 
 rustling of the leaves the creaking noise of 
 branches swinging to and fro the hissing sound of 
 the long grass as it beat upon the rocks the hoot- 
 ing of the owls, and the hasty twitter of birds dis- 
 turbed from their repose, altogether formed a wild 
 and soul-delighting concert ; and Llouvorko felt a 
 feeling of joy creep to his heart as he listened for a 
 moment to the solemn music. They pursued their 
 way through the forest, and in about two hours 
 arrived at Shirwalto's. Belando hailed him he in- 
 stantly appeared, and conducted them into the house. 
 
 " Did you meet any one on the way ?" (asked he 
 of Belando).
 
 LLOUVORKO. 53 
 
 " Not a soul, not a soul. The moon is down, and 
 the stars are hid. Not a living being crossed our 
 path." 
 
 " I have been most fortunate in my enquiries res- 
 pecting your business, (said Shirwalto, addressing 
 himself to Llouvorko). I have succeeded beyond 
 my utmost hopes." 
 
 " Have you discovered from whom you got the 
 miniature?" 
 
 "I have." 
 
 " Thank heaven !" 
 
 " And I have discovered more than that." 
 
 " How ? What mean you?" 
 
 " Be calm awhile. I'll tell you But mind it is 
 understood I'm to receive a great reward for my 
 exertions ?'' 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Well, after a great deal of trouble I discovered the 
 person from whom I got the miniature, and have had 
 an interview with him. It appears he was servant to a 
 nobleman in the neighbourhood, and had been dis- 
 missed. He says the picture was given him by his 
 master to balance an arrear of wages, but that not 
 being at all likely, he doubtless hath stolen it. And 
 mark me I discovered, by cross questioning, that 
 the very young lady whom that picture represents, 
 is now confined in that nobleman's castle! There's 
 information for you !" 
 
 " Ha ! In his castle! His name ? his name ?" 
 
 " Wait a little. This man knows the castle well,
 
 i)4 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 every passage, apartment, and secret entrance; he's 
 acquainted with the habits of the inmates with the 
 grounds and every thing connected with it; and 
 the great dogs that are kept there for protection, 
 which scarcely any person dare approach, are 
 familiar with him, and will let him pass at the 
 darkest hour of night without making an alarm. 
 Now this man is necessary to the success of our 
 scheme. I asked him if he was willing to assist 
 you in rescuing the maiden, and he said he would 
 have no objection provided he received a good 
 reward." 
 
 " Reward ! He shall be rewarded in such a way 
 that." 
 
 "Hold! You must not forget, Seignior, that I 
 am the prime mover in this affair; had it not been 
 for my assiduity the fellow would never have been 
 discovered." 
 
 " But his name ? the nobleman's name ?" 
 
 " Why ay, that's the grand secret the tie 
 the little affair which ensures me a good round 
 sum !" 
 
 " You surely don't doubt my honour?" 
 
 " You are honourable no doubt, but I should like 
 to know what number of ducats I'm to receive. But 
 I'll tell you his name It is Count Balvelsio." 
 
 " Count Balvelsio!" (cried Llouvorko, starting 
 some paces back). 
 
 " Ay, Count Balvelsio. Dost thou know such a 
 name ?"
 
 LLOUVORKO. 55 
 
 " Great heaven protect her ! Look down Oh ! 
 angels ! from the throne of mercy, and shield her 
 from the villain ! Oh ! Sir, lose not a moment in 
 rescuing- her from that lawless man ! Where is 
 the person to be found you spoke of? Let us 
 proceed even now. My heart is burning \\ithin me 
 for vengeance !" 
 
 " Give not way to passion, Seignior. It will 
 require the utmost coolness to conduct this business 
 in such a manner that it may prove successful ; the 
 least slip will ruin all. This Count is a man of 
 giant strength, possessing a vast deal of low cun- 
 ning and knowledge of the world ; he hath great 
 influence in the neighbourhood, and though he is in 
 reality an audacious cold blooded villain, yet doth 
 he shew a fair front to the eyes of men, who would 
 be slow in believing him guilty of the crime we 
 charge him with. You must be patient and give 
 time to consider which will be the best mode of 
 attack." 
 
 " Can we not raise sufficient force to proceed to 
 his castle to-night ? I cannot exist another hour 
 without making an attempt to rescue her." 
 
 " Could you let me have the money before we 
 proceed farther in this business ? I should go about 
 it with a better will." 
 
 "Why, I cannot let you have it without going 
 into the city, and that would be waste of time. 
 You shall have it early in the morning." 
 
 " Can't you give me a check upon some house ?"
 
 .">(> LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Why yes I can do that." 
 
 " That will be the best way. I'll get you a pen." 
 
 He went to a small closet and brought a pen and 
 ink, and Llouvorko filled up a check and handed it 
 to him. 
 
 " Ay, this will do Seignior, (said the Jew) thou'rt 
 liberal very generous indeed. The maiden shall 
 soon be at liberty." 
 
 He folded the check carefully up and put it in a 
 large pocket book ; he then beckoned to Belando 
 and whispered a few words in his ear Belando 
 then left the room; in about half an hour he 
 returned accompanied by a man whom Llouvorko 
 did not recollect to have seen before: he seemed 
 about thirty years of age, had a long sharp visage, 
 black eyes, thick jetty mustachios and eye-brows 
 he was remarkably tall, and wore a large slouched 
 hat, which nearly covered his face. 
 
 " This is the person, Seignior, we were speaking 
 about from whom I got the miniature." 
 
 "You are willing to assist us in rescuing the 
 maiden from the Count?" (said Shirwalto, address- 
 the man). 
 
 " Ay, upon certain conditions,'' (replied he). 
 
 " Yes, yes ; a reward, and a good one," (continued 
 Shirwalto.) 
 
 " Shall I receive it before I enter upon the 
 business ?" 
 
 " Why, you can hardly expect that, Lambremo. 
 If you get it at the close it will be early enough.
 
 LLOUVORKO. 57 
 
 So soon as the maiden 's clear of the castle walls 
 you shall he paid I will pay you myself, so no 
 more upon that point, but tell us which will be the 
 best time to approach the castle." 
 
 " To-night," (said the man). 
 
 " To-night !" 
 
 Llouvorko started with delight when he heard 
 the man's words, and he stepped up to him and 
 shook him by the hand, saying 
 
 " You shall be well rewarded friend you shall ! 
 you shall 1" 
 
 " Why will to-night be the best time ?" (asked 
 Shinvalto), 
 
 " Because the Count 's absent from the castle." 
 
 " Ay, indeed Doth he often go abroad ?" 
 
 " Seldom at night. It may be months before 
 we've such another opportunity." 
 
 " Why, then, the sooner we're beneath the walls 
 the better. A favourable night too no moon. 
 Harkee, Belando, away with the speed of the buck 
 to the inn, and bring hither as strong a force as you 
 can muster. You told me there were some dozen 
 or two of stout fellows waiting for a hunb there, 
 bring them along with you. Haste ! haste ! and 
 let me see the blood reeking on your spurs when 
 you return." 
 
 Belando hastened from the apartment, and in a 
 minute or two the noise of his horse's hoofs was 
 heard upon the hard gravel, which gradually died 
 away till all was again hushed in silence. In about
 
 58 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 two hours they heard the noise of horsemen ap- 
 proaching-. 
 
 "They're here ! they're here! (exclaimed Shirvvalto, 
 starting from his seat) I'll go forth and meet them." 
 He rushed from the apartment. In a little while 
 he returned, saying-, 
 
 " As fine a set of fellows as ever stood before a 
 tyrant's castle, Seignior. We'll make the villain's 
 heart ache before another hour's rolled away !" 
 " Are they well armed ?" 
 
 " Armed from the heels to the teeth. Swords, 
 daggers, and fire arms, with stout arms to use them; 
 there 's not a craven in the troop, all well tried 
 knaves, with hearts of oak and hands of iron." 
 " Let us depart, then, in heaven's name." 
 " Lambremo, you have no horse, (said Shirwalto). 
 Hie to Belando, he'll mount you in a moment. 
 What arms have you, Seignior ? Have you no 
 weapon but that sword ?" 
 
 Llouvorko answered in the negative, although he 
 had pistols concealed in his dress. 
 
 " I think the sword will be sufficient, (continued 
 Shirwalto,) you wont have much to do, the fellows 
 without will take the work out of your hands 
 Follow me." 
 
 They left the cave and went out upon the rocks. 
 Upon a broad sheet of sand, beneath the cover of a 
 tall cliff, Llouvorko saw the men waiting, with 
 Belando and Lambremo at their head, ready to 
 start at a moment's notice. The moon just shewed
 
 LLOUVORKO. ,59 
 
 herself beneath the folds of a huge cloud which was 
 sailing- slowly along, and threw a ghastly light upon 
 the faces of the assembled horsemen. Llouvorko 
 gazed upon them for a moment; they appeared 
 more like a group of fiends than human beings ; 
 they sat motionless as statues, no movement was 
 visible in the group except the action of the horses' 
 necks ; not a sound was heard save the occasional 
 fall of a charger's foot upon the rocks, the noise 
 from the scranching of the bit, the sound of the 
 waves falling on the shore, and the wail of the curlew. 
 
 " We had better divide ourselves into small 
 parties (said Shirwalto) to avoid suspicion if there 
 should be any passers. Lambremo do j ou take the 
 lead, you are well acquainted with the secret roads 
 to the castle." 
 
 Shirwalto and Llouvorko mounted their horses, 
 and after dividing the troop into groups of about six 
 each, they moved on at a slow pace for the castle. 
 To the left was a long range of rocks rugged and 
 wild, some leaned their shaggy heads so far over the 
 sand that they seemed upon the point of rolling 
 from their seats upon the horsemen who moved un- 
 derneath them. To the right smaller rocks ap- 
 peared, beyond which was the open shore, upon 
 whose hard bosom the waves foamed and dashed, 
 emitting a dull hollow sound which echoed far and 
 near in the deep caverns. The horsemen kept on 
 their way until they came to a narrow pass, over- 
 grown with brambles ; low thick foliaged trees grew
 
 00 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 at either side, from whose branches vines and other 
 creeping plants drooped, and waved to and fro in the 
 night wind. They proceeded about half way up 
 this pass, and then turned into a wild hollow, which 
 seemed of some extent it was thickly set with trees, 
 and torrents rushed swiftly down its sides; the 
 ground was marshy, bestrewn with bull-rushes, 
 reeds, and water-flowers; the wisp was leaping from 
 pool to pool, like a fiery fiend let loose upon the 
 night. They left the hollow, and came upon a flat 
 piece of ground, covered with furze and fern ; and 
 through an opening in some rocks, which rose at a 
 little distance, the grey towers of a great building 
 appeared, faintly tipped with the trembling light of 
 the feeble moon. 
 
 "The castle," (said Larnbreino in a low hoarse 
 voice.) ' . 
 
 "Where ? where ? (asked Shirwalto) I see nothing 
 but darkness." 
 
 " Cast thine eyes through the opening in yonder 
 rocks." 
 
 " 'Tis true, by heaven !" 
 
 " On ! on ! my men ! (cried Llouvorko in a loud 
 voice) The castle ! the castle ! Follow me ! follow 
 me!" 
 
 " Silence, idiot ! (said Shirwalto) silence ! Art 
 mad? Dost wish to give them notice of our ap- 
 proach ? By the virgin, thou'st spoiled the whole ! 
 Accursed folly ! Halt, men ! and let us listen if 
 there is any one stirring."
 
 LLOUVORKO. 61 
 
 The men drew up their horses. 
 
 "All seems quiet, (said Shirwalto). Seignior, I 
 beg of thee, as thou wishest success, to give way to 
 no more bursts of passion ! 'Tis a miracle the sen- 
 tinels were not alarmed !" 
 
 Lambremo now rode up to Shirwalto and said, 
 
 "' You had better return with the troop into that 
 hollow, whilst I and Belando creep stealthily to the 
 castle to reconnoitre." 
 
 " Keep in the deepest shadow to avoid being 
 seen, (said Shirwalto ;) go not into the moonlight, 
 for, though it is scarcely visible, yet may it disclose 
 your figures to the watchers. Hark ! I hear the 
 bark of a dog ! Doth it not proceed from the 
 castle ?" 
 
 "Ay, I know the voice well, (said Lambremo) 
 but there's no danger. I'll make him quiet in an 
 instant." 
 
 " 'Tis getting stronger I fear it will alarm 
 them." 
 
 " Retire into the hollow." 
 
 Lambremo and Belando dismounted, and glided 
 cautiously along the fern towards the castle, and were 
 soon lost in the darkness. Shirwalto and the troop 
 retired. In about half an hour they heard a rustl- 
 ing amongst the leaves, and Lambremo stood before 
 them." 
 
 " Follow me (said he to Shirwalto) All is still 
 not a sound comes from the castle. I have unlocked 
 the door of the secret passage All is ready The
 
 62 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 moon's behind the clouds too. Not a moment's to 
 be lost." 
 
 "Dismount, men, (said Shirwalto,) and fasten 
 your horses to these trees it may be dangerous to 
 take them nearer the castle." 
 
 The men did as they were ordered, and then, with 
 Lambremo and Shirwalto at their head, left the 
 hollow. They proceeded cautiously on till they 
 came to within fifty yards of the building-. 
 
 " Is the secret passage you spoke of at that part 
 of the castle which faces the sea, or doth it open into 
 the wood ?" (asked Shirwalto.) 
 
 " The wood. Let us turn to the left." 
 
 Where's Belando ?" 
 
 " I left him in the forest : he said he Avould 
 wait until we came up he's hid amongst the 
 furze." 
 
 They moved on beneath the trees till they came 
 close to the huge walls of the building. 
 
 " Unsheath your swords, (said Shirwalto in a low 
 voice,) to be ready in case of attack." 
 
 Lambremo now led the way to what appeared to 
 be an old well, or fountain : there were large 
 stones and broken pillars scattered about, which 
 seemed to have lain there for years, for they were 
 overgrown with grass, moss, and long creeping 
 shrubs ; and there was a row of broken steps which 
 seemed to lead to some place under the earth. Low 
 bushy trees grew around, amongst whose foliage the 
 restless wind sighed and murmured ; and there was
 
 LLOUVORKO. 63 
 
 a tinkling monotonous sound as of water falling 
 over rocks, which seemed to proceed from under 
 ground. 
 
 " We must go down here, (said Lambremo) it will 
 take us into the very heart of the castle." 
 
 He went down the steps, followed by Shirwalto, 
 Llouvorko, and the rest of the men. 
 
 " Stay a moment, (said he) I'll strike a light." 
 
 The feeble ray of the lamp disclosed to the view 
 mouldering rocks, tree roots, broken stones, and 
 beds of rotten grass and moss saturated with water. 
 When they had got to the bottom of the steps 
 they proceeded through a long passage, at the end 
 of which was a door unfastened, they went through 
 it; they were now in a long narrow vault with two 
 doors, the floor was covered with water to the depth 
 of some inches, and the roof dripped with moisture ; 
 they passed through one of the doors, which led into 
 another vault, smaller than the last in one corner 
 was a row of steps, which they descended ; they pro- 
 ceeded through a long passage which led to another 
 flight of steps they now stopped and listened. 
 
 " All is quiet, (said Shirwalto). No sound breaks 
 upon the stillness. Shall we ascend these steps ?" 
 
 " Ay, (replied Lambremo). Be still as death let 
 not your breathing be heard !" 
 
 " He crept softly up the steps, and was followed 
 by the rest. They now came to a door, which Lam- 
 bremo unlocked; it led into a small square room 
 which had only one window, they passed from this
 
 64 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 into another one, and then into a long passage; 
 there were numerous doors in this passage, some of 
 which were open ; they moved on until they came to 
 a great stone stair case, they ascended it; they now 
 came into another passage, into which numerous 
 doors opened as before, they passed through one and 
 came into a large apartment which was supported 
 by pillars behind them stood huge statues of war- 
 riors; swords, shields, armour, with other imple- 
 ments of war, hung upon the walls, and in one cor- 
 ner was a large picture representing a battle. They 
 passed through this into another great room. Large 
 massy pillars of the purest white marble supported 
 the roof, on which was carved numerous fantastic 
 figures of men, with satyrs, wood-nymphs, and 
 flowing garlands of flowers. The walls were of 
 deep brown oak, decorated with exquisite paintings. 
 Shirwalto now drew close to Llouvorko, and in an 
 undervoice said, 
 
 " I and Lambremo will go up to the apartment of 
 the maiden, and apprise her ot -your arrival." 
 
 He now uttered some sentences so low that they 
 were inaudible, and Llouvorko leaned his head the 
 better to catch his words, but, whilst so doing, he was 
 rudely seized by some one behind him by the collar 
 he turned his head and found that he was in the 
 grasp of Belando. 
 
 " Ha ! treachery !" said he, and attempted to draw 
 his sword, but was quickly disarmed by the rest of 
 the men.
 
 LLouvctiiko. Go 
 
 "Bind him! (said Shinvalto in a loud voice) 
 bind the audaciotta young 1 whelp!" 
 
 "Villain! (cried Llouvorko). Unloose me, 
 wretches !" 
 
 He struggled violently, and his bosom heaved as 
 if it would have burst. 
 
 " Be calm, my young sapling- (said Shinvalto) 
 strain not thy tender muscles, there is no harm in- 
 tended thee any farther than a little imprisonment." 
 
 " Serpent! Demon! Oh! God! Oh God! what 
 a snare hath been laid forme! Unhand me, mon- 
 sters! Help! help! What ho! murder! assassins!" 
 
 "Gag: the yelping cur! (cried Shinvalto) he'll 
 alarm the castle! the business will be blown, and 
 we shall lose our pay !" 
 
 A tall stern looking man now entered the apart- 
 ment. 
 
 "You have him safe?" (said he). 
 
 "Ay, ay, my Lord, we've trapped him at last, and 
 a wily dog he is." 
 
 " Arouse thee, my young buck, (said the stranger, 
 stepping up to Llouvorko, and pressing a thin 
 ebony walking stick gently against his side ) why 
 thou lookest like a ghost-frightened maiden. Arouse 
 thee ! arouse thee!" 
 
 "Heavens! Balvelsio! (cried Llouvorko, and his 
 eyes expanded, and his lips trembled with fury) 
 Oh ! that these arms weiv free ! stand back ye 
 fiends !" 
 
 " I'll tame thee, stripling ! I'll tame thee ! (said 
 
 w
 
 ()(> LLOl'VOKKO. 
 
 Balvelsio) What ho ! Averto ! Orrburgo !" (The 
 door flew back, and two men quickly entered the 
 apartment.) 
 
 "A few days confinement in a foul dungeon, (con- 
 tinued Balvelsio) will lull the storm in thy blood." 
 
 "Oh ! black souled dog?" 
 
 " Away with him ! Away with him to the deep- 
 est dungeon in the eastern wing!" 
 
 The men stepped up to Llouvorko and dragged 
 him from the apartment. 
 
 " Retire Shirwalto, (said Balvelsio) retire instantly. 
 I fear his bawling hath aroused some of the inmates. 
 Call upon me to-morrow, two hours after night- 
 fall." 
 
 Shirwalto and the rest of the men left the castle.
 
 LLOL'VORKO. (J7 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 There's something in a lovely maiden's tears 
 That melts the heart of man like thawing wind 
 The frozen avalanches ; there's a pow'r 
 That draws the stubborn iron from his soul, 
 And fills his breast with tender traits of heav'n. 
 
 WITHIN a room, which looked out upon the ocean 
 (past whose small gothic window the snowy sea-bird 
 flitted and cast around its wild melancholy wail) 
 a maiden was sitting ; the shade of sorrow was on 
 her features, and ever and anon a heavy sigh would 
 leave her breast : she seemed in silent prayer, for 
 her lips moved, but not a syllable escaped. One 
 vivid streamer from the rising sun pierced through 
 the coloured glass and played upon her hair, which 
 nigh did equal it in richness. Awhile she sat 
 motionless as a statue, then a flood of tears fell from 
 her eyes, and she exclaimed in the greatest mental 
 agony My father ! She threw herself upon the sofa 
 and hid her face in her hands, whilst convulsive sobs 
 occasionally burst from her hearl. At length she 
 arose, walked to the window, and gazed upon the 
 refreshing face of nature. The tiny wavelets were
 
 68 LLOL'VOIIKO. 
 
 dancing and flashing beneath the rich sunbeams 
 
 that pierced through their crystal bosoms, and went 
 leaping away like laughing' fairies, past the huge 
 rocks which reared their dusky heads out of the 
 bright cerulean deep. The dews of the night yet 
 rested upon the leaves of the trees, and the mists 
 lingered in the rallies ; the sound of the plashing of 
 the waves amongst the dwarf rocks hung sweetly on 
 the air, and joined the melody of the hosts of songs- 
 ters in the neighbouring woods; small pearly clouds, 
 with bosoms pure as silver., peered from heaven's 
 bright vault upon the earth, like sweet celestial 
 cherubs smiling upon man ; the pure breeze of the 
 morning wantoned over the wave, and murmured 
 plaintively in the hoary caverns. The lovely land 
 scape, with all its freshness and beauty, failed to 
 cheer the maiden ; she gazed upon it with a dull 
 and vacant eye; the music of the waves and wind, 
 and the melody of the birds were lost upon her ear; 
 frequent sighs burst from her bosom, and oft she 
 pressed her hand against her heart, as though excru- 
 ciating torture wrung its inmost core. At length 
 she mused, 
 
 " How beautiful is all around ! How sweet this 
 scene to those at liberty ! the peasant's heart ex- 
 pands with gladness at the sight, and the village 
 maiden's eye beams with joy; the poorest wretch 
 that roams this cruel world, though weak from want, 
 and hemmed around with every ill which penury 
 engenders, yet doth his heart dilale with delight at
 
 LLOUVORKO. 60 
 
 the sight of nature's beauties. But I alas! alas! a 
 wretched captive ! banished from all ! my home ! 
 my friends! torn from my honoured parents' doting- 
 arms! seized by a ruffian ! Oh! God! vouchsafe 
 me strength ! look down in mercy from thy throne 
 of grace, and waft some comfort to my trembling- 
 heart ! Within these gloomy walls, this dreadful 
 tomb, this seat of awful woe, I'm left to die! 
 to die ! And, Llouvorko, can you thus forsake 
 me ? Alas ! poor youth ! thou knowest not where I 
 am! thou'lt never find me never! never! 
 
 " And Oh ! my poor heart-broken father ! he, 
 too, is in the grasp of this wicked man ! he's 
 pining now within some dreadful dungeon! My 
 heart is breaking ! Oh ! ye saints on high protect 
 my father! save him heaven! so good, so kind he 
 was! an angel on the earth! To cast such goodness 
 in a loathsome vault! the cold damp air, to fan his 
 hoary locks, and strike the death-chill to his feeble 
 heart! Oh! dark souled man, just vengeance yet 
 will seize thee ! Griliscio's daughter to be thus con- 
 fined! kept fast in durance by a lawless villain! 
 Oh ! that I had a dagger ! a cup of poison ! aught ! 
 to end my weary days ! Great heaven ! what fate's 
 reserved for me? I'll hurl myself from the window 
 upon the rocks below ! I cannot bear this wither- 
 ing misery! I hear a step; 'tis doubtless Silerto, 
 the old man who 'tends upon me; a kind creature he 
 is most kind! 'tis he alone that makes me cling 
 to life -he's caused one spark of hope to fall upon
 
 70 J.I.OUVOP.KO. 
 
 the shadow of my way be pities me ! he said he'd 
 let no Opportunity escape of procuring me my free- 
 dom he never visited me without shedding- tears 
 Oh ! what an office for so kind a heart a jailor to a 
 tyrant! He's here I hear the key turning in the 
 lock." 
 
 The door opened, and an old man walked slowly 
 into the apartment ; his head was bald, his beard 
 long and white, his face deeply lined by the pencil 
 of time, and his eye weak and lusterless. He made 
 a low bow to Plesina, and remained some time 
 silent. 
 
 At length he said in a low voice, " I bring thee 
 but unwelcome news, sweet lady/' 
 
 " Alas ! 'tis long, Oh ! long indeed, since I heard 
 aught to pleasure this poor forlorn heart! What is't 
 good friend ? what is't ?" 
 
 " The Count hath returned, and intends visiting 
 yon in the evening, and he bade me apprise you 
 of it." 
 
 " Oh ! good Silerto, can you not assist me to es- 
 cape before the hated night comes on ? Release me 
 from these loathsome walls and heaven will bless 
 you ! Let me not be again exposed to the insults of 
 that wicked man !" 
 
 " I cannot sweet one I cannot do it ?" 
 
 "Ha! Hast thou, too, proved false ! Didst thou 
 not promise to release me ? Why did'st thou kindle 
 hope ? was it to hurl me down into the depths of 
 despair ? I was miserable enough old man !"
 
 T.I.OIVORKO. 71 
 
 " You wrong me lady, you wrong me ! I am as 
 eager as ever to assist you, but the time's not come 
 yet. You must bear up a little while. I would 
 advise you to keep your mind calm ; do not make 
 yourself miserable by useless repinings, for rest 
 assured I will let no opportunity escape of aiding 
 you." 
 
 " I will ever remember your kindness: But how 
 am I to bear the presence of that man ? I cannot, 
 Oh ! I cannot. Tell him I've been taken suddenly 
 ill." 
 
 " Telling him you were ill, woidd only bring him 
 the sooner to your side. See you, maiden ; receive 
 him calmly, and with dignity ; give not way to 
 passion, shed no tears, utter no sighs ; look upon 
 him with freezing, withering contempt ; let him see 
 that you despise him ; do not seem to fear him, and 
 depend upon it he will not annoy you long, but 
 skulk away like a baffled fiend, as ugly vice ever 
 doth before all-conquering virtue." 
 
 " I do fear him, I do, indeed, fear him ! I cannot 
 bear the malignant scowl of his eye ; I shudder 
 with horror when he approaches me !" 
 
 " Mark me, maiden ; be not apprehensive for your 
 safety, he shall not harm you, no, by heaven ! he 
 shall not ! I shall be stationed at the door during 
 the interview, and if he dares to put a finger upon 
 you, I'll hurl the accursed villain's soul to its native 
 hell ! I have pistols in case this dagger fails me. 
 I am feeble now, but I think this arm hath sufficient
 
 72 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 vigour left to thrust the steel into his vitals. I almost 
 wish he would prove violent, 'twould afford me an 
 excuse for the deed ; 'tis time the world were rid of 
 so cold blooded a villain ! How different is he to 
 the late Count ! when I think of him my eyes grow 
 moist with sorrow ; so gentle, so affectionate was he ! 
 Oh ! sweet maiden, my heart is full !" 
 
 " Was he any relation to this man ?" 
 
 " His brother, his brother : and listen 'tis my 
 firm belief he had a hand in his destruction !" 
 
 " Was he murdered ?" 
 
 " It was given out he was attacked in the forest 
 here by robbers, and murdered but all-seeing- hea- 
 ven knows the murderer ! My old heart hath ached 
 ever since, lady. I lost the dearest friend I ever 
 had ; I was in this castle when he was born." 
 
 " Is there not sufficient proof to convict the Count ? 
 Is he to go at large to prey upon society ? Have 
 you ever disclosed your thoughts to the proper 
 authorities ?" 
 
 " Never 'twere useless I can bring no proof, and 
 it would be only heaping misery upon my head In 
 his rage he would murder me. No, no, heaven alone 
 must punish him ?" 
 
 " His own brother !" 
 
 " Hush, lady ! hush ! 'tis but surmise. There 
 are spies lurking in every corner. Heavens ! should 
 it come to his ear that I suspected aught like that ! 
 I'll leave you now ; my stay may cause surprise. If 
 it was discovered that I held converse with you, my
 
 LLOUVORKO. 73 
 
 place would be instantly filled by another, and then 
 all hope would vanish of aiding you Hark ! I hear 
 footsteps Farewell, 1 ady " 
 
 Silerto stepped quickly out of the apartment, and 
 Plesina heard him conversing 1 with some one ; she 
 listened she thought it might be the Count ; at 
 length their voices ceased, and she heard their 
 footsteps dying away in the distance. In mental agony 
 the most acute did she pass the hours ; the slightest 
 sound that echoed through the building made her 
 start with terror ; every toll of the castle bell added 
 fresh sorrow to her heart ; the tears of anguish rolled 
 from her eyes, and her cheeks were suffused with 
 the flush of wounded pride. At length the shadows 
 of evening began to fall upon the earth, the sun 
 disappeared behind the distant hills, and the large 
 moon tipped the dusky clouds with silver. She 
 listened in anxiety and dread for approaching foot- 
 steps, but all was silent, nothing was heard save the 
 noise from the occasional shutting of a door, and 
 the howl of the great dogs in the court yard : she 
 began to think the Count had changed his mind. At 
 length she was startled by a heavy foot upon the 
 corridor, and in the next moment the door flew back, 
 and Count Balvelsio stood before her. He gazed 
 upon her some time in silence, then stepping slowly 
 up to her, said, 
 
 " I crave your pardon, lady, for this intrusion, but 
 heaven knows I could not live another moment with- 
 out seeing you ! My heart hath been wrung with
 
 71 LLOl VORKO. 
 
 the direst torture ever since my departure from the 
 castle ! What ! art still sad, my pretty angel ? 
 Will you never chase the melancholy from those 
 lovely features ? I see aversion in your eye ! Un- 
 bend that brow, and cast one kindly glance upon 
 me; 'twould be to me as the limpid fountain to the 
 parched up Arab ! as the nourishing rain to the sun- 
 withered plant ! What! no word yet! Will you 
 not speak to me ? Oh ! maiden, you know not the 
 sorrow of this heart ! it beats but for you ! for you 
 alone it clings to life !" 
 
 " Leave me, Suv Oppress not the unfortunate. 
 Add not insult to the weight of woe already heaped 
 upon my head !" 
 
 " Ah ! thou adorable ! I would rather be suffo- 
 cated with sulphur hurled headlong down the 
 giddy steep crushed beneath the fragments of the 
 fire-struck rock gorged alive by some hideous ser- 
 pent, than harm one hair of those golden locks ! 
 No, no, sweet maid, this heart loves thee but too 
 well to harm thee ! Vouchsafe one glimmer of the 
 light of those eyes to the heavy shadow of my soul, 
 for Oh ! 'tis dark as the grim brow of midnight ! 
 I see contempt in the curl of thy mouth thou des- 
 pisest me ! Ha ! is it so, maiden ?" 
 
 " There is an arm that will yet punish you for this 
 usage of Griliscio's daughter ! " 
 
 "Upbraid me not, lady, but rather cast those 
 sweet eyes upon me, and say thou lovest me." 
 
 " I abhor you ! I loath you !"
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 7."> 
 
 " Softly, my dainty maiden, softly ! Spoil not 
 those pretty lips with passion ; quench the wrathful 
 fire of those eyes, and let them beam with the 
 witching 1 light of love. Thou shalt be mine ! no 
 power on earth shall rob me of thee !" 
 
 " Go down into thy dungeons, and cast thine eyes 
 upon the helpless old man thou hast confined there; 
 mark his feeble frame enveloped with the damp 
 vapour of the vault, his aged limbs trembling- with 
 cold, his breast heaving with anguish ! Go down 
 there look upon him release him, and repent." 
 
 Balvelsio's face turned pale as ashes, at the words 
 of the maiden ; he gasped for breath, and in a low 
 voice said aside, 
 
 "Ha! by heaven! is it so ? Is it in the wind? 
 Hath the brazen tongue been at work ?" 
 
 Then, hiding his emotion, he said, in a voice 
 which yet quivered with agitation, 
 
 " I understand you not. What old man do you 
 speak of, lady ?" 
 
 " Alas ! you know too well !" 
 
 " I know of no old man confined in a dungeon in 
 this castle. Speak maiden ! who told you this ? 
 who told you there was a man in the vaults ?" 
 
 "Did you come here solely to mock me? You 
 came to insult a poor helpless maiden, whom you 
 have stolen from her friends, and kept in degrading 
 confinement ! Verily you are a manly fellow ! a 
 right noble knight! the flower of your sex! the 
 great jewel of honour !"
 
 ?(> LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Ha ! am I jeered by a milk-skimieel maid ?" 
 (exclaimed Balvelsio aside) then turning to Plesina, 
 he said, 
 
 " Havkee ! thou hadst better unlock thy bosom, 
 for, by the holy John, I will know it before I leave 
 this apartment !" 
 
 "'Tis my own father! my own father! You have 
 him in your horrid dungeon! the chains of sin press 
 heavy on his aged limbs, and the foul vapours of the 
 lightless vault strike to his heart and paralyze each 
 pulse ! You've left him there to die! to die!" 
 
 " Thy father !" 
 
 " Ay, the unfortunate Count Griliscio !" 
 
 " I breathe again ! (said Balvelsio, wiping the 
 sweat from his brow). Your father is not in this 
 castle, maiden." 
 
 " You would persuade me you had released him." 
 
 " He never was brought within these walls." 
 
 " Heaven forgive you !" 
 
 " Never, never. I swear by my soul !" 
 
 " I saw him struggling in the gripe of your min- 
 ions ! I saw him laying on his back, whilst two of 
 them were tying his hands! his silver hair lay in 
 the mud, and there was blood upon his temple! 
 Oh monster! monster! Lead me to him! lead me 
 to him! let us die together!" 
 
 Balvelsio abruptly left the apartment.
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Alas! alas! what bitter agony, 
 
 One wicked man, encompassed round with pow'r, 
 
 Can bring upon mankind ! Alas ! t'nat vice, 
 
 Foul, wealthy vice, should be allowed to dust 
 
 To trample th' just and good ! But sure as death, 
 
 AVithin itself the mo ster vice contains 
 
 A deadly venom, which doth work unseen, 
 
 And wit!) an awful and tremendous pow'r 
 
 Its votaries will crush, and hurl them down 
 
 To hell's uufathomed chasm. 
 
 Ix one corner of a deep and loathsome cell, down 
 whose rotten walls the water trickled from the 
 rocks above, Llouvorko was sitting; his head re- 
 clined upon his hand, and his eyes rested upon the 
 ground; he was motionless as the stone seat on 
 which he sat. A small lamp was suspended from 
 the ceiling, so small indeed, that the light it emitted 
 was but just sufficient to make the darkness more 
 horrible ; every part of the vault was clothed in 
 deepest shadow except a small circle in tlu centre 
 where the rays fell, across which lazy reptiles trailed 
 their unsightly forms. Nothing was heard save the 
 tighing of the wind along the passages and through
 
 TiS LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 the gratings, and the monotonous splash of the 
 water that oozed from the walls all else was still 
 as death. Suddenly a faint moan broke upon the 
 quietness, and Llouvorko started hastily to his feet, 
 exclaiming, 
 
 " Ha ! what's that ? I heard a groan !'' 
 
 He stood listening in deep anxiety. 
 
 " Was it but fancy ? 'twas too distinct. I hear 
 nothing now 'tis strange 'tis not repeated. Am I 
 then in the vicinity of some hapless wretch like 
 myself? or was it the utterance of a hideous spectre ? 
 perhaps the spirit of some one murdered in the 
 vaults !" 
 
 " He took down the lamp, crept softy round the 
 dungeon, and looked into every corner; nothing 
 living met his sight but the hateful vermin, whose 
 bright eyes gleamed in the lamp-ray. He examined 
 the walls, felt at every stone, surveyed the ceiling, 
 but no opening met his view ; he approached the 
 door, and listened, but heard nothing save the dull 
 moan of the wind. 
 
 " 'Twas doubtless the evaporation of some pent 
 up vapour," said he, and returned to the stone seat, 
 and sat down. He had not sat long before he again 
 got up, and commenced another examination of the 
 vault; there was a square hole at one side of it 
 which led into another vault, very small. He crept 
 through it ; he then applied the lamp to every 
 crevice in the wall, in the hope of finding a secret 
 door, for he was still convinced it was a human voice
 
 LLOIYOKKO. Til 
 
 he had heard, and he doubted not there was com- 
 munication between the cells. He searched, and 
 searched, but no appearance of an outlet or opening: 
 of any kind appeared ; the vault seemed as though 
 it had been hewn ovit of the solid rock, so closely 
 and firmly were the stones cemented. He lowered 
 the lamp to the floor to ascertain if there was any 
 door which communicated with any vaults that 
 might be beneath, but it was covered with mud to 
 the depth of several inches. He retraced his steps 
 to the main cell, and was returning again to the 
 stone seat, when his foot caught against something 
 which protruded from the floor, and he was thrown 
 violently down. He turned round to ascertain the 
 cause of his disaster, and found it was occasioned by 
 a round piece of iron which was raised about two 
 inches from the ground ; he tried to lift it, but it 
 defied his utmost strength; he removed the earth 
 from it, and found it was a large iron ring; he tried 
 again to remove it irom the ground, but could not ; 
 one half of it was still covered with earth he beat 
 the ground with his foot to loosen it. How his heart 
 fluttered when he found it was fastened to an iron 
 door. 
 
 " Ah ! (said he) the mystery's explained; this door, 
 doubtless, leads to the prison of some poor unfortu- 
 nate wretch like myself! 'Tis from this place the 
 ^n>:m proceeded." 
 
 He knelt down upon the door and listened, but not 
 the slightest sound met his ear; he knocked loudly
 
 80 LLOUYOUKO. 
 
 upon the iron with bis heel and listened again, but 
 still all was silent. 
 
 " I'll lift the door and see where it leads to, (said 
 he) it may perhaps lead to some opening 1 by which I 
 may escape." 
 
 He moved the soil carefully from its edge, and 
 then pulled at the ring- with all his strength ; for 
 some time it remained immovable, at length it began 
 to stir, he increased his efforts, and at last succeeded 
 in raising it from the ground just at this moment 
 he heard the footsteps of some one in the outer 
 passage. 
 
 "Ha! by heaven! the jailor P 
 
 * !/ 
 
 He tried to replace the door, but in his hurry his 
 foot slipped and he fell ; ha sprung again upon his 
 feet and pulled with all his might at the ring-, but 
 ere he could get the door over the aperture he heard 
 the bars falling down and the key turning in the 
 lock ; he left it where it was, and rushed with all his 
 speed to the stone seat, placed his head upon his 
 hand, and awaited the appearance of the man. 
 
 "Accursed fortune! (said he to himself). Tis all 
 over! The fellow will discover the door, and I shall 
 be instantly removed to another cell, perhaps more 
 dreadful than this, to pine and die in misery and 
 horror!" 
 
 The door flew open and the man entered ; he car- 
 ried a small loaf and a pitcher of v.alov. How 
 Llouvorko's heart leaped as he stepped into the dun- 
 geon! he doubted not but the iirst object he'd see
 
 LLOUVORKO. 81 
 
 would be the trap door; he trembled with anxiety. 
 But the man neither turned his head to the right or 
 the left, but walked slowly up to the stone seat, laid 
 the bread and water upon it, retraced his steps to 
 the door, and left the dungeon without perceiving 
 the secret vault. What a flood of joy rushed through 
 Llouvojko's bosom when he heard the key turning 
 in the lock, and the ponderous bars falling into their 
 sockets ! His first act was to fall upon his knees 
 and pour a prayer to God he then crept softly to 
 the door the man had gone through, and listened. 
 
 " T*was miraculous ! (he exclaimed) 'twas miracu- 
 lous ! The finger of heaven is discernable in it! A 
 jailor to enter this small cell and not perceive a great 
 object like that, the walls and the floor all bare too ! 
 astonishing! Great saints 1 thank ye! by your 
 aid I shall escape from this loathsome captivity Oh 
 heaven ! my poor Plesina! How my heart is torn 
 for that dear angel ! She, too, is confined in this 
 dreadful castle ! How my brain burns when I think 
 of the misery the sweet girl's exposed to ! Every 
 stone of this huge hall of sin shall tumble to the 
 earth, and the foul tyrant shall perish in the ruins ! 
 How I yearn for vengeance ! Holy saints, look 
 down upon the poor hapless maiden, and shield her 
 from the snares of that man ! for Oh ! he's the great- 
 est villain hell ever let loose upon the earth to goad 
 God's creatures !" 
 
 He took the lamp and went to the trap door; he 
 
 G
 
 Sxi I.I.OUVOUKO. 
 
 held the light over the aperture; a flight of steps, 
 which rose up to the mouth of the vault, met his 
 view he was about to descend them, when he 
 suddenly stopped ; gazed timidly around, and 
 listened. 
 
 " What if the jailor should return ! (said he) he 
 may have forgotten something; those fellows are 
 like spectres, one knows not the moment they may 
 appear. I'll put the lid down and wait an hour or 
 so, 'twill be better than risking the chance of 
 detection." 
 
 When he had covered the vault, he again sat down ; 
 but all remained silent ; the jailor came not. He again 
 removed the trap-door and prepared to descend ; he 
 went down a few steps, and then drew the lid over 
 the aperture ; the steps were old, broken, and 
 covered with damp ; when he had got to the bottom 
 he found himself in a large vault, there were many 
 arches in it, and two thick iron pillars stood in the 
 centre. 
 
 Llouvorko looked around in the hope of seeing 
 the person from whom the groan proceeded ; he 
 held the light low round the sides of the walls, 
 and examined every recess, but nothing living met 
 his sight ; he sought for a door or opening, but no 
 outlet of any kind appeared. 
 
 "Is there no outlet from this dreary dungeon 
 then ? (said he) Hath it connexion with no other 
 vaults ?"
 
 I.LOUVORKO. 83 
 
 He again sought around for a door, but was 
 unsuccessful as before. 
 
 " I am still a prisoner ! Oh ! my Plesina ! my 
 Flesina! 1 cannot come to thee ! Thou'rt left 
 destitute of all succour save that of heaven ! Blessed 
 angels will hover around thee and shield thee from 
 every ill, for Oh ! thou art one of them ! they'll never 
 forsake their beloved sister! Oh! for some power to 
 burst these ponderous walls! Fall down ye light- 
 nings from the sky's black vault and split these hate- 
 ful stones, that have so often heard the groan of the 
 wretched, and been silent spectators of such 
 human misery ! Oh that the great sea would burst 
 its boundary, and fall with fury on this dismal 
 castle, and dash it to the earth ! Strike me to the 
 heart, Oh death ! let me not linger in this living 
 tomb ! let me not die by little and little ! let me not 
 fall to the dust worn to the bone by grief and 
 famine!" 
 
 He fell upon the ground, and lay with his face 
 buried in his hands, in an agony of despair. At 
 length he slowly raised himself, and was about to 
 leave the place and proceed to his own cell, when his 
 eye caught the appearance of some black object in 
 one corner ; he went up to it, and found it to be the 
 entrance to some other place underground ; the lid 
 was off, and he perceived a flight of steps as before. 
 
 " Thanks, holy saints ! ye have not deserted me !" 
 (he exclaimed) as with eager feet, he descended the 
 mouldering steps ; they led into a passage which
 
 84 LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 seemed of great length, for the light of the lamp 
 couldn't penetrate to the end of it. He proceeded 
 cautiously along, occasionally stopping to listen ; the 
 damp air played around his blow, and he had great 
 difficulty in preventing it from extinguishing the light; 
 he heard, at times, a low hissing noise, but could not 
 tell from what it proceeded, at length he concluded 
 it must come from the small 'snakes which were 
 trailing over the humid stones and mud. He came, 
 at last, to the end of the passage ; it opened into an- 
 other great vault; there were heaps of loose earth 
 lying upon the floor ; he perceived a large door at 
 one end of it, towards which he proceeded. Having 
 passed through it he came into another passage ; 
 when he had got to the end of it he found himself 
 in what appeared a vast cavern : there were huge 
 rocks frowning down on every side, over which small 
 streams of water kept constantly running, and fall- 
 ing into the soft sand, of which the floor was com- 
 posed. He paused awhile, not knowing in which 
 direction to proceed, for there were many passages 
 and winding ways round the rocks. The musty air 
 emitted a low melancholy moan as it flitted through 
 the deep recesses, and swept round the dreary caves. 
 A tremor of fear came over him as he moved along 
 the dark and silent way. The light of the lamp 
 played with the darkness, and gendered forms like 
 spectres ; the shelving parts of the rocks, just tipped 
 by the wan beam, appeared like hideous ghosts, 
 stretching out their arms as if to clasp him.
 
 LLOUVORKO. 85 
 
 " Where doth this dreadful place lead to ? (said 
 he) I fear I shall never be able to discover 
 a way out ! neither can I find the road back 
 to the cell I have left ! But what matter ? better 
 to perish here than pine and die by inches in vile 
 captivity ! If I find no opening before the oil in the 
 lamp 's consumed, my doom 's sealed ! I shall be 
 buried alive in this awful wilderness ! meet the 
 phantom death in darkness and alone, with no 
 friend to cheer me, to catch my latest sigh, or whis- 
 whisper the word of comfort ! Ha ! I hear ap- 
 approaching footsteps !- -'tis Balvelsio and his min- 
 ions in search of me !" 
 
 In the terror and confusion of the moment, he 
 extinguished the lamp, and crept under the cover of 
 a rock ; for a few moments he heard the footfalls, 
 they then died gradually away, and all again 
 dropped to silence. For awhile he listened, but 
 all remaining still, the full weight of his hor- 
 rible situation struck upon his heart, and he fell 
 to the earth and uttered a deep groan. He cast 
 his eyes around, but nothing met his gaze save utter 
 darkness ; no object could he see, nothing but the 
 vast sheet of black, even the ground was invisible. 
 He stretched his arms out and felt the cold damp 
 rugged rock it thrilled through his frame like the 
 touch of death : he heard the sighing and moaning 
 of the wind as it swept through the subterraneous 
 passages it seemed singing his death-dirge. 
 
 " Heavens ! to be buried alive in this dreadful
 
 86 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 cavern! (he exclaimed, and a chill run through his 
 blood, and the cold sweat of agony stood upon his 
 brow). None will see me ! none will heed me ! the 
 darkness and the wind my sole companions ! 
 Oh my Plesina ! I cannot aid thee now ! I am 
 dead to thee ! never again shall I behold thee ! ne- 
 ver again gaze in rapture on thy sweet and holy 
 countenance! never again hear the tones of thy 
 low sweet voice! Oh horror! horror! to wait in 
 this foul cave, in total darkness, for the tyrant death ! 
 to hear nothing but the throbbing of mine own 
 heart, and the wail of the never tiring winds!" 
 
 He moved softly from beneath the rock, and crept 
 along the sand, with his hands touching the rough 
 stone, to guide him ; he proceeded in this way about 
 thirty yards, when he found he had got to the end 
 of the rocks, for in stretching forth his hand, it 
 grasped nothing but empty air ; he strove to pene- 
 trate with his sight the sickening blackness which 
 surrounded him, but no object appeared through the 
 fearful blank; he moved slowly along till he became 
 sick and weary, and was about giving himself up to 
 despair, when he perceived in the distance a 
 faint light. 
 
 "Ha! (he exclaimed) a light! a light! from what 
 doth it proceed ? is it the glare of a phantom's train, 
 or the pallid fire of the faithless swamp-wisp ? it 
 stirs not, but gleams as stationary as a star; it 
 cannot be the wisp. I'll make for it. Should it 
 proceed from the guards of Balvelsio, I care not:
 
 LLOUVORKO. 0< 
 
 any thing is better than this soul -harrowing 
 darkness '" 
 
 He crept cautiously along towards the light, and 
 as he drew near it he thought he heard a moan ; he 
 stood and listened, but it not being repeated, he con- 
 cluded it was fancy, and again moved on his way. 
 The light began to increase in size, at length it 
 formed itself into a long streak ; and some little way 
 above it he perceived another light, very small, 
 round, and vivid. He was now startled by the 
 sound of a voice, so faint, tremulous, and plaintive, 
 that he thought it must proceed from some super- 
 natural being some poor unhappy spirit wailing 
 its woe. 
 
 " Is it a spirit, or is it human r" (said he, half 
 turning himself round as though about to retrace his 
 steps) It cannot be human such tones never hung 
 upon the lips of a mortal !" 
 
 He felt the sweat of terror oozing from his pores. 
 He stood moveless as a statue. 
 
 " Be it fiend, angel, or mortal, I'll approach it," 
 at length he said, darting forward with a desperate 
 resolution. He now perceived that the long streak 
 of light came from under a large iron door, and the 
 small bright spark issued through a grating. He 
 stood awhile and listened, but all was still as death; 
 he knelt down and tried to look under the door, but 
 the crevice was too small to allow him to perceive 
 anything; he heard a low dull sound as of some per- 
 son pacing slowly backwards and forwards ; and now
 
 88 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 a heavy groan, long and startling, burst from the 
 apartment. 
 
 "Jesu protect'me! (said he, crossing himself) 
 Was that a human voice ?" 
 
 He was about to feel for the fastenings of the door, 
 when these words struck his ear. 
 
 " My aged bones are breaking through my skin ! 
 my flesh is gone ! I'm like a noxious toad cast 
 amongst the dungeon's filth! the pestilential air of 
 this foul grave hath dried me up! Destroy me 
 heaven! in pity ease me of this dreadful woe! Is 
 there in nature such a wretch, so foul a monster, 
 such a fiend, to cast a helpless man within so dire a 
 spot, and keep him hid from heaven's sweet light, 
 and all the beauties of the upper world, from all the 
 ties of blood, sweet friendships, all! to spend his 
 days amidst the sickening vapour of a loathsome cell, 
 the grub, the serpent, and the lazy toad, his only 
 company, shut out from all the joys the bounteous 
 Creator, in his boundless goodness, hath spread 
 around for all mankind, left like a corse, to rot in 
 darkness, in the cold earth's womb? Oh Balvelsio, 
 'tis thee ! 'tis thee ! that's heaped this sorrow on my 
 hoary head!" 
 
 The words now became so indistinct, that Llou- 
 vorko couldn't catch their meaning; he listened in 
 the hope of hearing something further, but the voice 
 gradually died away, and nothing was heard but an 
 occasional low moan. 
 
 " It is some poor wretch (said he) who hath
 
 LLOUVORKO. 89 
 
 been imprisoned by Balvelsio Who knows what 
 number of being's pine in hopeless woe in this 
 dreadful cavern? Thy race is nearly run, dark 
 man! If I am fortunate enough to escape 111 
 have the shackles on thy limbs before another 
 sun sinks into the sea! I may perhaps be 
 able to release this poor sufferer from captivity. 
 Those groans would melt the heart of a rock! 
 He is speaking again, but so low that I cannot make 
 out the words." 
 
 "He knocked gently at the door the voice sud- 
 denly ceased, but no answer was returned; he 
 knocked again, but still all remained silent; at 
 length, on repeating the knock, a feeble voice said, 
 
 " Who is it knocks at the door of the wretched?" 
 
 " A friend, a friend, (replied Llouvorko) open the 
 door." 
 
 " Thou might'st as well ask the rock to open its 
 flinty breast!" (said the same low voice). 
 
 " How meanest thou f 
 
 "Just so much power have I to ope this door 
 (continued the voice) the fastenings are all on the 
 out side. Who art thou?" 
 
 " A friend." 
 
 "Alas! that word! alas, alas! Art from Balvelsio?" 
 
 " I myself have been a prisoner and have escaped. 
 If I could but unfasten this door I might be of 
 assistance to thee." 
 
 " Is there then goodness left upon the earth ? 
 Thanks, generous stranger ! thanks ' But Oh !
 
 90 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 alas ! thou never canst release me ! This massy 
 door! 'twould resist the flash of heaven !" 
 
 '* My lamp is out can you hand me a bit of 
 blazing paper under the door ?" (asked Llouvorko.) 
 
 " I fear the crevice is two small. Hold yourself 
 in readiness to receive it when I thrust it under, 
 else the wind will extinguish it." 
 
 A single burning straw was now pushed, under 
 the door, with which, after some difficulty, he 
 relighted the lamp. 
 
 " The bars are not locked, (said Llouvorko) There! 
 one's down." He undid bar after bar, and bolt ufter 
 bolt, and when he thought he had unfastened them 
 all, he tried to open the door, but it would not move. 
 
 " I have undone all the bars, (said he) and yet the 
 door will not open." 
 
 " There's a bolt in the middle which shoots down 
 into the earth," (said the voice.) 
 
 " I see none." 
 
 " Look again. I've heard the jailor unfasten it." 
 
 " 'Tis here, 'tis here." 
 
 He drew back the bolt, and pushed against the 
 door, which slowly opened with a harsh, grating 
 sound. He entered the cell, and his sight fell upon 
 the figure of a man, so thin, and so ghastly, that he 
 appeared more like a corse than a living being his 
 face was nothing but skin and bone, his eyes were 
 lusterless and deep in his head, his hair was long 
 and white, his skin of a sickly yellow, and in his 
 countenance was such an expression of hopeless
 
 LLOUVORKO. 91 
 
 woe, that the heart of Llouvorko ached as he gazed 
 upon him. 
 
 " Ah j I fear you have been a long time confined 
 in this dreary dungeon !" 
 
 " Yours, young man, is the only human face I 
 have seen for years ! these wretched eyes have 
 beheld nothing but humid walls and loathsome 
 vermin! These ears have heard naught but the 
 moaning of the wind, the everlasting plash of the 
 fetid water, and the hum of the stinging fly ! I've 
 breathed a foul corrupted air, and been enclosed in 
 dripping fogs, till the use hath well nigh left my 
 cramped up limbs ! a little black bread and water, 
 scarcely sufficient to support a tender babe, hath been 
 my only fare ! a little rotten straw my bed ! Alas ! 
 good friend, you know not what I've suffered !" 
 
 "And by the order of Balvelsio ?" 
 
 " Oh ! name him not ; break not the stillness of 
 this gloomy cell with that detested name !" 
 
 " I know him well ! a fouler monster walks not 
 on the earth ! And hath he cast a man so old as 
 thee within this frightful dungeon ?" 
 
 " His brother, friend ! his only brother !" 
 
 " You his brother ?" 
 
 " Ay, his wretched brother!" 
 
 " Heavens ! I thought not man could arrive at 
 such a height of wickedness !" 
 
 " You speak in the innocence of your own 
 young heart ; you know little of the world ; when 
 you arrive at my age you'll probably know that gold
 
 92 LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 is the worshipped idol of most men, and many will 
 go to almost any height of wickedness to procure it. 
 When you find a man that despises mammon, he is 
 like a jewel amongst a wilderness of gravel a 
 gleam of light shot athwart the black brow o f 
 midnight a single sun in the boundless field of 
 space. Gold is the magnet of Satan, which draws 
 mankind into the dark chambers of hell, and ever- 
 lasting misery." 
 
 " How long have you been buried in this loath- 
 some hole ?" 
 
 " Alas ! I know not ; for years, long dreadful 
 years, the light of heaven hath never cheered these 
 aching eyes ! nor have I seen a single human face ! 
 even the jailor never entered the cell, but passed 
 my bread and water through that small grated 
 window." 
 
 " I should have gone mad ! I never could have 
 borne it !'* 
 
 " Derangement often stole upon me, and drowned 
 for awhile my sufferings." 
 
 " His own brother ! I can scarcely credit it ! 
 He's a blacker villain than I thought him ! Let us 
 lose not a moment, but hasten with all speed from 
 this dark sepulchre ; delay may prove fatal to us. 
 Do you expect the jailor shortly ?" 
 
 " He is not regular in his visits ; I know not 
 when to expect him ; he hath often stayed away a 
 week, and I have been on the point of perishing 
 for want of food !"
 
 LtOUVORKO. 93 
 
 " Barbarous ! How long is it since he was 
 here ?" 
 
 " I think about two days." 
 
 "Do you know whether there is any passage 
 from this cavern into the open air ?" 
 
 " Alas ! I know not !" 
 
 " Follow me quickly ; we will go in search of 
 one." 
 
 Llouvorko took the lamp, and followed by the 
 old man, left the cell. They moved cautiously 
 through the openings in the rocks, elevating and 
 lowering the lamp alternately, but no door or 
 outlet appeared. Llouvorko explored the deep 
 recesses under the hanging rocks upon his knees, 
 but nothing met his vision save the damp black 
 stone. They were returning to the old man's cell in 
 despair, when, in turning a rock, the rays from the 
 lamp fell upon the iron bars of a small door which 
 lay deep in a recess. 
 
 u 'Tis here ' (exclaimed Llouvorko, as his de- 
 lighted eyes fell upon the dusky object). This door 
 leads to liberty '" He stepped quickly up to it, and 
 endeavoured to force it open, but it resisted his 
 utmost strength, and remained moveless as the rock 
 which overlooked it. 
 
 " Ah ! (said he) we might as well attempt to move 
 this huge mountain of stone, as stir this door ! Let 
 us retrace our steps to the cell, and consider what is 
 best to be done." 
 
 They stole along the cavern with steps noiseless
 
 !> LI.OUVOKKO. 
 
 as a sjicotvc's ; often would Llouvorko turn his head 
 in dread lest any one should surprise them ; a sud- 
 den gust of wind, the plash of the water, or the 
 noise occasioned hy the fall of a little earth from 
 the rocks, made him start with terror. At length 
 they reached the cell, entered it, and softly closed 
 the door. 
 
 " How fortunate we discovered that door ! (said 
 Llouvorko.) Had my sight not been bent in that 
 direction for the instant, we certainly should have 
 missed it one other step and it had been hid by 
 the projecting stone, and then endless captivity 
 would inevitably have been our lot !" 
 
 " I fear 'twill be so as it is, (replied the old man) ; 
 we shall never be able to unclose that door." 
 
 "I'll have it open if every particle of flesh is 
 wrenched from my arms with the effort !" 
 
 " Youth is ever sanguine and full of hope You 
 overate your strength. With proper implements it 
 would be work of the greatest difficulty to un- 
 close it. And I have not the strength of a bird ; 
 these poor emaciated arms can render thee but 
 little assistance." 
 
 " If all fail I'll dash my brains against it, and in 
 death find relief for my sufferings." 
 
 "Forbear, young man! Let not such wickedness 
 enter thy mind ! bear thy lot patiently, becoming a 
 man and a Christian. Would'st offend God by so 
 foul an act, and let the last action of thy life be one 
 of awful sin ? It is our duty to bear patiently what-
 
 I.I.Ol.'VOKKO. J>."> 
 
 ever lot He assigns us in His own good time He 
 will release us from all that is goading 1 . It often 
 happens that man repines at his lot, and growls, 
 like a wounded beast, at every little shadow which 
 flitts across his broad illumined way, when, had it 
 been otherwise, other and far greater evils might 
 have rushed upon him and probably destroyed him ; 
 so that much which we consider unfortunate is in 
 reality a blessing a shield that wards oft' calamities 
 which no human being could withstand." 
 
 " Thy words are true/' 
 
 "I have been a prisoner for years, and heaven 
 knows often been sick and weary of existence, 
 and prayed for death to come and ease me of my 
 sufferings, but never have I harboured so dark a 
 thought. Bear thy lot with fortitude, and heaven 
 in its own good time will release thee." 
 
 " In less than twelve hours we shall doubtless be 
 free from this vile dungeon. I yearn for vengeance ! 
 Balvelsio hath done me an injury thou little dream- 
 est of." 
 
 " Revenge may be sweet for the moment to some 
 (said the old man) but believe me, its sweetness is 
 fleeting as the morning mist, and is succeeded by 
 the direst of all torments. 1 ' 
 
 " But when so great a villain is the object, surely 
 revenge is justifiable ?" 
 
 " Never justifiable never ! never ! The dreadful 
 venom of an evil conscience the wicked man never 
 can escape from, it poisons his every moment,
 
 96 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 and hurls him, even in this life, into a gulf of 
 agony." 
 
 " And canst thou, after all thy sufferings, and the 
 great ills thou'st received from that man, yet extend 
 to him the hand of forgiveness ?' 
 
 " Even so." 
 
 " It then makes his crime a hundred fold greater 
 for injuring one so virtuous ! What was his motive 
 for casting you into this foul dungeon ?" 
 
 " I'll tell you. Come and sit beside me." 
 Llouvorko seated himself, and the old man con- 
 tinued 
 
 " I am the eldest son of Count Grelondo, famed 
 for his great prowess in the battle field. A braver 
 soldier never crossed a war-horse, or wielded the 
 cold steel of death ; war was his glory, the sun of 
 his existence, the vivid meteor that ever flashed 
 before his eyes. I partook not of the nature of my 
 father, for war was ever my detestation ; I look 
 upon it as the great bane of the world, the accursed 
 demon that spreads misery, desolation, horror and 
 death, throughout the land, which otherwise would 
 rejoice in the broad lustre of love, gentleness and 
 peace. It was my father's wish that I should be 
 bred to the profession of arms, but my thoughts all 
 turning to peace, I declined wearing the sword, 
 which offended the old Count, and caused him to 
 look upon me with a cold and distant eye. 
 
 Balvelsio my brother, (who was like our father 
 inasmuch as war was concerned, but very different
 
 LLOUVOKKO, !)7 
 
 in other respects, for thp one had a heart tender as 
 the lamb whilst the other's was hard as the wolf's) 
 longed to try his prowess in the field, and caught 
 with avidity at the Count's proposal ; he was 
 accordingly sent upon foreign service, whilst I 
 remained at the castle. Well, five years passed 
 over, dui'ing which time we never once heard from 
 Balvelsio. The old Count was getting every day 
 more feeble, at length death came upon him, and 
 he was laid in the grave of his fathers. I being 
 the eldest son, now became master of the castle. 
 I made every enquiry after my brother, but never 
 could hear any tidings of him; I began to be 
 greatly afraid he had fallen in some obscure fray. 
 Another year passed on, and I became the husband 
 of Ebcina, only daughter of Count Olvampo. I 
 had been married about four years when my brother 
 returned ; every hand was extended towards him, 
 every heart beat with joy : Heaven knows with 
 what rapture I again looked upon that face which 
 I had thought never to behold again that noble 
 form which we had all believed to be buried in a 
 foreign land: tears rolled down my cheeks as I 
 pressed him to my bosom. Rejoicings were held at 
 the castle for months in honour of his arrival : 
 every thing was done which we thought would 
 contribute to his happiness ; every dell rang with 
 merriment every valley echoed with laughter and 
 music the soft warblings of the sweet pipe flouted 
 on the breeze the lofty mountains replied to the 
 
 n
 
 98 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 rich tones of the horns the huge forests trembled 
 with the roar of the chase and all nature seemed 
 to rejoice at the arrival of my long lost brother. 
 
 Alas ! alas ! we knew not what a deadly reptile 
 we were harbouring ! we knew not that the man 
 we smiled upon, and thought was all perfection and 
 goodness, was in reality a fiend ! the direst fiend 
 that ever escaped from the black pit of hell ! I 
 knew not when I gazed upon his beautiful counten- 
 ance, and traced the exquisite proportions of his 
 manly form, and dwelt with delight on the resem- 
 blance it bore to our dead father, that it enclosed a 
 soul of the foulest, blackest, most diabolical nature ! 
 but BO it was ! My wife bore me a son, who was 
 about two years old when Balvelsio returned, and I 
 had often remarked with pleasure the great notice 
 he took of him ; he was constantly fondling him, and 
 speaking in his praise to my wife, and often paying 
 her compliments, in an indirect manner, through 
 the medium of the child. I little knew his motive 
 then, I little knew it ! My wife was beautiful, 
 beautiful in the highest degree ; I do not think her 
 equal was to be found throughout the whole of Italy. 
 Her beauty was of that high commanding sort which 
 fascinates and subdues the sternest and most careless 
 observer, strikes into the soul a feeling of reverence, 
 admiration, and a sensation one might be supposed 
 to feel in the presence of an angel. We continued 
 to live together in peace and happiness ; nothing 
 occurred to ruffle the smooth surface of our days ;
 
 LLOLVOKKO. 9J) 
 
 my little child daily grew more beautiful and 
 endearing ; my wife ever met me with smiles 
 and the words of sweet affection upon her lips : and 
 my brother pursued the sports of the field and ath- 
 letic exercises uninterrupted. Unity of feeling and 
 good will ever prevailed, and every thing wore the 
 appearance of present and lasting happiness but 
 alas ! alas ! for the speculation of frail man ! The 
 flower, in the beautiful flush of maturity, opes its 
 rich bloom to the sun, waves proudly on its elastic 
 stem, and seems to smile in its strength, and look 
 with an eye of pity upon the tender buds that spring 
 up beside it, but with the night comes the strong 
 wind of death, and prostrate it falls amongst 
 the unharmed buds. As I was one day passing 
 through the forest, I was startled by hearing some 
 one pronounce my wife's name ; I turned round 
 instantly, but could perceive no one. I listened 
 attentively, but all remained silent. I was greatly 
 surprised, being convinced it was not fancy ; the 
 tone was loud, the word distinct, and pronounced 
 with great eagerness and heat. I was in a lone 
 dingle, with thick brushwood and brambles at each 
 side, over which small fir trees shot, that threw a 
 shadow upon every object beneath. I had stood 
 about five minutes listening in breathless silence for 
 a repetition of the voice, when I became aware of a 
 low rumbling sound, which seemed to come from 
 the other side of the brush-wood, and higher up 
 the dingle ; at iirst 1 thought it proceeded from
 
 100 LLOUVOUKO. 
 
 doves and other wild birds, joined with the low 
 moan of the stream ; but, on listening longer, I 
 began to think the sounds proceeded from men. I 
 crept along cautiously beneath the cover of the 
 furze ; as I proceeded the sounds grew more 
 audible; I quickened my pace, and now found 
 I was opposite the spot where the strangers 
 held their conference. I knelt down and listened 
 I heard my own name mentioned repeatedly, and 
 in such a m anner that convinced me I was an 
 object of abhorrence to some one or other. I 
 became restless and agitated, and strove repeat- 
 edly to thrust my body through the brush-wood. 
 
 As the deep tones of the speaker rolled to my ears, 
 I thought I recognized the voice of my brother. I 
 parted the brambles, strained my vision through the 
 aperture, and by the uncertain light of the forest 
 perceived two men in earnest conversation, one of 
 which I knew to be my brother. They mentioned 
 my own and wife's name so often, and seemed to be 
 labouring under such great excitement, one moment 
 pacing the ground with sullen and downcast looks, 
 then bursting forth in all the wildness of passion, 
 that I began to yearn with curiosity to know the 
 nature of their discourse. They were at too great a 
 distance for me to catch their words, so I began to 
 look out for some place of concealment near their 
 persons. They stood directly under a group of huge 
 fir trees, at the roots of which grew dense bushes of 
 furze, long grass, and thickly leaved brambles. I
 
 LLOUVORKO. 101 
 
 knew if I could get under the cover of these brambles 
 I could hear distinctly every word of their discourse, 
 which, under the circumstances, I considered myself 
 justified in doing; so I stole through the thick 
 screen of brush-wood beneath which I lay, stretched 
 myself at full length upon the grass, and crept 
 slowly along until I'd lodged myself securely beneath 
 the brambles at the fir roots. I shall never forget 
 the horror I felt at that moment when I heard the 
 particulars of a vile plot formed by my brother to 
 carry off my innocent and unsuspecting wife; my 
 blood curdled in my veins, and I lay fastened to the 
 spot as if felled by the hand of death. As I lay in 
 breathless silence listening to their words, I per- 
 ceived the tones of their voices become fainter, and 
 on raising my head a little from the earth, saw the 
 speakers moving slowly from the spot, and disappear- 
 ing beneath the dark boughs of the forest. The 
 anguish I felt at that moment is indescribable ! I 
 fell again upon the earth, and gave vent in sighs 
 and groans to my misery. The man to whom I'd 
 stretched forth the hand of affection, whom I loved 
 dearer than myself, and to whom my fond heart 
 would have resigned every thing I possessed, even 
 to the last ducat, to promote his happiness, whom 
 I considered the flower of our ancient house, and 
 whom I looked up to as the very soul of goodness, 
 honour, and nobleness, to use his poor con ft ting 
 brother in such a damnable manner ! to aim such a 
 blow at his peace, nay his life ! to blast the happy
 
 10';? LT.OVVORKO. 
 
 moments of his existence, and hurl him to the grave 
 by the bla^k shaft of hopeless misery ! horrible ! 
 horrible ! 
 
 On returning home I charged him with his wick- 
 edness ; he laughed in my faco, called me an idiot, 
 and even spat upon me in scorn. He left the castle 
 with curses on his lips, and eyes flashing with fury. 
 In a foi flight after, my little s.m was seized by some 
 hired villains, and borne from my sight for ever. He 
 was dragged forcibly from the arms of his nurse 
 whilst she was sauntering on the borders of the 
 wood ; they gagged her and tied her to a tree, where 
 she was found the next day nearly dead with terror. 
 But alas ! the sweet innocent was never seen more ! 
 these doting eyes never again rested on his sweet 
 countenance! His little image haunted me for 
 years, and often, in the silent midnight, when all 
 the world was fast in slumber, hath he appeared 
 before my mental vision in all the beauty of fascin- 
 ating infancy. Oh ! those moments ! those bitter 
 moments ! thou knowest not what this old heart 
 hath suffered ! 'tis now withered and dry as the sap- 
 less branch ! the bitter blast of never ceasing woe 
 hath blighted every bloom that flourished in its 
 core ! 'tis useless, spiritless, and cold ! Twas Bal- 
 velsio's work ! I know it was ! 'twas the work of the 
 hell-dog ! He murdered my boy ! Great heaven ! 
 he murdered him ! I know it all ! I know it all ! 
 He was an obstacle in the way of his advancement. 
 His greedy eye rested upon my possessions, and too
 
 LLOUVORKO. 108 
 
 well hath he played his work of sin ! but there is a 
 just God above us ! That sweet innocent child was 
 cruelly butchered by my own brother ! he shed the 
 blood of the poor harmless babe ! My old heart 
 now, after all the suffering's it hath endured, is ready 
 to burst ! Excuse the tears of a broken-hearted 
 father ! I thought their fount had been dried up for 
 ever, but Oh ! the recollection of that dear child and 
 its awful end, hath burst the springs afresh ! Oh ! 
 Sir, you know not the feelings of a father when his 
 offspring is torn from his arms by brutal force, and 
 murdered in cold blood ! the sweet blossom of his 
 ancient house severed from its parent stem, crushed 
 in the first moment of its opening by Oh ! heaven ! 
 his own brother !" 
 
 The old man uttered a deep groan, and fell to the 
 earth in a state of insensibility. Llouvorko used 
 what means lay in his power to restore him. In a 
 little time nature again resumed her functions, and 
 in a faltering voice he proceeded with his narrative. 
 
 " One night, when the wind roared loudly 
 through the agitated forests, the uproused thunder 
 shook with heavy peals the trembling earth, and 
 the fierce lightning hissed and darted through the 
 darkness, severing the mcnavchs of the wood in its 
 descent, a loud knocking was heard at the castle 
 gate ; we were rather surprised, the hour being late 
 and the situation lonely : I was indisposed at the 
 time in my chamber, not having recovered from the 
 shock occasioned by the loss of my son. I was
 
 101 LLOUVOP.KO, 
 
 wondering- who it could be that called at the castle 
 at such an untimely hour, when a servant entered 
 my room and asked if he was to open the gate. 
 Just then the knocking was repeated, hut with 
 greater violence. I hade him go up into one of the 
 turrets, and hail the stranger, and discover what he 
 wanted. In a minute or two the man returned, 
 bringing me word that three horsemen were 
 without, who wished to speak to me on very urgent 
 business, that they were exposed to all the fury of 
 the storm, and drenched with rain. I hade him 
 admit them, and to say I was too ill to receive any 
 company that night, but would be glad if they 
 would communicate their business to him. The 
 man departed, and returned again, saying, that their 
 business was for my ear alone, and that as the 
 night was not fit for them to proceed on their 
 journey, they would tarry in the castle until the 
 morning; and so it rested. I retired to niy bed, 
 but sleep fled from my eyelids ; indeed, I had 
 scarcely enjoyed an hour's sound slumber since the 
 loss of my dear child : I was ever assailed by fright- 
 ful dreams, dreadful forebodings, and horrors of 
 every description. I thought I saw my angel 
 weltering in its blood, whilst the savage eye of my 
 brother glared on his helpless victim like an in- 
 furiated demon ! I heard its feeble cries mixing 
 with the low moan of the wind, I saw its little 
 hands stretched forth for succour, I saw its large 
 blue eyes grow dimmer and dimmer, till the ghastly
 
 LLOUVORKO. 10.> 
 
 glaze of fleath settle.! for ever upon the late beauti- 
 ful orbs then I saw the flesh dropping; from its 
 delicate limbs and mixing ivith the earth then I 
 heard the harsh laughter of my brother ringing 
 through the air, so wild and terrible, that I awoke 
 almost in a state of madness. Such dreams had 
 haunted me for months, and, on the night in 
 question, I lay upon a restless couch, fearing to 
 close my eyes even for an instant. I had not lain 
 long before I thought I heard the noise of a closing 
 door ; I was greatly surprised, for the servants had 
 all retired to rest, and I knew not how to account 
 for it. I raised myself in the bed and listened, but 
 all remaining silent, I concluded it was the wind 
 which had closed a door in one of the passages. 
 But I was again startled by a noise on the stairs as 
 of some one creeping stealthily up them. I now 
 became seriously alarmed. I listened in breathless 
 silence still the low creaking noise kept falling on 
 my ear. I arose gently from my bed, softly opened 
 the room door, and gazed out upon the galleries, 
 but every object was wrapped in darkness ; the 
 noise had ceased, and all lay still as death. I 
 began again to think it was fancy which had 
 deceived me, and was returning to my bed, when 
 the hurried whispers of men fell upon my ears, and 
 the next moment I heard a sound as of an iron bar 
 falling upon the floor. 
 
 I now felt convinced that there was banditti in 
 the house, and I doubted not that the three horse-
 
 100 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 men who had called at the castle were nothing 
 better than lawless robbers, who were now in 
 search of booty. I felt a cold perspiration starting 
 from my pores as I listened to their low whisper- 
 ings ; I feared they might not be content with 
 plunder, but seek our lives, knowing well the 
 desperate character of the Italian brigands. I crept 
 up to the chamber window, and slowly opened it ; 
 I cast my vision along the base of the building, 
 when my attention was arrested by a low dull sound 
 which seemed to proceed from directly under the 
 window out of which I looked: I cast my eyes upon 
 the spot, and close to the wall I perceived two men 
 in deep conversation ; large cloaks enveloped their 
 forms, and their faces were hid by the broad brims 
 of their slouched hats. I drew back my head 
 unperceived, hastened to the chambers of the 
 domestics, and aroused them ; we procured a light, 
 armed ourselves, and descended the stairs in quest 
 of the marauders, 
 
 When we came to the flight of steps leading into 
 the hall, we perceived a man trying to force the 
 door in the inside, probably with the intention of 
 admitting some of his comrades ; the servants knew 
 him in a moment to be one of the three horsemen 
 who had called at the castle ; we were nearly upon 
 him ere he was aware of our approach he made an 
 effort to escape by rushing past us, but was instantly 
 seized, borne to the ground and pinioned. I was 
 preparing to ask the man some questions with the
 
 LI.OUVOKKO. 107 
 
 view of ascertaining 1 what number were without, 
 when the other two rushed upon us from one of the 
 side doors with the fury of tigers, and at the same 
 moment two others were seen creeping 1 stealthily 
 across the hall, apparently considering whether 
 they should come to the assistance of their com- 
 rades, or secure their safety by flight ; one dis- 
 appeared in the shadow, whilst the other came on 
 to the attack. They were armed with rapiers and 
 pistols, and being well skilled in the use of their 
 weapons, made some deadly thrusts at the domestics, 
 who in the hurry of the moment, had armed 
 themselves only with such weapons as were nearest 
 to hand. We conquered them after half an hour's 
 hard fighting, during which time three of my 
 servants received their death wounds, and four 
 others were severely injured. I received a sword 
 gash in the left . arm, and had my cheek laid open 
 to the bone. Four of the villains lay dead amongst 
 my servants one rushed from the hall when he saw 
 the fate of his companions, and made his escape 
 through the gardens. I shall never forget that 
 scene ! The marble floor of the hall was swimming 
 with blood, the purple streams circling round the 
 furniture, and running out under the door. The 
 groans of the wounded men the roar of the wind 
 as it beat against the unyielding building the 
 heavy peals of thunder the loneliness of the situa- 
 tion and the fear of another attack by the re- 
 mainder of the gang, altogether, made it a night of 
 almost unequalled suffering.
 
 108 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 Had it not been for one faithful and dearly beloved 
 servant, named Silerto, I should have fallen beneath 
 the sworcls of the villains ; he threw himself between 
 me and death, and received the thrust of the ruffian 
 in his bosom, but the wound was not mortal, and he 
 recovered. Poor Silerto ! poor Silerto ! he little 
 knew what his master was destined to suffer ! 
 
 About two months after this event, as I was walk- 
 ing one morning in a little shrubbery about a quar- 
 ter of a mile from the castle, and pondering- upon 
 my late misfortunes, two men suddenly sprang from 
 behind a cluster of evergreens, and seized me 
 violently by the collar ; the suddenness of the action 
 deprived me for a moment of speech, and ei*e I had 
 recovered it, was borne forcibly to the earth, my limbs 
 bound, and a gag placed in my mouth. On turning 
 my head, I perceivt d that five other men had appear- 
 ed, and in one of them I recognized the villain who 
 escaped through the gardens on the night the castle 
 was attacked. They hurried me from the shrubbery, 
 and took their way towards the forest ; when they 
 had proceeded so far into the thickest part of it as 
 to defy all fear of detection, they halted and held a 
 consultation in whispers ; they then continued their 
 journey, and in a few hours I heard the dash of the 
 waves upon the shore, and the shrill scream of the 
 sea fowl. There was an immense pile of rocks 
 which extended about half a mile along the sand; 
 they entered beneath them, and I was dragged 
 through dark passages and dismal caverns, till we
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 109 
 
 came to an aperture in the stone, which seemed to 
 lead under ground. They produced a light, and 
 hurried me down a row of damp crumbling steps, 
 along- another dark passage, and up another flight of 
 steps, till they came to a massy door inlaid and 
 rivctted with iron, which opened into a great apart- 
 ment that seemed to have been hewn out of the solid 
 rock. When they had all entered, one of the men 
 called out in a loud voice, 'Shirwalto !'" 
 
 " Ha ! Shirwalto ! (interrupted Llouvorko) Hea- 
 vens ! But proceed, proceed." 
 
 The old man gazed upon him for a moment in 
 surprise, and then continued, 
 
 " As I was saying, ono of the men called out 
 ' Shirwalto !' and in a moment or two a man came 
 slowly forth from a side door, and approached the 
 speaker. I shall never forget the face of that man, 
 though apparently not more than twenty-five years 
 of Jige, there was in his features such a look of 
 villainy, such a savage brightness in his eye, such 
 an appearance of scorn and determination in the curl 
 of his mouth, that my btood ran cold the moment my 
 eyes fell upon him ; he seemed more like a subtle 
 fiend just issued from the den of darkness, than 
 aught human. He retired with one of the men to 
 the further end of the apartment, and commenced 
 speaking in alow and cautious manner. Occasionally 
 in the course of their conversation, his dark eye 
 rested upon me for a moment, and in its sudden 
 piercing glance, I discerned such an expression of
 
 Ill) LLOLVOKXO. 
 
 malignancy, that I trembled with apprehension. In 
 a little time he left the man, went into a small closet 
 and brought out a lamp, which he lighted ; he then 
 ordered the men to follow him, they obeyed, dragging 
 me along with them. He went into a small room 
 adjoining, in the floor of which was a row of steps, 
 which he descended ; he then led us through wind- 
 ing passages and immense vaults, till he came, to a 
 small arched cell, in this cell was an iron door se- 
 cured with bars and chains, he unfastened them and 
 opened it, the interior displayed nothing but im- 
 penetrable blackness ; a sickening smell issued from 
 the aperture, and I thought I heard a noise proceed- 
 ing from within like the falling of water. 
 
 The villain, Shirwalto, wrenched the gag from my 
 mouth, and without any ceremony, and before I had 
 time to ask a single question, hurled me headlong 
 down into the noxious place, pinioned as I was ; I 
 fell upon my head amongst filth and corrupted 
 water ; though stunned, I was not severely hurt ; 
 having fallen only about three feet. I heard them 
 ban-ing and chaining the door ; the sound fell upon 
 my heart like the blighting hand of death. The 
 direst horror took possession of my bosom. I knew 
 not what to think ; I was not aware of having an 
 enemy in the world ; I had ever extended the hand 
 of kindness and good will to all men. Could it be 
 the work of my brother? I couldn't bring my mind 
 to think he would be guilty of so black an act ; but 
 when I considered the natuial wickedness of his
 
 LLOLVORKO. Ill 
 
 heart, my mind misgave me, and, however against 
 my inclination, I could not help, at times, thinking 
 it was one of his diabolical plots. The agony I 
 endured at that moment was dreadful ! I felt 
 assured I should be left to perish in the loathsome 
 vault what else could be the object of the villains ? 
 had it been otherwise, I should have been cast into 
 a less obnoxious prison, and provided with food. 
 
 I began to think of the horrors of death in such 
 a situation, surrounded by dreadful darkness, ankle 
 deep in corrupted water, attended by nothing living 
 save vermin, and surrounded by an atmosphere so 
 foul and overcoming as nearly to choke me. 
 I thought of my poor dear wife, and all the anguish 
 she would suffer when hearing of my disappearance. 
 I trembled in every limb, a heavy weight lay at my 
 heart, and my brain reeled with bewilderment. 
 Stinging insects began to alight on my face, and 
 torture me so, that I was nearly distracted ; my 
 hands being tied, I had no way of freeing myself of 
 them. What with mental agony the stinging of 
 the flies the pain I suffered from the cords which 
 bound my hands, and the dreadful smell of the 
 vault, I began to fear my reason would depart from 
 me, and was about to throw myself to the earth in 
 despair, when I was startled by the rattling of chains, 
 and the noise of bars falling across the door; 
 in the next moment it flew back and a vivid 
 stream of light rushed into the cell. I cast my 
 eyes upwards, and saw the savage features of
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 one of the men who had brought me to the 
 cavern, peering into the darkness ; his eyes wan- 
 dered round the vault, then i'ell upon me, and he 
 bawled out, 
 
 " Oh ! thou'rt there. How doth the vapour of 
 this hole agree with thy dainty lungs ? By St. 
 Peter, thou lookest like a toad squatted upon a 
 heap of mildew ! Arouse thee, man, and come 
 forward." 
 
 I feared at first he had come to murder me, and 
 retreated to the further end of the cell, but perceiv- 
 ing he had no weapon, I recovered my fortitu.de. He 
 again called out in a hoarse voice for me to come 
 forth, which I did, being glad to escape from the 
 torture of the flies. When I had got to the door of 
 the cell, he pushed me rudely before him into the 
 small arched room. 
 
 " By whose order (I asked) have I been dragged 
 from my home, and treated in this brutal manner ?'' 
 
 " By whose order ! (echoed the man, giving vent 
 to a loud laugh, which rang through the hollows 
 of the place so freezingly harsh, that it seemed a 
 sound from hell). See you, Seignior ; if you've 
 any regard for your carcass you'll ask no more 
 questions." 
 
 I found it was useless questioning him any fur- 
 ther, so remained silent. He conducted me to the 
 same room in which I had first seen Siurwalto. 
 There were eight or ten men assembled, among 
 whom was Shirwalto ; and there were two who
 
 LLOUVORKO. 113 
 
 appeared to belong to the sea rough looking fellows 
 in large shaggy coats ; they had pistols in their 
 belts and wore cutlasses. When I had entered, 
 Shirwalto pointed me out to the men, who glanced 
 at me for a moment, and then commenced speaking 
 to him in an under tone. I strained my ears to 
 catch their words, but their voices were so low and 
 thick, I found it impossible, but I knew by their 
 gestures that I was the subject of their discourse. 
 Shirwalto took some papers from a large pocket 
 book, and gave them to one of the men, who seemed 
 to be the captain, and I also saw that he gave him 
 money ; then he approached me, and seizing me 
 roughly by the arm, pushed me forwards towards 
 the sea-faring men, saying in a loud voice " Away 
 with him !" 
 
 They led me through a secret door in the wall, 
 that opened with a spring, and which I had not 
 before seen ; it led into a long natural alley, with 
 shelving crags on each side. As we proceeded, I 
 heard the roaring of the waves, which seemed to 
 beat over the rocks immediately above us. We 
 came into a huge cavern, passed through it, and I 
 found myself upon the shore ; the billows were 
 foaming and dashing within a dozen yards of me. 
 They led me on till we came to a creek, where a 
 boat was waiting, in which were two men ; they 
 hurried me into the boat, and just as the oars were 
 falling into the water, I saw Balvelsio peering from 
 behind one of the rocks, and there was in his visage 
 
 i
 
 114 LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 such an expression of triumph and hellish joy, that 
 the blood froze in my veins. The author of all my 
 woe was now made visible to my eyes. I shuddered 
 and gasped for breath. My mental agony \\ as too 
 much for me my brain swam a heavy mist ob- 
 scured my sight, and I fell to the bottom of the boat 
 in a state of insensibility. When I recovered, I 
 found myself in the act of being raised up from the 
 skiff into a ship, which was laying at anchor in the 
 stream ; I was then conveyed into a small room in 
 the after part, and left in total darkness. 
 
 About a month afterwards, one dark night, when 
 the rnoon was hid behind huge masses of clouds, and 
 not one star relieved the immense mass of blackness 
 that hung in the heavens, two men came into the 
 room where I was confined, and brought me upon 
 deck. There was a lantern hanging to the mast, by 
 the light of which I perceived a boat laying along 
 side the vessel, in which was the captain and four 
 men. I was placed in the boat, they plied the oars 
 and it moved rapidly from the ship. They continued 
 rowing for about an hour, when they came to a 
 large rock, round which they sailed. The night was 
 so dark that I could perceive no land, but the noise 
 of the breakers told me we were close upon it 
 They moved slowly beneath the crags which hung 
 over the waves, and came into a small creek. The 
 boat was rowed gently to a bank, on which we 
 landed. Three of the men remained with mo, the 
 rest stayed in the boat, and I suppose returned to
 
 LLOLVOllKO. 
 
 the ship, for I heard the sound of their oars wafted 
 on the wind. I was hurried from the spot, and 
 conducted into a long narrow passage, formed by a 
 great body of rock, which seemed to have been cleft 
 in the middle. The roughness of the road rendered 
 it difficult to proceed ; large pieces of pointed stone 
 lay in every direction and I was drenched by the 
 water which fell from the summit of the perpendi- 
 cular crag: at length we reached the end of the 
 passage and came upon the open shore, close to 
 which was a dense wood, towards which I was led, 
 When we had entered beneath the branches, one 
 of the men lighted a lantern, the beam from which 
 just served to shew the huge tree trunks, and the 
 deep holes, half covered with brambles, which ap- 
 peared every few yards. 
 
 At length we came to an open part of the forest, 
 and I saw before me, just showing through the 
 gloom, the ruins of what appeared to have once 
 been a great castle ; as we approached it I heard a 
 whispering amongst the men ; one of them stepped 
 a little in advance, and disappeared beneath the 
 dilapidated walls ; in a few minutes he returned, 
 accompanied by two others, the most repulsive and 
 savage looking men I ever saw, I knew them in a 
 moment to be banditti. My heart sank within me, 
 and I prayed to God for protection. The two men 
 approached me, each seizing an arm, and forced me 
 within the building; they conducted me into the 
 vaults under the castle, and left me in a cell ; there
 
 116 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 was a small fire in it, a lamp, two chairs, and a stone 
 table; on the table was a jar of water and some 
 bread; the floor was clean, and seemed free from 
 vermin. 
 
 Seven weary years I pined in that small dungeon, 
 without seeing a single human face save the brutal 
 jailor's, or hearing one word of kindness. 
 
 One night I heard a great uproar in the building 
 hurried shouts, rapid footfalls, the clashing of 
 swords accompanied by the report of fire arms. I 
 doubted not but that the robbers were attacked by the 
 officers of justice and the soldiers. My heart flut- 
 tered in my breast with the hope of deliverance. 
 Every moment I expected my cell to be burst open 
 by the assailants, to lead me to liberty and life. At 
 length I heard the tread of feet near my prison door, 
 I rushed forward to throw myself into the amis of 
 my deliverers, when, never to be forgotten horror, I 
 found myself in the grasp of Shirwalto! he was 
 attended by five others of the gang. They hurried 
 me quickly from the building, and rushed into the 
 forest ; they continued their way until they came to 
 a cluster of rocks, when they placed me in a deep 
 cavern. I remained there the whole of that night 
 under the guard of the men ; at the first break of 
 morning they led me to the beach, where a boat 
 was in waiting ; they put me on board, earned me to 
 a vessel that lay a little distance from the shore, 
 brought me back to my own castle, and placed me 
 in this cell, where I've remained ever since.
 
 LLOUVORKO. 117 
 
 Such is the miserable history of my life a life 
 that opened with the brightest prospects, but, alas ! 
 doomed by the wickedness of one man, to be for ever 
 shadowed by the black clouds of never ending 
 sorrow." 
 
 " And doth such a monster yet walk the earth ? 
 He shall be hurled from the high seat he's usurped 
 hanged like a dog and his body thrown out to 
 the wolves of the forest! Thou'st found a friend at 
 last! I'll deliver thee from the gripe of this accur- 
 sed fiend! Thou shall again be the head of thine 
 own castle, whilst he shall rot upon the malefactor's 
 gibbet !" 
 
 " Hush ! Remember he is my brother !" 
 
 " Your brother ! what of that ? hath not his con- 
 duct been that of a devil ? You surely would not 
 wish to prevent justice from fastening on him? 
 You would not let the assassin escape the law ?" 
 
 " I yet would extend to him the hand of forgive- 
 ness." 
 
 "Forgiveness? Your long confinement hath in- 
 jured your reason !" 
 
 " What would be the use of an old emaciated 
 wretch like me encouraging the spirit of revenge ? a 
 creature whose heart is sapless, whose energies are 
 all dried up, who's disgusted with the world and its 
 wickedness, and who hourly prays for the tomb to 
 close over him for ever ? I'll leave him to repen- 
 tance and his God! Let this subject cease, and tell 
 me how you came into his power."
 
 118 LLOUVOIiKO. 
 
 "But of your wife Did she escape the snares of 
 the villain ?" 
 
 "Alas! I kuo\v not what became of her ! often 
 have I questioned the jailor, but met with naught 
 save insults. She's doubtless left this weary world, 
 and in the high halls of heaven waits for her wretch- 
 ed husband." 
 
 " She may yet be alive. Many happy days may 
 yet be in store for you." 
 
 " No peace for me but in the tomb ! 
 
 Proceed, proceed." 
 
 " I was betrayed by Balvelsio's minions, and led, 
 under false pretences, into the snare he'd laid forme. 
 I will tell you what I know of my history. I have 
 the misfortune not to know who were my parents. 
 Had it not been for the courage and kindness of one 
 of the best of men, I should have been basely mur- 
 dered before I'd attained the age of three years ! 
 As Count Griliscio " 
 
 " Ha ! Count Griliscio ! " (interrupted the old 
 man.) 
 
 " Is he known to you ?" (asked Llouvorko.) 
 
 "Why he was the friend of my youth! the man 
 of all others whom I most respected ! Tell me, tell 
 me is he living." 
 
 " He is living, but writhing under the scourge of 
 Balvelsio." 
 
 " What ! hath he injured that good man ?" 
 
 " You shall hear. About seventeen years ago, 
 Count Griliscio went out one morning to the chnse,
 
 LLOUVORKO. 119 
 
 attended by a numerous band of gentlemen and at- 
 tendants. He was always fond of hunting, and 
 nothing 1 delighted him so much as the note of the 
 bugle, and the bay of the hound. The weather was 
 fine, the game plentiful, and every heart beat high 
 with pleasure. During the early part of the day 
 they kept together, but, towards evening, the Count 
 lost sight of the troop. After many fruitless efforts 
 to discover their route, he was returning to his castle, 
 weary with the violent exercise of the day, when in 
 passing some rocks which thrust their grey tops from 
 amongst the trees, he thought he heard the cries of a 
 child ; he drew up his horse and listened ; again 
 the sounds fell upon his ear, rising at times so high 
 as almost to approach a scream. He thought they 
 proceeded from some child that had been lost in the 
 forest, and was advancing towards the spot, w r hen he 
 was startled by a man's voice uttering a deep curse, 
 which seemed to issue from the interior of the rock. 
 His curiosity was excited, and, as he found it im- 
 possible to reach the place on horseback, he dis- 
 mounted, tied his horse to a tree, and crept cautiously 
 round the base of the rock ; still the plaintive cries 
 kept ringing in his ears, but he could see no living 
 creature. He cast his eyes in every direction, but 
 nothing met his vision save rocks, trees, and vapour. 
 He stole cautiously through the long brambles, and 
 clomb to the top of a small moss-clad hill, over which 
 he saw a great precipice, into whose black womb 
 the wild torrents of the woods fell with a tremen-
 
 120 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 dous roar, throwing around the spray so thickly 
 that it "appeared like glittering 1 showers of snow. 
 Griliscio gazed down into the gulf, expecting to see 
 upon one of the projecting rocks the object of his 
 search, but nothing met his sight but water, mist, 
 and darkness. He was preparing to return w r heii 
 the deep voice of a man fell upon his ear ; it 
 appeared close at his elbow, and he heard these 
 words distinctly. 
 
 " Thou'rt a fool ! Over with it, I say ! over with 
 it into the gulf !" 
 
 Griliscio became greatly alarmed ; he doubted 
 not but some villains were going to murder the 
 child. There was a small rock to the left of him, 
 from which the sounds seemed to proceed ; he 
 supposed the men were behind it ; he crept softly 
 forwards, and hid himself in the shadow of a thick 
 bush of underwood; he parted the branches, and 
 perceived, standing in the shadow of the rock, two 
 savage looking men in deep converse, whilst at 
 their side, upon the wet moss, lay the little infant 
 whose cries had attracted him. Griliscio unsheathed 
 his sword, and watched every movement of the 
 men. One of them drew a dirk, and seemed about 
 to plunge it into the breast of the child. Griliscio 
 could contain himself no longer, and was just upon 
 the point of springing from his hiding place upon 
 the villains, when the other seized the upraised arm 
 of his comrade, and whispered sornethinj in his 
 ear; the man put up his dirk, spying,
 
 LLOUVORKO. 121 
 
 " Well, well ; no blood shall be spilt. 'Twill 
 just be as well to dash it down the gulf, and hide 
 it for ever from the eyes of men." 
 
 " Wait yet a minute," (said the other man). 
 
 " I'm getting tired of its cries. Hands off me ! 
 It will attract some passer to the spot." 
 
 He pushed the other man from him, seized the 
 child by the leg, and was about to throw it into the 
 tremendous chasm at his feet, when, with the 
 sudden spring of a tiger, Griliscio rushed from his 
 ambush, and, ere time was given to turn an eye, 
 his sword quivered in the villain's heart who let the 
 child fall to the earth, gave a groan and expired. 
 The other, with open mouth and glaring eye-balls, 
 rushed upon Griliscio, but ere three passes were 
 made, the deadly steel of the soldier passed through 
 his body, and he too fell to the ground writhing in 
 agony. Griliscio took the child in his arms, and 
 tried to soothe it; he then cast a glance at the 
 bravo, whom he found not dead ; he approached 
 him, and asked who had set him on to do so foul a 
 deed. The man turned for a moment his large half 
 glazed eye upon him, but spoke not. Griliscio with 
 all his pains, could not extract one word from the 
 wounded wretch; deep groans were the only 
 answers he returned to his questions. Finding it 
 useless wasting more time with him he left the 
 place, bearing the child in his arms. 
 
 He had passed the rocks, and was moving hastily 
 through the forest, when the well known sound
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 of a bugle fell upon his ear, and in the next 
 moment, a party of horsemen rushed from the deep 
 shadow of the trees, and galloped up to him ; they 
 were his lost companions. He told them the cir- 
 cumstance of his finding the child, and they has- 
 tened to the spot where the wounded man lay. 
 They carried him to the castle. Every means were 
 resorted to, to make him confess who was his em- 
 ployer, without avail ; he died, and the whole was 
 enveloped in mystery. 
 
 Oh ! Sir, Count Griliscio treated me with the 
 kindness of an angel ! he brought me up as his own 
 son ; he watched over me with more than a father's 
 fondness ; his heart was as superior to the generality 
 of his kind as the diamond is to the pebble ! Ah ! 
 the happy hours I've spent beneath his roof ! The 
 flush of joy was ever at my heart. My days were as 
 the bright mornings of spring, illumined by the rich 
 glory of never shadowed suns ! He had a daughter 
 Oh ! he had a daughter ! and such a daughter ! 
 the brightest gem that ever glittered beneath the 
 dark skies of this chilly orb ! the purest being that 
 ever wore the image of its creator ! she was a glow- 
 ing rose amongst a wilderness of thorns ! a bright 
 flood of glory flashing above the black wings of the 
 tempest! An angel would have hung its head 
 abashed in her presence ! So sweet an expression 
 never graced the glory-wreathed bowers of paradise, 
 as beamed from her lovely eyes the witching mas- 
 terpiece of the great architect of the universe ! My
 
 LLOUVOUKo. 
 
 heart was smitten even as the proud oak when it 
 receives the flash of heaven in its inmost core ; I 
 bent beneath the mighty stroke ; I fell to the earth 
 like a blighted reed. 1 durst not avow my passion, 
 and it preyed upon my life-springs like the gnawing 
 worm in the strong tree's heart I pined in agony. 
 The morning found me wretched, and the evening 
 brought no abatement to my sorrow. I walked the 
 earth like a pale phantom, heedless of all, never 
 raising my eyes to the sweet beauties of nature 
 which so lately had enchanted me. 
 
 At length my passion rose to such a height that I 
 could no longer control it, and I threw myself at the 
 feet of the maiden, told her all, and implored her 
 compassion. Heavens ! what rapture thrilled 
 through my heart ! what ecstatic sensations vibrated 
 through every nerve ! the beauteous angel returned 
 my love ! Oh! she returned it! And from that 
 moment the gate of heaven was opened to me, its 
 whole flood of glory rushed upon my soulj and every 
 vital quivered with excess of joy. 
 
 Griliscio knew not of our love; we loved in secret, 
 we met in secret. When the clear moon rose from 
 the slumbering sea, and tinged the misty mountains 
 with her delicate silver, when the winds were 
 hushed, and the mountain rill tuned its most witch- 
 ing melody, joining 'its sweet music with the sullen 
 roar of the distant cataract, and the restless bat 
 darted beneath the dark boughs of the forest, then, 
 Oh ! then we wandered forth amongst the aromatic
 
 124 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 bowers, unseen by all save the low perched nighting- 
 gale, and spent the hours in sweet and holy love. 
 
 Alas ! alas ! 'twas so ordered that a blight should 
 fall upon our joy I Our young confiding bosoms, 
 which had never known care, but had ever sported 
 in the bright beam of pleasure, were transfixed with 
 the black sting of woe'. The scourger thrust his 
 baneful bitter into the sweet mansion of our hearts, 
 destroyed at once our blissful visions, and cast dark 
 shadows over the bowers where gleam had ever 
 sported ! Balvelsio (Oh ! how I loathe that name !) 
 was often a visitor at Griliscio's oft have his hate- 
 ful feet crossed the threshold of that peaceful dwel- 
 ling ; better had it been if the awful pest-gale, the 
 direst that ever hurled its poison over the trembling 
 earth, had entered in his stead! A demon was 
 admitted into the society of angels ! His vicious 
 eye rested upon my Plesina, as the eye of the snake 
 resteth upon the innocent bird 'tis drawing to its 
 throat ! Oh ! heaven ! had that monster not arisen 
 in our path, what a life of ecstacy had been ours ! 
 
 He followed the sw r eet girl like her shadow; 
 whenever she turned her head her eyes fell upon 
 the hated form of the villain; he tried to speak to 
 her in the gentle tones of love, but his voice grated 
 upon her ear like the croak of the raven. She abhor- 
 red him, loathed him. And I, by him, was looked 
 upon with the same love that the tiger bears to the 
 hart; his large eyes gleamed upon me with the 
 savage fire of a fiend. At length he offered to
 
 LLOUVORKO. 125 
 
 inarry her; but Griliscio was not one of those worldly 
 men, those unnatural fathers, those sellers of their 
 own blood, who would barter the happiness of his 
 children for vile lucre. His soul was thickly 
 studded with the blossoms of humanity, and he 
 thought more of the future happiness of his daugh- 
 ter than of his own. He mentioned Balvelsio's 
 proposal to Plesiua, and soon discovered that she 
 despised him. 
 
 When he found his suit was rejected, the deepest 
 malice took possession of his bi'east ; he left the castle 
 with the fire of fury flashing from his eyes ; his 
 black heart was at work planning plots for our 
 destruction. For about three weeks the sun of plea- 
 sure again shone upon us ; we resumed our solitary 
 walks by the sea, and the young moon found us 
 straying beneath her sweet beams in the green 
 glades of the forest. Love, the purest that ever 
 filled the soul of mortal, reigned in our hearts, and 
 the downy wings of joy were spread around us. 
 Alas ! how uncertain, how fleeting are the joys of 
 man ! In one short hour our bliss was turned to 
 woe ! our luscious visions to soul-harrowing dreams 
 of misery ! 
 
 One morning, as Griliscio and his daughter were 
 returning to the castle after their usual ride, they 
 weie attacked on the borders of the wood by a party 
 of armed men, who dragged Plesina from her horse, 
 and while part of them fastened the old Count to a 
 tree, two galloped off with her and disappeared in
 
 1~6 LLOUVOKKO. 
 
 the shadow of the forest. I felt as though the sting 1 
 of death had entered into my hco.vt ; my reason 
 nearly fled beneath the dreadful blow. I was like a 
 flower deprived of the sweet light of heaven, like a 
 man without a mind, like a world enveloped in 
 darkness ! Forlorn I visited the scenes of our love ; 
 like a pale ghost I raved to the moon ; and the deep 
 caverns of the wood echoed only the name of my 
 lost one. Days fled away, and still we had no 
 tidings of her. Griliscio, wearied out with fruitless 
 search and sorrow, fell ill, and was confined to his 
 bed. My feet never knew rest ; like a restless spirit 
 I wandered through the earth, calling on the name 
 of my beloved. 
 
 One night, as I was returning through a forest 
 after an unsuccessful search, I perceived a storm 
 coming on, and as I had some distance to travel, 
 looked out for a shelter. I saw a bright light in 
 the distance, and towards it instantly bent my steps. 
 I found it proceeded from a small inn which was 
 full of gamblers. One of them staked a miniature 
 of my lost Plesina : 1 had given it to her the day 
 before she was seized, and I knew she had it in her 
 possession at the time. I shall never forget the 
 sensation that shot through my brain when my eyes 
 fell upon that beloved object ! The man said he 
 had received it from a Jew named Shirwalto." 
 "Ha ! Shirwalto !" (exclaimed the old man.) 
 "A Jew named Shirwalto; and offered, for a 
 reward, to conduct me to him. The next morning
 
 LLOUVORKO. 27 
 
 we set out. I had an interview with the Jew, who 
 said he would take me to the person from whom he 
 received it: he led me to the very strong hold of my 
 mortal foe Balvelsio ! -I was cast into a cell, where 
 I pined in hopeless agony giving- myself up for 
 lost. At length I discovered, in one corner of the 
 dungeon, a trap door, which led into this frightful 
 cavem. I was in search of some opening by which 
 to escape, when the light from your cell attracted 
 my attention." 
 
 " Heavens ! (said the old man) what a heart must 
 beat in the breast of that villain ! I burn with 
 shame ta think I'm related to such a monster ! 
 "What a fate will be his when death hath destroyed 
 his earthly life, and he stands before the throne of 
 his creator ! My heart bleeds for you, young man ! 
 my heart bleeds for you ! you've been decoyed into a 
 dreadful snare ! I fear you'll never be able to extri- 
 cate yourself from it. What a diabolical plot! 
 'Twould seem he were in league with banditti! 
 That Shinvalto I know to be one, ay, one of 
 the most cold hearted and bloody that ever prowled 
 the woods. 
 
 Balvelsio's been connected with him for years, for 
 'twas he, as you may recollect, who assisted him in 
 his vile plans respecting myself. Do you think the 
 maiden's confined in the castle ?" 
 
 " I have no doubt of it. My heart trembles with 
 horrible fear so sweet a creature to be at the mercy 
 of such a wolf ! Surely, surely we shall find some 
 means of escaping !"
 
 128 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Have you the miniature you spoke of ? I should 
 like to look at Griliscio's child." 
 
 Llouvorko drew forth the picture, and tendered 
 it to the old man. 
 
 "It is, indeed, a lovely countenance ! transcend - 
 ently beautiful! What a sweet and holy express- 
 ion ! And is this dear creature in the power of 
 Balvelsio ? Hath the dove gotten into the talons of 
 the grim kite ? Black as he is he will never injure 
 so sweet a being ! no, no, he could not do it ! His 
 fierce eye would drop to the earth abashed before 
 the mild gaze of these tender orbs. Poor Count 
 Griliscio ! what must your heart suffer from the loss 
 of this dear child ! the tender floweret that threw 
 its fragrance round your path, and decked with joy 
 your age's cheerless days ! I can feel for you, old 
 friend! I can feel for you! I know the gnawing 
 anguish which is now preying upon your very life- 
 strings ! I have felt it all ! Ah ! yes ! I have felt 
 it ! Oh ! heaven ! I once had a sweet child ! it was 
 blended with the fountains of my life ! *fhd when it 
 was wrenched from me, 'twas like parting the soul 
 from the body ! but 'tis now in heaven with its poor 
 mother and the power that made it, bathing in seas 
 of endless bliss, where sorrow's bitter fang will never 
 fasten upon its heart, where the foul tyrants of this 
 dark world never set their unhallowed feet, but 
 myriads of angels, encircled with wreaths of glory, 
 chant their rapturous songs, and flit in beauty 
 through celestial spheres the homes of holy 
 virtue!"
 
 LLOUVORKO. 9 
 
 A tear glistened in the eye of the old man as he 
 handed the miniature to Llouvorko. 
 
 As he was returning- it to his bosom the old man 
 perceived another miniature hanging by a ribbon 
 from his neck. 
 
 " Is that another miniature ? (asked he). Whom 
 doth that represent?" 
 
 Llouvorko handed it to him, but no sooner had he 
 cast his eyes upon it, than he gave a convulsive 
 start and nearly fell to the ground. Llouvorko 
 rushed to him, and supported him in his anns. 
 The old man's gaze was still rivetted upon the pic- 
 ture; a cold sweat rose upon his brow, and his 
 breast heaved with agitation. 
 
 " Who's this, young man ; who's this ?" (said he, 
 pointing to the miniature). 
 
 "Calm thyself, good friend. Look not so wildly. 
 Is it the sweet face in the picture that affects thee so." 
 
 "Whose likeness is this? tell me! tell me! un- 
 less you wish to see me expire at your feet !" 
 
 " It was suspended from my neck when I was 
 found. Count Griliscio said it was most likely the 
 likeness of my mother." 
 
 "Your mother! Holy heaven ! Your mother! 
 'Tis so ! 'tis so ! Oh ! God ! 'tis so! My son ! my 
 son ! my " 
 
 The words died on his tongue, and he fell to the 
 earth in a deep swoon. 'Twas long before his 
 senses returned ; at length he gazed wildly 
 around.
 
 130 
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Was it a dream, or have I passed the dark boun- 
 dary of the grave ? Am I in the unknown world 
 with my murdered son ? Speak ! speak ! art thou a 
 
 phantom of the imagination or art thou Oh ! 
 
 my son ! my son! my long lost son !" 
 
 He flew to Llouvorko, threw his arms around his 
 neck, and sobbed upon his bosom. 
 
 " Great God I thank thee ! I have not suffered 
 in vain ! this moment repays me for all! for all! 
 And do my eyes rest upon my sou ? Wert thou the 
 little child I loved so dearly ? the sweet babe that 
 was toni from my arms by wicked men ? thou art ! 
 thou art'-" 
 
 Llouvorko stood gazing in wonder: he thought 
 the old man had been suddenly deprived of reason ; 
 he became greatly alarmed, for he feared he would 
 die in his arms. 
 
 " Speak to me, my son ! speak to me! Will you 
 not speak to your father ? You think I'm mad ! 
 You think my sufferings have deprived me of my 
 senses ! but Oh! 'tis not so ! thou art my own son ! 
 my long lost son !" 
 
 Llouvorko became greatly distressed, for the old 
 man's arms were clasped round his neck so tightly 
 that he could not extricate himself, whilst the tears 
 from his eyes fell in showers upon his face and 
 breast. At length he suddenly relaxed his grasp, 
 and said calmly, 
 
 " Come and sit by me on this seat I would 
 speak to thee. That miniature (continued he, when
 
 LLOUVORKO. 131 
 
 they were seated) represents my long- lost wife, my 
 adored Ebeina! and if it was upon your person when 
 found by Count Griliscio, she is your mother. Tell 
 me, tell me, did the Count say it was found upon 
 your person?" 
 
 " He did, and that he had no doubt it was a like- 
 ness of my mother." 
 
 " Oh ! this hour ! this hour ! I little thought I 
 was reserved for such a scene ! I've something- left 
 to live for ! Oh ! my son ! my son." 
 
 " And is it then my poor father that the hell-dog 
 hath been persecuting for so many years ! Oh ! 
 heaven ! and is it so ?'* 
 
 Llouvorko's heart was full, and he threw himself 
 into his father's arms. 
 
 " Oh ! blessed day (said he) that I fell into the 
 hands of the tyrant ! it hath been the means of 
 bringing me to my suffering parent! I looked upon 
 it as the darkest moment of my life, but Oh ! it hath 
 been the brightest ! Often what we think curses 
 are blessings from heaven sent in mercy for our 
 happiness. And do I behold my own father ?-- 
 Great heaven ! the author of my being left to perish 
 in a foul dungeon ! Kept in misery till he's a mere 
 skeleton on the face of the earth ! Oh ! if I avenge 
 not this, may the fierce lightning hurl me to the 
 ground, and scorch me up like a rotten tree ! Come! 
 my father ! let us leave this accursed place. Let us 
 enter the cavern, and commence another search for 
 an opening."
 
 132 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 They left the cell, and entered beneath the gloomy 
 rocks of the cavern. Every recess was again ex- 
 plored, every rock examined, but no outlet ap- 
 peared. 
 
 " Alas ! my son ! I fear we're doomed to perish 
 together ! This hideous spot will become our 
 graves !" 
 
 " Ha ! what's this ? (said Llouvorko, as his foot 
 struck against something on the ground.) By hea- 
 ven, 'tis a sword ! and though 'tis half eaten with 
 rust, 'twill answer our purpose. Keep your spirits, 
 my father ; let not your heart sink. Our deliver- 
 ance is now certain ! With this sword I will re- 
 move the earth from under the door we discovered, 
 and so escape." 
 
 " The finger of heaven is in it ! (said the old man) 
 Let me look at the sword. Ay, it hath been here 
 many years 'tis pointless the edge is gone but 
 'tis sti'ong and supple." 
 
 " And 'twill be a good weapon should we be 
 surprised. Pointless as it is, I wish I had the 
 tyrant's heart before it ! Let us hasten to the 
 door." 
 
 They found the earth under it composed princi- 
 pally of sand intermixed with clay, and when they 
 applied the steel, it yielded readily. 
 
 " We're saved ! we're saved ! my father ! (said 
 Llouvorko) See how the noble sword ploughs up 
 the earth ! I shall soon have a hole sufficiently 
 large to admit us. I doubt not this door leads into
 
 LLOUVORKO. 133 
 
 the open air, for I feel a fresh reviving breeze creep- 
 ing under it, very different to the foul stench of this 
 cavern. 1 ' 
 
 " I am too weak to help you, my son !" 
 " I need no help. See how the earth flies before 
 it ! Sit down on this stone awhile, and tie this 
 handkerchief round your neck to keep off the damp 
 vapour. How poor in comparison do the riches pf 
 the earth now seem to this bit of rusty iron ! What 
 is gold and precious stones to this ! Oh ! my father, 
 how my heart leaps with rapture at the thought of 
 delivering thee ! The tyrant little thinks that the 
 father and son have met ! he little thought, when 
 he thrust me into that cell, he was planning his own 
 destruction ! but villains, however subtle, generally 
 swallow the poison they've phialled for others. Ha ! 
 here's a rock ! no, 'tis merely a loose stone there 
 it comes, and hath left a famous gap behind, 'tis a 
 foot deep already. You shall soon feel the pure 
 breeze from the mountain, my father, and behold 
 again the scenes of your youth, the green meadows, 
 the woods, the sea, the bright sky." 
 
 " My brain grows dizzy with the thought!" 
 " You shall again be lord of your own castle, and 
 walk the lofty halls of your ancestors secure from 
 harm. No hell-born tyrant shall again spread his 
 bane over the sweet lands of our fathers ! You 
 shall be like a sun which long hath set, bursting 
 again in glory from the womb of darkness, spreading 
 beauty and plenty around."
 
 134 LLonvoRKo. 
 
 The hole was now sufficiently large to admit 
 them. Llouvorko crept through it, and was followed 
 by his father. They now found themselves in a 
 small square vault ; there was a door in one corner, 
 open ; it brought them into a long passage, at the 
 extremity of which was ix flight of steps ; 
 when they had reached the top, they found their 
 passage intercepted by brambles and brushwood, 
 which was thickly matted over the entrance. 
 
 " Behold, my father, behold these brambles ! we 
 shall shortly be in the forest. I'll cut a passage 
 through them with my sword." 
 
 The brambles fell beneath his vigorous strokes; 
 they pushed through them, and beheld the huge 
 trees of the forest. They fell upon their knees, and 
 poured a prayer to God for their deliverance. The 
 full moon was slowly rising over the heavy masses 
 of foliage, and throwing her pale light through the 
 openings of the forest, illuminating the dense sheets 
 of shadow with delicate crystal One bright star 
 glimmered in the deep purple sky, like a sweet 
 cherub watching at the gate of heaven the slumber- 
 ing world From the hidden glens came wafted on 
 the breeze the deep tone of the torrent, as it rushed 
 over the rocks within the bosom of some yawning 
 gulf. 
 
 "Ah 1 - (said the old man) 'tis long, Oh! long 
 indeed, since I heard the witching voice of nature ! 
 The roar of that torrent fills my mind with long for-
 
 LI.OUVOUKO. .'o 
 
 Cotton scones! Oh heaven! it seems but yesterday 
 since I walked through these deep glades, and listened 
 to its mournful voice hut Oh ! what wretched years 
 have sped since then! Ah, this wind! this wind! 
 it creeps into my heart like the sweet words of 
 angels into the soul of the dying man! See 1 there's 
 the moon, the moon of my youth ! 'tis not changed, 
 'tis the same I gazed at in my golden hours of hliss, 
 with thy sainted mother ! Oh ! I could gaze upon 
 it for ever ! And Oh ! that star ! that lovely star ! " 
 
 The old man was overcome with the intensity of 
 his feelings, and he sat down upon a stone, with his 
 head resting upon his hreast ; tears fell from his eyes, 
 his lips quivered, and his bosom heaved with 
 emotion. 
 
 " Oh father ! (said Llouvorko) let us not lose a 
 moment ; the fiends of the castle may even now be 
 in search of us !" 
 
 " Alas, my son ! my limbs are powerless ! This 
 sudden change has been too much for me Oh ! my 
 wife! my wife! my poor Ebeina! my murdered 
 Ebeina! My son! my son! Oh! a l agj alas! 
 Hark, is not that the melody of the nightingale ? 
 Heavens ! did I ever think to hear that sweet note 
 again! Almighty Father 'tis thy ordering! Oh, 
 how I thank Thee! how my heart overflows with 
 gratitude to Thee, thou mighty ruler of the universe! 
 Thou merciful Monarch of nature's vasty system ! 
 Thou sweet source of everlasting bliss to man un- 
 grateful man! That moon! that moon! look at
 
 130 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 that moon! how sweetly it shines upon me! its mel- 
 low light falls upon my sight (so long have I been 
 hid in darkness) like the bright ray of heaven upon 
 the departing spirit!" 
 
 " I will lift you in my arms, my father, and bear 
 you through the wood. I tremble with terror lest we 
 should be discovered !" 
 
 " Thou art my guardian angel ! the lost jewel 
 that hast been restored to my heart! the silvery 
 beam that lightest up the black gulf of my soul ! 
 Oh ! my spirit was dark as the orbless midnight !" 
 
 Llouvorko lifted his father from the earth, and 
 bore him on beneath the spreading branches of the 
 gloomy trees. They moved on in silence through 
 the shadow. The low night wind murmured amongst 
 the thick foliage, and waved the long grass on which 
 they trod; at times, a startled bird would scream 
 from the bosom of some old tree, and flit to a deeper 
 solitude; the moon-beams struggled with the 
 branches, and threw a dim unsteady light through 
 the heavy blackness of the forest. They passed the 
 great torrent whose voice had before attracted their 
 attention ; they saw it leaping and tumbling over 
 the gigantic rocks, which seemed to tremble beneath 
 its fierce attack. They had got some fifty yards past 
 the torrent, and were turning round a small cluster 
 of rocks, whose summits were covered with dwarf 
 firs, when a man stood before them, and motioned 
 them to halt. Llouvorko's heart nigh burst from its 
 seat, a cold sweat rushed over his fiame, and he
 
 LLOUVORKO. 137 
 
 stood motionless as a statue gazing upon the 
 stranger. 
 
 " Whither go ye, friend ?" (said the man.) 
 
 Llouvorko made no reply. 
 
 " 'Tis a dismal wood this to be in at so late an hour 
 (continued the stranger) Whither go ye ? Mayhap 
 I may be of service ; I know the secret passes, and 
 may direct you to a near cut." 
 
 " I am perfectly acquainted with the road, and 
 need no guide, (said Llouvorko) ; but at the same 
 time thank you for your courtesy." 
 
 " W ho's that you have in your arms ? (asked the 
 stranger). Have you been attacked by banditti, and 
 hath he been wounded ?" 
 
 " It is merely an old man exhausted with travail. 
 Let me pass." 
 
 " If you will enter beneath these rocks I will give 
 you a little refreshment ; the forest is wide, and you 
 may faint from exhaustion before you clear it." 
 
 " I feel not weary Let me pass." 
 
 " But thy jaded companion he stands in need of 
 something. Rest awhile, Seignior, if 'tis merely for 
 his sake." 
 
 Now Llouvorko would have willingly accepted 
 the stranger's invitation, for he was tired and 
 hungry, and would have given the world for a cup 
 of wine for his father, who lay trembling in his 
 arms, but the appearance of the man struck him 
 with terror. He was a large dark looking fellow, 
 with long straight black hair, thick mustachoes, and
 
 138 LLOUVORKO." 
 
 a face as yellow as the belly of a snake ; and there 
 was a strange fire in his eyes as they gleamed 
 through the darkness, that shewed him to be capable 
 of any act however cruel. But though his appear- 
 ance was forbidding, he had a soft low voice, which 
 Llouvorko supposed was assumed to decoy him into 
 his snare for he believed him to be a bandit. Llou- 
 vorko passed him, moved slowly forwards, and was 
 surprised, on turning his head, to find him still at 
 his side. They had now reached the last of the 
 range of rocks, and still he heard the feet of the 
 stranger at his heels ; he was about turning round 
 to ask the meaning of his intrusion, when his eyes 
 fell upon the figures of two other men, who came 
 slowly forth from a recess in the rock. They seemed 
 in deep conversation, and did not appear to notice 
 him ; he began to hope they would move on without 
 perceiving him, but when they had got to within 
 twenty yards of where he stood, they abruptly turned, 
 and made directly to him. A flood of moon-light 
 burst from behind a cloud, and fell upon the faces of 
 the men, when, Oh ! the direst horror that ever har- 
 rowed the soul of man froze the blood in Llouvorko's 
 veins ; his face turned pale as ashes, his eyes seemed 
 starting from their sockets, and his colourless lips 
 quivered with agony, for his gaze fell upon the hell- 
 ish face of Shirwalto. 
 
 ' "Ha! (said he, approaching Llouvorko) are 
 my eyes false ? Do I dream ? is it thee whelp ? 
 or is it the foolish moonlight playing tricks with my
 
 LLOUVORKO. 139 
 
 vision ? Let me look at tliec ! Ha ! by the holy 
 Peter ! Hast broken thy bonds, young 1 buck ? Was 
 the dungeon too weak to hold thy mighty spirit ? 
 By the saints, but this is a dainty trick ! Thou wert 
 gliding away through the forest like a ghost from 
 the gulf of torment ! but old Satan's trapped thee ! 
 What can escape the power of my vision ? I could 
 mark the movement of a lazy worm amongst the 
 grass! After the sun sinks behind the mountains, 
 not a foot can enter this 'wood without the know-- 
 ledge of Shirwalto. What say you Lambremo ?" 
 
 " Thou'st the eye of the great hawk, and the 
 cunning of the old wolf." 
 
 " Ay, ay, the band would be a precious set of 
 stalkers, a pretty assemblage of thicket leapers, 
 as green as the saplings amongst which they crouch, 
 who would soon run their long necks into the 
 hidden traps of the tinsel-shouldered sharks, were I 
 removed from it ! Why, man, this affair will bring 
 more coin into our pouches than a good month's 
 run of forest business I Ha, ha, ha ! a cunning 
 brain ' 'tis worth more to a man than all the fine 
 intellect that ever appeared in the pates of all the 
 wise fellows conjoined, since the beginning of the 
 world ! A sly, calculating, bottomless, ever knowing, 
 gold grasping imp of a soul for me ! 'tis the 
 diamond of life ! the diamond of life !" 
 
 Llouvorko stood watching every movement of 
 Shirwalto with the eye of a falcon. He had drawn 
 the rusty sword from his girdle unperceived, and
 
 140 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 held it behind him to escape observation. Every 
 nerve in his bosom swelled with indignation, 
 and he stood up with the courage of a lion, deter- 
 mined to lose the last drop of his blood rather 
 then let his father be dragged to prison. At length 
 Shirwalto said, 
 
 " Who is that thou'st with thee, lad ? Who is 
 that thou'st with thee ?** 
 
 He approached Llouvorko, and attempted to peer 
 into the old man's face. 
 
 "Stand back, base dog ! (cried Llouvorko, as he 
 laid his father upon the grass, and flourished 
 the old sword in the air), or by the living God ! 
 I'll fell thy vile carcass to the earth !" 
 
 " Put up thy bit of iron, my fine cavalier, or, 
 mayhap, thoult get thy jugular severed." 
 
 " In God's name depart in peace ! (said the old 
 man). Let us proceed on our way we have no 
 gold !" 
 
 " Hold thy peace, grey beard ! (roared Shirwalto), 
 seize him, Plomargo ! seize the boasting cur !" 
 
 The man stepped up to Llouvorko, and attempted 
 to seize him, but fell back groaning, with his 
 shoulder laid open to the bone. 
 
 "Ha 1 - by hell!" (exclaimed Shirwalto), and he 
 gave a loud whistle; almost immediately six men 
 were seen approaching from the rocks. They sur- 
 rounded Llouvorko, and succeeded in securing him, 
 but not before three of them had received deep 
 wounds, and one was stretched lifeless on the
 
 LLOUVORKO. 141 
 
 ground. The old man seeing them in the act of 
 binding his son's arms, cried out, 
 
 " Harm him not ! harm him not ! Deprive not an 
 old man of his son ! Merciful heaven protect my son!" 
 
 " Ha ! thy son ! (cried Shirwalto) Let me look 
 at thee By heaven ! Count Bulenzo ! Look 
 here, comrades! look here! 'Tis the Count! the 
 Count ! The old fox hath burst from the dungeon ! 
 By holy Paul ! 'tis fortunate we came athwart them ! 
 Balvelsio would rather lose half of his possessions 
 than this man should be at liberty ! Our reward 
 will be great ! Ha, ha, ha ! I'm merry, my boys ! 
 The thought of the gold lifts the heart in my 
 body P 
 
 " Oh ! release my son ! release him ! release him ! 
 (said the old man). Do with me what you will, but 
 Oh ! that dear youth .' harm him not ! harm him not !" 
 
 " Ask the wolf to relinquish the kid, the shark 
 the sailor, the miser his gold, the king his throne, 
 the master his slave Ha, ha, ha! release him ! 'Tis 
 the nature of all robbers to hold fast their prey, 
 from the lowest foot-pad to the highest man in 
 a kingdom. Why, he's worth as much to us as if 
 every hair on his head was a diamond !" 
 
 " Oh if pity ever dwelt in your heart ! if you ever 
 felt the feelings of a father ! if every noble trait be 
 not extinguished in your bosom, have mercy on 
 my child ! Hurl not the dark shaft of despair to 
 my aged bosom ! He's been as dead to me for 
 twenty years ! my eyes have never rested upon him
 
 142 LLOUVOUKO. 
 
 since he was an infant till within the last few hours, 
 and tear not the only joy from my blighted heart 
 which it hath known for so long a time ! Snap not 
 the tender chord of life ! hurl me not to the tomb 
 by so foul an act ! Oh ! save my poor child, and 
 heaven will bless you ! See ! see ! they're dragging 
 him from my sight ! Oh ! my son ! my son ! Strike 
 them to the earth, Oh! heaven, with thy blasting 
 fire ! Fall on them, ye crags ! Merciful Father, 
 wilt thou look calmly on a deed like this? Give 
 rne a sword! give me a sword! My child! my 
 child ! my wretched child ! they're dragging him 
 to Balvelsio ! Oh God! Oh God! he's lost for 
 ever !" 
 
 He fell senseless on the ground. 
 
 " Take the old fool in thy arms, Lambremo, (said 
 Shirwalto) he'll be quiet for an hour to come. How 
 did they contrive to break from that dungeon ? 
 There's been treachery ! Balvelsio hath some foul 
 knaves in his train but he hath a servant in me 
 that can thwart the plans of the most cunning of 
 his enemies ! By heaven ! but this deed of mine 
 deserves a rich reward ! To think they should have 
 gotten clear of the building, and have proceeded so 
 far into the forest night too ! to think they should 
 have so nearly accomplished their purpose, (which 
 had it been accomplished, would have hurled Bal- 
 velsio to the dust,) and, alter all, to be captured, and 
 by myself, just at the time they began to breathe 
 freely and think themselves secure ! 'Tis a mighty
 
 LLOUVORKO. 143 
 
 service I've rendered the Count, and I shall expect 
 a vast reward." 
 
 The old man still continued in a state of insensi- 
 bility, and lay like a corse in the arms of the villain 
 as he bore him to the rocks, whither the other men 
 had led Llouvorko. They now entered beneath the 
 black crests of the huge crags, and came to a small 
 cavern, from which issued a faint flickering light. 
 In this cavern were some eight or ten fierce looking 
 men ; and in one corner stood Llouvorko, with his 
 hands pinioned, and a bandage over his eyes. 
 
 " Not a moment must be lost ; (said Shirwalto). 
 Balvelsio must be apprised of this affair before 
 another hour hath fled. Something unfortunate may 
 happen should he discover their flight before our 
 arrival. Belando, you, with Lambremo, and four 
 of the gang must accompany me to the castle ; let 
 the rest remain to bury our dead comrade, and see 
 to the men this fire-brained dog hath wounded. 
 How fares the old one ? Bring hither a light." 
 
 He raised the light to the face of the old man ; 
 the eyes which lately were closed were now open ; 
 his lips quivered, but no sound escaped ; it seemed 
 as though the power of utterance had left him ; he 
 gently raised his hand, a large tear fell from his eye, 
 and his head sunk again upon his bosom. 
 
 " 'Tis all right with him, (said Shirwalto) the old 
 fellow's like a scorpion, there's no forcing the soul 
 out of his body. What spirit but his could live in 
 such a heap of bones and dried skin ? Ha, ha, ha !
 
 144 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 That old body's worth an Indian mine to us, my 
 lads!" 
 
 Lloxivorko heard the words of the monster, and 
 he knew his father was in the cave. He groaned 
 in agony, and struggled so violently, that the men 
 began to fear he'd burst his fetters. 
 
 " Hold him ! (cried Shirwalto) he'll break the 
 cords ! seize on him !" 
 
 The men seized him, and held him stationary in 
 their iron grasps. A shriek of despair and horror 
 burst from him, so wild and dreadful that the fierce 
 robbers started back in dismay. The old man 'was 
 roused by the voice of his son, and deep groans burst 
 from his heart. 
 
 " My son ! my son ! my poor dear son ! they're 
 murdering thee ! Oh God; Oh God!" 
 
 " Bear him from the cave (said Shirwalto) and I and 
 Lambrerno will follow with the old man. Take the 
 road by the Gownul rocks, and make the best of your 
 way to the castle." 
 
 They dragged Llouvorko from the cave, and were 
 quickly followed by Shirwalto and the old man.
 
 LLOUVORKO. Mo 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A grisly ghost sprung op, 
 And scared the villain. 
 
 IT was midnight, and the cold silvery streamers of 
 the moon fell through the small window of Plesina's 
 chamber; but the rays rested not only on the floor 
 and the walls, they had a sweeter object to beautify ; 
 they played around the fair brow and spotless 
 bosom of the maiden herself, who sat in a re- 
 cess in the wall, like a holy angel, gazing, in the 
 silent night, on the abode of man, and sorrowing for 
 his wickedness. The tears stood in her eyes, and 
 shone in the moon-ray like bright dew beneath the 
 sable moss; her hair sparkled like strings of gold; 
 and her neck and bosom appeared like virgin snow lit 
 the clear umvarming beam of the nocturnal orb. 
 Her beautiful hands were folded on her breast, and 
 as she sat, with her eyes fixed on the planet, her lips 
 partly open, and full of the . expressions of pity, sad- 
 ness, innocence, and love, she seemed like a celestial 
 being imploring its Creator to remove it from the 
 cold cheerless earth to the bright regions of heaven.
 
 146 LLOUYOIIKO. 
 
 The low sound of the waves, the murmur of the 
 wind amongst the rocks the distance-mellowed 
 roar of torrents- the rustling of the aspens and pop- 
 lars that skirted the forest the wild music of the 
 stream the distant echoes wafted from far off lands 
 and to crown all, the ravishing- melody of the 
 nightingale, lent their charms to the soft enchanting 
 night, and seemed to strive to make it surpass the 
 glories of the voluptuous noon-day. But the beauty 
 of the scene was lost upon the weeping maiden; 
 the black imp woe sat in all his strength on her 
 heart, gnawing and lascerating every string, Hope 
 had departed from her soul, and the grim monster 
 despair was insinuating his dreadful bane into every 
 chord of life. Early had she retired to rest, but so 
 intense was her mental agony, so awful the visions 
 that flitted through her brain, and which banished 
 slumber from her restless eyes, that she arose from 
 the couch of sorrow, and sat down by the casement 
 to ponder over her woes. And there she sat, 
 moveless as a statue, gazing at the star-decked 
 sky, but heedless of its beauty. The noon of 
 night had passed, and the pure fresh air that wan- 
 toned over the water and sung in the trees, told that 
 the sweet spirits of the morning had commenced their 
 ^Eolian melody. But in the chamber all was still as 
 death ; nothing was heard save the low breathing of 
 the maiden, and the faint beat of the watchful spider. 
 Suddenly there arose a low rustling noise, which 
 seemed to issue from the interior of the wall, and
 
 LLOUVORKO. 117 
 
 then a sound as of some sharp substance grating 
 against the stone work. 
 
 Plesina \vas so absorbed in meditation that she 
 heard it not, but continued to gaze on the heavens. 
 And now arose upon the stillness a noise as of a 
 chain falling to the wall, and then a sharp creaking 
 sound like to the opening of a window. " Merciful 
 God! what is that?" (exclaimed she, suddenly 
 starting from her seat, and gazing around the 
 nioon-lit chamber with starting eyes, and a counten- 
 ance pale with terror). Silence reigned for a mo- 
 ment, and then again the noises arose. She 
 stood trembling by the casement, with her eyes fixed 
 upon that part of the room from which the sounds 
 seemed to proceed j they appeared to come from the 
 bed which stood at the further end of the apartment, 
 in a recess; the curtains were closely drawn, 
 and the moon-beam not reaching so far, it stood 
 in a dim uncertain light. The noises still fell 
 upon her ear, but lower than before, and there were 
 intervals of silence. At length a rustling and flap- 
 ping like to the noise occasioned by the waving of 
 drapery was heard, joined with a sharp creaking 
 sound. A cold sweat stood upon the forehead of the 
 terrified girl, and her face became paler than marble: 
 her eyes were still fixed upon the bed. Now a 
 sound was heard like to the clink of a spring, then a 
 sharp noise like the sliding of ;i panel: and* now it 
 seemed as if some heavy substance was falling upon 
 the bed, and in the next moment she saw the
 
 148 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 curtains move, and the diabolical face of Balvelsio 
 thrust from behind them. She tried to scream, but 
 her voice failed her ; her body shook with terror, and 
 she stood gazing upon him with starting eye-balls, 
 like the innocent lamb upon the great serpent which 
 is about to devour it. His face was flushed with 
 wine, and bore the expression of a demon disap- 
 pointed of its prey ; his savage eyes rolled round the 
 apartment at length they rested upon the maiden; 
 he dashed the curtains on one side, and rushed from 
 the bed ; he flew to her, threw around her his 
 brawny arms, and was about to lift her from the 
 ground, when a deep and awful voice rolled through 
 the chamber, and fastened him to the spot, * 
 
 " Beware! (said the voice) beware of the pflwer of 
 the invisible ! Draw not the spirit of thy brother 
 from the world of ghosts !" 
 
 " Heavens ! (cried Balvelsio, relinquishing his 
 hold of Plesina) what dreadful voice is that ? Hath 
 the tomb disgorged itself? Hath some dark spirit 
 left the pit of torture and entered my castle ? 
 Avaunt ! damned goblin ! Not all the powers of 
 heaven and hell shall foil me !" 
 
 A deep groan rung through the apartment. 
 
 " Not Satan's self, were he now to rise, should 
 rob me of my prey !" 
 
 He again seized the girl. And now a loud 
 knocking was heard at the castle gate, followed by 
 the shrill blast of a horn. 
 
 " Ha ! (cried he) what means that blast ? Is the
 
 LLOUVORKO. 149 
 
 host of hell in arms against me? Was that an 
 earthly blast, or did it come from some black tortur- 
 ing- imp ?" 
 
 He uttered a deep oath, drew his sword, and 
 rushed from the apartment. He had no sooner 
 gone than a panel in the wall opened, and the 
 venerable head of Silerto appeared, gazing- upon the 
 maiden with the sweet expression of a guardian 
 angel. 
 
 " Be not alarmed, sweet lady, (said he) be not 
 alarmed; he shall not 'harm you ! 'Twas my voice 
 which startled him. I am well armed, and was 
 just upon the point of rushing upon him, when the 
 sound 61 the horn echoed through the building. 
 Should he again appear, and use any violence, I'll 
 shoot him through the heart. I expected this from 
 his conduct during the day, so I stole up to this 
 secret closet to aid you. I shall remain here until 
 daylight ; so give not way to fear." 
 
 "Oh! for mercy's sake, (said the agitated maiden) 
 take me up into that closet ! let me come to you ! 
 I shall die with terror ! He will return ! he will 
 return !" 
 
 " It would be ruin to us both !" 
 
 " Oh ! if one spark of pity dwells in your heart, 
 do not refuse me ! Leave me not to the mercy of the 
 villain ! take me to you ! take me to you !" 
 
 " 'Tis impossible ! Should he return the whole 
 would be discovered ! Remain where you are, and 
 I swear by heaven one hair of your head shall not 
 be injured."
 
 1")0 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Great God ! what will become of me ! where 
 shall I fly to ? Let me come ' let me come ! leave 
 me not to misery and death !" 
 
 " Behold these pistols ; in one instant, should he 
 molest you, the balls will enter his heart." 
 
 " Give me one ! give me one ! for heaven's sake 
 give me one !" 
 
 " Here, take this dirk, 'twill be of more service to 
 you ; hide it in your bosom. Be not rash, and 
 strike an ineffectual blow, but keep yourself calm ; 
 aim at his heart, and drive the steel with your 
 utmost strength." 
 
 Silerto withdrew his head, and softly closed the 
 paneL Plesina secreted the dagger, and awaited, 
 but with more firmness, the reappearance of the 
 monster. 
 
 Meanwhile Balvelsio, his blood boiling with 
 passion, hurried to the castle gate, and demanded, 
 in a voice rendered hoarse by rage, who knocked ; 
 but his ear had no sooner caught the sound of a 
 whistle which came from without, than the flush of 
 anger fled from his features, and gave place to the 
 expression of strong surprise. He unfastened the 
 ponderous bars, the heavy door swung back upon 
 its hinges, and disclosed to his view the dark visage 
 of Shirwalto. 
 
 "What means this untimely visit? (said he) 
 Are the blood hounds on the scent ?" 
 
 " I've something of consequence to communicate 
 to you," (replied Shirwalto). 
 
 " I knew it ! I knew it ! By heaven, I had a
 
 LLOUVORKO. 1,">1 
 
 presentiment of some evil! Have you men along 
 with you ?" 
 
 " Ay, our comrades." 
 
 " Have you had a battle ? speak out man ! let 
 me know the worst !" 
 
 "I must see you in private. Retire into the 
 oaken room, I'll be with you in a few minutes ; I've 
 
 a little business to look to." 
 " Ha !" 
 
 " We've taken prisoners." 
 
 "Are they wealthy ones?" 
 
 "Ay, by the Lord!" 
 
 " Bring them forward, bring them forward. Are 
 they noble ? Will there be a good ransom ? March 
 forward men, march forward!" 
 
 " Step into the oaken room a moment." 
 
 "For what?" 
 
 " I've a reason for it. In two minutes I will join 
 you." 
 
 " Ha ! do they know me r" 
 
 " Likely, likely. Step into the room." 
 
 Balvelsio left the hall, and Shirwalto ordered thn 
 men to advance ; they obeyed, bringing forward the 
 old man and Llouvorko. 
 
 " Remain here, (said Shirwalto) till I return." 
 
 He followed Balvelsio into the oaken apart- 
 ment. 
 
 " Are your prisons guarded and your sentinels at 
 their posts, or is your castle open to the attack of 
 any knave who thinks proper to thrust his hook into
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 your coffers ? (asked Shinvalto). 
 
 " What mean ye ? By heaven there is mystery 
 in your words !" 
 
 " What mean I ? why that there's traitors lurking 
 within these walls ; foul snakes who'll bring your 
 neck to the axe unless your eyes are sharp enough 
 to pierce through the covering of their intrigue '" 
 
 " What say ye ?" 
 
 " Why you're like an old toothless lion assailed by 
 curs !" 
 
 " What means this quibbling ? Come to the 
 point, I say ! Are your suspicions roused ? Is there 
 then a traitor within the walls ?" 
 
 " Pshaw ! 'twill all be blown ! The darkness is 
 falling from certain things, and a small light, which 
 will reveal something of a very pleasant nature, 
 grateful and exhilerating to strangers, is just begin- 
 ning to quiver in its place. By heaven I shake 
 yet at what this night's revealed to me !" 
 
 A dark shade passed over the brow of Balvelsio, 
 his lips trembled, and he gazed upon Shirwalto 
 with a fixed expanded eye ; at length he said in a 
 low hoarse voice, 
 
 " What's been revealed to you ?" 
 
 " If it had so happened that aught had detained 
 me from the forest this night, I would not have 
 given this hair, (and he plucked one from his beard 
 as he spoke) for your wealth, your castle, your title, 
 no, not for your life !" 
 
 " Hell fire, man ! to the point ! to the point !
 
 LLOUVORKO. Io3 
 
 By the Holy Ghost, I can bear this no longer ! 
 What men have ye in the hall ?" 
 
 He was rushing 1 from the apartment, but Shir- 
 walto seized him by the arm and detained him. 
 
 " Be not rash. List to my words. We have 
 taken prisoners !" 
 
 " Is there aught surprising in that ?" 
 
 " Ay, by my soul ! and that thou'lt acknowledge 
 in an instant or two. Harkee, I have that 
 Llouvorko, whom you cast into the strong cell, 
 bound with straps in the hall !" 
 
 " Ha ! impossible ! A fiend could not have burst 
 through that dungeon ! Tis some mistake." 
 
 "Tush! Have I not eyes and have I not ears? 
 and 'tis well for thy safety I've a brain, and a 
 cunning one. I tell you we have him bound in the 
 hall." 
 
 " Then there's a snake in the castle ! The kites 
 and the wolves shall have a feast ! Some shoulders 
 shall miss their heads before the sun's one hour 
 above the mountains! We have him again Shirwalto, 
 we have him again, and 'twill but teach us to 
 double our guards. I'll question the dog." 
 
 He was again leaving the room. 
 
 " Stay awhile, I've something more for your ear. 
 You've a prisoner in the cavern ?" 
 
 "The cavern!" (echoed Balvelsio, and an ashy 
 paleness spread over his face). 
 
 " An old prisoner, (continued Shirwalto) a hoary 
 one in short, your brother."
 
 l.H LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " How now slave ! art mocking me ? Why men- 
 tion ye that ?" 
 
 "'Tweve as well not to let the world know aught 
 of that transaction ; the secrecy of that is the very 
 vital principle of your success, and I say again 
 'twere as well not to let the world know aught 
 of it." 
 
 " The world ?" 
 
 "Ay, the world." 
 
 "How should it?" 
 
 " Why, as I said before, had I not been out to 
 night, it would have been blown. I was the great 
 shadow that kept it from the eyes of mankind." 
 
 " I understand you not !" 
 
 " Your brother's in the hall ! By heaven he's in 
 the hall ! the animated skeleton's in the hall ! a 
 heap of bones clothed in a sheet of yellow skin's in 
 the hall ! a pair of ghost's eyes in a fleshless head's 
 in the hall ! Ha, ha, ha !" 
 
 Balvelsio staggered back a few paces, and 
 dropped into a seat, whilst the sweat of horror 
 started from his pores, and his eye seemed lighted 
 with the fire of insanity. At length he slowly 
 muttered these words, which seemed nearly to choke 
 him, 
 
 " Hath the storm then burst ? Is vengeance on 
 the wind ? Ha ! Shirwalto, is the deadly lightning 
 launched at my head ? What do thy words imply ? 
 What mean ye ?" 
 
 " Why merely this, that I found your brother and
 
 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 this Llouvovko journeying 1 together very comfortably 
 beneath the moonlight in the forest. Ay, you may 
 start and turn pale, and scowl, and quiver, but so it 
 
 was 
 
 " Come hither Shirwalto. You found them in 
 the forest, said you ?" 
 
 " Ay, by heaven !" 
 
 "Impossible!'' " In the forest, and at a good 
 distance from the castle. Had I not been on the 
 prowl, to-morrow's sun would have revealed pretty 
 scenes for our artists '" 
 
 " Furies !" 
 
 " You would have had the heavy chains of the 
 law-dogs pressing against your wrists, and the black 
 water of a dungeon would have sprinkled your brow ! 
 You have good reason to be grateful to your old 
 servant, Balvelsio, he's saved your neck from the axe, 
 and kept your flesh out of the stomach of the wolf!" 
 
 " My brain's thronged with agonizing thoughts, 
 and feels as though the fire of hell was consuming 
 it ! My brother at large ! Ah, this is a thunder 
 bolt to my soul ! How got he at large ? How did 
 he burst his dungeon ?" 
 
 " Ay, there's the mystery." 
 
 " Were they together ?" 
 
 "Llouvorko had him in his arms." 
 
 "'Tis he that's released him. I'll have him 
 choked this night !" 
 
 " He's a desperate dog young as he is. Though 
 he hath a maid's face, and a chin as smooth as the
 
 150 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 belly of a goblet, yet his arm hatb a well strung 1 
 nerve in it." 
 
 " Pshaw !" 
 
 " With an old rusty sword he slew one of our 
 gang-, and wounded three others." 
 
 " Tush ! ye deserve it ! ye deserve it ! A stripling 
 like he ! Why I could crush him at a grasp, easy 
 as -I could a fly ! But you've done me a great service, 
 Shirwalto, a great one ! and I'll remember it, I'll 
 remember it ! By the virgin I tremble yet with the 
 thought of the infernal snare we've escaped ! Hark'ee, 
 did you meet any passers as you brought them to 
 the castle ?'' 
 
 " We travelled through the deepest glens." 
 
 "You were invisible to all save the bushes and the 
 glow- worms ?" 
 
 " No eye marked us, no ear caught our footfalls. 
 All is again clothed in darkness ; the least suspicion 
 lurks' not in the breast of mortal." 
 
 " Thou'rt a noble fellow ! Shirwalto ! Thou'rt a 
 noble fellow ! I'll make thy cofl'ers overflow for this 
 one deed ! thou'st plucked the agony of death from 
 my heart ! thou'st made a new man of Balvelsio ! 
 Friend, there are traitors in the castle !" 
 
 " Ay, by Paul !" 
 
 "The foul kite's come among us in the plumage 
 of the dove ! By heaven, ere to-morrow's sun sets, 
 I'll have the dog's heart wrenched from his bosom ! 
 I'll have him though every man in the castle dies ! 
 They've had help, they never could have left their
 
 LLOUVORKO. 157 
 
 dungeons without help, and the man that helped 
 them 's the mortal foe of Balvelsio !" 
 
 "I've something more for your ear but we had 
 better first see them secure in the prisons." 
 
 " Hasten, hasten, Shirwalto ! lose not a moment ! 
 I shall not be easy until they're again under the 
 earth." 
 
 " Well, follow me into the hall." 
 
 " I will not see them, I'll leave the whole to you. 
 Let the chains be heavy ; and mark me, let Belando 
 and Lambremo keep watch at the cell doors. I 
 await here your return." 
 
 Shirwalto left the apartment. 
 
 " Ah ! (mused Balvelsio, as the door closed,) have 
 I been so near destruction ? have I approached 
 within a hair of the black gulf of death, and just 
 turned aside by mere chance? By heaven, my very 
 vitals tremble with the thought! Out in the forest ! 
 my brother in the forest ! to burst the bars of the 
 sti - ongest cell in Italy ! to be out in the wind con- 
 veying the dark tale to the foul engines of the law ! 
 Christ ! this is a shock ! Who is the traitor ? How 
 came Llouvorko and the old man together ? there's 
 more in that pale hound's head than I wot of; I'd 
 as lief look upon the face of a fiend as upon his 
 melancholy visage ; I cannot help thinking I've seen 
 it before, and it forces gloomy thoughts through my 
 brain ; the gleam of his fiery eyes ever strikes a 
 shudder through my frame : I wish he was black 
 with putrefaction in the castle moat ! He's an ugly 
 demon that rises in my path, a black shadow
 
 158 LLOUVOUKO. 
 
 that oppresses my soul, and kills every gleam of 
 pleasure ! Where can I have seen the foul imp's 
 likeness ? What is it that's taken so strong a grips 
 of my imagination ? the very recollection of his 
 face brings the fire of anguish into my heart !" 
 
 He was interrupted by the reappearance of Shir- 
 walto. 
 
 " Ha ! Shirwalto ! are they hid from the eyes of 
 men ? Are the chains locked, and the bars crossed ?" 
 
 " Down in the lowest dungeon. None but the 
 rock-crashing flame of heaven can now release them." 
 
 " Are they in separate cells ?" 
 
 "Ay, and at the extremities of the building. 
 Llouvorko's in the cavern, and your brother's in a 
 vault under the southern wing of the castle." 
 
 " Set you Lainbremo and Belaudo oil the watch?" 
 
 " They now pace before the prisons." 
 
 " And the keys you have the keys ?" 
 
 Shirwalto handed him the keys of the dungeons. 
 
 " Well, now my heart hath recovered its wonted 
 beat ! The sting hath left my brain. I'm like a 
 spirit suddenly released from hell! Oh ! Shirwalto, 
 thou'rt a vigilant watcher ! thou guard'st well thy 
 master's safety. A greater misiortune could not 
 have befallen me than the escape of 
 
 " Hold you there -You know not the extent of it 
 you know not the ocean of misery you've escaped 
 -~-you know not the vastness of the gulf which 
 yawned before you. That Llouvorko is your 
 brother's son !" 
 
 Balvelsio started as though he'd been slruck by a
 
 LLOUVORKO. 1.59 
 
 thunder bolt ; he grasped a pillar to prevent his 
 falling- to the earth, and his whole body trembled 
 like a leaf; his eyes were ri vetted upon Shirwalto 
 with the wild stare of a maniac, and froth formed 
 on his lips as he strove to give utterance to words 
 which seemed nearly to choke him. 
 
 " Look not so wildly, (said Shirwalto) the danger's 
 past. By heaven, you stare as if you'd lost your 
 iaculties !" 
 
 Balvelsio uttered a deep groan, sunk into a chair, 
 and covered his face with his hands. At length he 
 started from his seat, and roared in a voice of 
 thunder, 
 
 " 'Tis a lie ! He's been in the grave twenty years! 
 The worms have ate him !" 
 
 He rushed backwards and forwards in the apart- 
 ment with the action of a madman ; one moment 
 striking his forehead with his hand, then setting his 
 teeth, and giving vent to heavy curses. At length 
 he turned suddenly upon Shirwalto, and said, 
 
 " How know you he's his son ?" 
 
 "The Count's own words; he said he was his son, 
 and prayed to heaven to deliver him out of our 
 hands." 
 
 " Pshaw ! Shirwalto, art thou a boy ? Dost believe 
 it ? He's lost his senses his brain was disordered 
 he was raving !" 
 
 " I do believe it I do ! I do ! I know he's his 
 son ! Dost thou see no resemblance in him to a 
 certain lady ?"
 
 100 LLOLVOnKO. 
 
 " Ha ! the likeness ! the likeness ! Holy Saviour ! 
 Dost thou believe he is his son, Shirwalto?" 
 
 " There's not such a face in Italy." 
 
 " He's like, very like, but 'tis mere chance. It may 
 very naturally happen that two faces may be alike 
 out of the vast multitude, and not be relations at all. 
 I never can believe he's his son impossible. The 
 child was disposed of years ago ; the kite and the 
 wolf of the forest can tell his fate. I paid the gold, 
 Shirwalto, I paid the gold ! thou know'st I did. 
 The deed was done, Ordugo swore it to me." 
 
 " Pish !" 
 
 " He showed me the blood spots on his dagger." 
 
 " Thou hast been deceived. The child by some 
 means hath been preserved, and is the right heir to 
 these estates." 
 
 " Hold, babbler ! hold !" 
 
 " 'Tis true, thou know'st 'tis true. Remember 
 this Llouvorko was to-night in the forest. What 
 would have been thy fate to-morrow, Balvelsio ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, keep an eye to business. The reward 
 fills thy brain ; thou shalt have it ! Mark me, Shir- 
 walto. To-morrow night, so soon as the shadows 
 have wrapped all in darkness, meet me in the forest, 
 I've something of moment to disclose to you. At 
 the fountain, mind you, behind the castle Fail not." 
 
 " Break the business now 'twere better we are 
 alone." 
 
 " Be still." 
 
 " Whv wait till to morrow ?"
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 101 
 
 "Dost thou not know there are traitors in the 
 castle? I would not trust these walls, there are 
 secret closets in this building I know not of. Our 
 discourse hitherto may have been overheard." 
 
 A dark shade passed over Shirwalto's counten- 
 ance, as he cast a suspicious glance round the apart- 
 ment, but his eyes were unable to penetrate the deep 
 shadow in which the further end was enveloped. 
 He seized the lamp, and examined carefully 
 the dark wainscoting-, but discovered nothing to 
 confirm his suspicion ; he scrutinized every part of 
 the room, but still saw no sign of a hidden door. 
 
 " And do you really think^there are secret passages 
 in the castle unknown to you ?" " Ay, by the saints ! 
 I discovered one the other day I knew not of before ; 
 there are doubtless others, which may be known to 
 some of the inmates, who, by their aid, may work 
 our destruction. But the wily serpent shall be 
 dragged fiom his lair ! The false hound can never 
 escape the cunning of Balvelsio ! That Llouvorko 
 hath friends within these walls, I know it, by 
 heaven, I know it ! but I'll blast their plots ! I'll 
 turn the daggers of their wrath to their own bosoms ! 
 You know me, Shirwalto ? you know me ? Ay, ay, 
 'tis dangerous to tamper with such as us. We will 
 purge this castle of all traitors ; I can confide in you. 
 By this night's service you have won my gratitude 
 for ever ! You have saved my life, and preserved 
 every thing for which I wished to live ! Your heart 
 is invulnerable as a rock, bold as the forest lion's ! 
 
 M
 
 102 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 Your sword is ever ready in the defence of your 
 master. You're wise your cunning surpasses that 
 of an Indian. I am proud of you ; you are a world 
 of wealth to me ; and by heaven you shall be re- 
 warded for your great abilities ! To morrow night 
 come alone ; let no man accompany you ; let no 
 one know aught of it ; and come by the most unfre- 
 quented path, so that you be not perceived. Mark 
 me ; if the moon be up, and I not arrived, remain 
 not in the forest, but secret yourself in the fountain. 
 Farewell !" 
 
 Shirwalto and his men left the castle.
 
 LLOLVORKO. 1(3 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A dagger's gleaming in the glow-worm's ray ! 
 Two savage eyes are glaring thro' the gloom ! 
 Is it a demon from the gulf of woe ? 
 Or some dark man for life-blood thirsting ? Ha! 
 And now it moves ! 
 
 BALVELSIO retired to his bed, but not to sleep; the 
 cold dew of fear stood upon his brow ; forebodings 
 dreadful tormented his soul ; and he rolled about upon 
 his couch like a demon in the den of woes. The thought 
 of his brother plunged a dagger into his heurt! the 
 awful misery he'd caused him to endure fell like the 
 blight of death upon his spirits, and froze the blood 
 in his veins. He feared some invisible power was 
 working his destruction. But when he thought of 
 Llouvorko, he whom he imagined had long since 
 dwindled into dust, when he thought of him, restored 
 to the living, and ready to spring upon his wealth, 
 and give his neck to the axe, he gasped and frothed 
 at the mouth with fury. He started from the bed, 
 and paced with hurried step the wide apartment,
 
 104 LLOUVOKKo. 
 
 through which the palled moon-beams fell in tender 
 streaks, contrasting strangely, in their ntild beauty, 
 with the dire passions which were at work in the 
 bosom of the man on whom they fell. A dark 
 shade was on his brow, and his eye flashed with 
 dreadful fire. At times he'd strike his forehead 
 with his clenched hand, and rave to the heedless 
 walls ; incoherent, horror-gendered sentences fell 
 from his lips, and disturbed the solemn stillness of 
 the place with the words of hell. Then he'd draw 
 forth a dagger, and wave it in the air ; the moon- 
 ray fell upon the blade, and it flashed in the gloom 
 like a streak of lightning. At length a frightful 
 calmness settled upon his brow, he stood still as a 
 statue : not a feature moved ; his eyes were motion- 
 less as a corse's ; still were the wrinkles of his brow ; 
 and his lips seemed as if the hand of death had 
 closed them for ever. Awhile he stood gazing at 
 space ; at length, in a voice dismal and hollow, he 
 said, 
 
 "Let the wolf howl, the raven scream, and the 
 red worm dance in the dew-shower! The dark 
 woods shall close it up ! the rocks will be tongueless ! 
 The silent mole alone shall know the deed, and 
 pilot the lazy grub to the banquet ! Ha, ha, ha ! 
 the black shadow leaves my soul ! Again I live !" 
 
 The next night, ere the lone star of eve had departed 
 from the sky, and whilst the crimson colouring of the 
 sinking sun yet tinged the western clouds, Balvelsio 
 paced beneath the trees in the court yard of the
 
 LLOUVORKO. 105 
 
 castle. At his heels followed, with a slow 
 regular motion, a large blood hound, which ever 
 and anon gazed in the face of its master as if 
 it wished to ask what agitated him. With 
 measured steps he paced backwards and forwards 
 his gaze fixed on the ground; at times he'd 
 cast an anxious glance at the sky, and then again 
 his sight would rest upon the earth; he threw his 
 back against a tree, and again cast his eyes upon 
 the heavens. The red glow of evening was giving 
 place to a silvery green ; the purple cloud was losing 
 its fringe of gold, the myriads of tints, which quivered 
 in the western fields of space, were disappearing, 
 and a cold grey sheet mantling over all. An ex- 
 pression of joy passed over Balvelsio's features as 
 he marked the shadoAvs thicken. He again com- 
 menced his solitary walk, followed by the dog. 
 The bat had left the cavern, and flitted round the 
 trees. The croak of the bull frog the wailing of 
 the lonely water bird the rustling of the leaves the 
 gentle murmur of the orange-scented wind the 
 sweet warble of the fountain the dash of the leaping 
 streamlet the coo of the dove in the black pine the 
 song of the gondolier the low sound of the distant 
 oar the echoes from unseen lands mixed with 
 the solemn music of the ocean, and came, borne on 
 the laughing zephyr, to the enraptured ear, like the 
 concert of elysium ; whilst, at intervals, the noble 
 melody of the concealed nightingale burst through
 
 166 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 the air like the music of a superior angel soaring 
 over the witching choir of all-perfect heaven. But 
 the fascinating harmony charmed not the ear of 
 Balvelsio ; it stirred no chord in his heart, it opened 
 no spring of love. And now a wild screech came 
 from the woods, and was answered in echo from 
 every hidden cavern. 
 
 " Ha ! (cried he, starting from his reverie) the 
 owls are screaming, they warn me to be gone. The 
 shadow of the night is falling over all ; in half an 
 hour every object will be invisible. The clouds are 
 forming, and will hide the face of the moon I 
 want no light !" 
 
 He stole softly from the court yard, and glided 
 into the darkness without ; he walked down to the 
 shore, and paced to and fro upon the sand banks. 
 The waves broke at his feet, and the call of the 
 sea-bird hung upon the whispering breeze. Awhile 
 he paced the shore, apparently in deep thought, 
 then, suddenly starting, he moved quickly towards 
 some rocks, which raised their bosoms above the 
 level sand ; he entered beneath the shelving stone, 
 and took his way along a narrow passage between 
 the immense crags. This passage led into the 
 forest. He shot like a spectre beneath the branches, 
 and moved, with the sure step of an Indian, along 
 the intricate way. He was surrounded by one wide 
 sheet of darkness ; eveiy object was nearly invisible; 
 but well did he know the forest, he made no false
 
 LLOUVORKO. 167 
 
 step, but strode on, like the demon of the woods, 
 through the dreary hollows. 
 
 At length he suddenly turned, and moved in 
 another direction. The roar of the torrents fell 
 upon the stillness of the night, joined with the hoot 
 of the owl, and the melancholy wailing of the wind 
 as it swept past the trunks of the trees, and flitted 
 through the wide mouthed caverns. Here and 
 there a solitary glow-worm shone like a star through 
 the darkness, and from the low lake occasionally 
 sprung the shrill pipe of some great water fowl. 
 
 "I wonder if he's arrived, (said he) I'm close 
 upon the fountain. Should he have left it? 'tis 
 past the hour. I took a longer round than I had 
 intended, but the precaution was necessary. I have 
 eluded the vigilance of any one who felt inclined to 
 track my steps. I'm surrounded by foul knaves! 
 Ha ! what's that ? Pshaw ! some startled fox ! The 
 gloom of this place unnerves one a little." 
 
 He was now close to the grey stones of the 
 fountain ; he threw his eyes in every direction, 
 but they met not what they looked for ; he 
 tried to pierce with his sight the heavy darkness; 
 he crept round the trees, and called upon Shirwalto, 
 but no answer was returned. 
 
 " Hath the dog not arrived ? (said he) Ha ! am I 
 foiled ! He's perhaps in the fountain." 
 
 He moved with caution to the top of the old 
 steps, and listened attentively ; nothing met his ear
 
 168 I.LOUVORKO. 
 
 save the hollow moan of the wind within the sub- 
 terranean passages ; he gazed down into the cavity, 
 but saw naught save impenetrable blackness; he 
 called upon his name, but echo only replied. 
 
 " By heaven ! this is unaccountable ! He may be 
 in one of the passages below I'll descend." 
 
 He crept softly down the slippery steps, every 
 now and then staying to listen, and repeating in a 
 low whisper his name, but still all remained silent. 
 When he had got to the bottom of the steps, a faint 
 light fell upon his vision, it played upon the 
 mouldering wall, and seemed to come from another 
 passage further on. 
 
 " Ha ! a light ! Are there spies in the vault ? 
 Have I been watched ? I must be wary I must be 
 invisible ! It may be the traitor who released 
 Llouvorko !" 
 
 He drew his dagger, crept cautiously to the end 
 of the passage, arid gazed from behind the pro- 
 jecting wall down the other passage, from which 
 the light seemed to proceed, and at the very ex- 
 tremity of it beheld a man seated upon a stone 
 smoking a pipe, with his back towards him ; his 
 person was screened from view by a great cloak, 
 and the brim of his hat was so large as entirely to 
 screen his neck and the side of his face. 
 
 " Some damned spy ! (said Balvelsio, creeping 
 along the passage like a tiger intent upon its prey) 
 I'll disturb his thoughts with a foot of cold steel !
 
 LLOUVORKO. IC)9 
 
 Some clog from the castle, planning schemes to 
 release the prisoners again ! Traitor, thy master's 
 near thee !" 
 
 He had proceeded about half way along the 
 passage, when (lie man moved his legs, and seemed 
 about to rise. Balvelsio sprung into a recess in the 
 wall, and watched, with the eye of a serpent, every 
 movement of his unsuspecting victim. The man 
 replenished his pipe, and again commenced smoking, 
 without once turning his head. 
 
 " Another moment, (said Balvelsio, starting from 
 his hiding place), and the smoke of hell will curl 
 around your howling soul !" 
 
 He moved rapidly forwards, with step noiseless 
 as the moth, till he came within four yards of the 
 man ; his dagger was raised, and he was about to 
 plunge it with all his force into his back, when he 
 suddenly turned his head, and disclosed to the 
 astounded Count the swarthy face of Shirwalto. 
 
 " Hell ! (gasped Balvelsio) is it thee ?" 
 
 Shirwalto seeing the Count with open mouth and 
 unsheathed dirk, sprung to his feet, fell back a few 
 paces and drew his sword, saying, 
 
 " Was it to be mnrdered you wished me to come 
 here ? By heaven, 'twas a fortunate turn ! Another 
 moment and your assassin steel would have been in 
 my heart, I suppose ! How now Count ? how's 
 this ?" 
 
 " Put up your sword man ! a mistake a mistake 
 a curs'd mistake! I took you for the traitor who 
 released the prisoners !"
 
 170 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " What mean ye ?" 
 
 " How came you to have a light ? and how came 
 you to penetrate so far into the vaults ? I told you 
 to wait upon the steps." 
 
 " To wait upon the steps ! Why I waited a full 
 hour, and in darkness too ! Do you think I've no 
 more feeling than the oaks of the forest ? I struck 
 a light, and for fear of it attracting any one, came 
 into the passage." 
 
 " Ay, and it nearly proved your grave. But the 
 evil's missed. Do you think there are any spies 
 lurking about ?" 
 
 " Tis not likely." 
 
 " Heard you any noise ?" 
 
 " All's been still as death since I entered." 
 
 " Ever since the release of those prisoners, I look 
 upon every one as a traitor. Heavens ! should 
 there be a spy concealed in these arches 1" 
 
 " Pshaw !" 
 
 " Should our steps have been followed ! Did you 
 glide cautiously through the wood ? No one was 
 on your trail? Ha! No lurking spy crept with 
 noiseless step at your heels ?" 
 
 " Thou'rt grown as timid as a moon-struck 
 maiden !" 
 
 " What ! when I find my strong prisons broken, 
 and my prisoners set free when I see men, on 
 whose captivity my very existence depended, roam- 
 ing at large in the forest by moonlight when I see 
 two captives who were confined in separate cells, 
 and divided by bars, chain?, huge stone work, and
 
 LLOUVORKO. 171 
 
 numerous subterranean passages, bursting through 
 all, and coining together and when I see all my 
 domestics, jailors, and guards, smiling and fawning 
 upon me, is it not time to wear the eye of the 
 serpent ? is it not time to cast around the gaze of 
 scrutiny? is it not time to look upon all with 
 strong suspicion ? Harkee, Shinvalto, dost know 
 why I called thee ?" 
 
 " Not I." 
 
 " To murder !" 
 
 " Murder !" 
 
 " Ay, murder ! Just to draw out the spirit from a 
 little filthy clay, to fatten the earth with some more 
 blood I speak out, my friend, I speak out. No 
 mincing of sentences, no coughing, and humming, 
 and sighing, and speaking of the honour of the 
 nation, the warning to others, the just punishment 
 of crime, the hard necessity, and such like trash, 
 which the vile governors, and high-bred murderers 
 of the earth are so fond of." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! Well, well, who's the victim ?" 
 
 " Softly, Shirwalto, softly ! These rotten walls 
 waft sounds like the sea. Should there be any 
 crouchers in the recesses ?" 
 
 " He seized the lamp, and hurried backwards and 
 forwards in the passage, holding the light in every 
 crevice, and casting his eyes in every direction. 
 
 " We seem to be alone, (said he) come hither, 
 Shirwalto. Llouvorko ! he dies to night ! This 
 night his body must lie in the earth !"
 
 172 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 "Llouvorko die to night! 'Tis sudden, Balvelsio! 
 'tis sudden !" 
 
 " It must be done ! What noise is that ?" 
 
 " The wind, the wind." 
 
 " Ay, it must be done, and you are the man that's 
 to do it." 
 
 " I the man ?" 
 
 " You alone can I trust !" 
 
 "But to night! why have it done to night? 
 Thou'rt hasty ! thou'rt hasty !" 
 
 " I cannot rest whilst he lives. What ! dost want 
 our bodies brought to the rack ? Why hesitate ? 
 Dost lack courage ?" 
 
 " Pshaw ! How can it be accomplished ?" 
 
 " Whilst he sleeps ay, whilst he sleeps." 
 
 " He'll sleep none to night." 
 
 " Well, well, what if he's awake ? he's chained." 
 
 " But his eyes are not chained. By heaven, I 
 could not face them !" 
 
 " What ! art turned woman ? Is thine heart of 
 iron waxing tender ? Doth that hand, which hath 
 drawn the blood of so many, tremble before a 
 whining boy ? Art thou Shirwalto ?" 
 
 " Your fears have blinded your reason. It re- 
 quires a cool head to plan an affair like this." 
 
 " He must die !" 
 
 " But to night is not a fitting time." 
 
 " How ?" 
 
 "There's no fear of him slipping his chains again. 
 Have you not guards over him, men whom we
 
 LLOUVORKO. 173 
 
 can trust ? Be not rash it is a deed that must 
 never see the light it must be done in the most 
 secret manner I would not have even Lambremo 
 or Belando know of it." 
 
 " I can call them off guard for a minute or two, 
 whilst you enter the cell." 
 
 " The deed shall never be done by me." 
 
 "Ha!" 
 
 " This hand shall never draw his blood ! It is a 
 dirty job, and I look a little above it. I've done 
 such a thing in my time, but I never liked it. I 
 would rather face a man openly in combat." 
 
 " By heaven, Tm deceived in thee ! Do you see 
 no necessity for his death ?" 
 
 " He were better dead than living for us. Dead 
 men are harmless objects." 
 
 " Let him die then ! Would you keep a serpent 
 in your dwelling who might any moment sting you 
 to death ? You will do this for me, Shirwalto ? I 
 know you will you know that I well reward my 
 servants you will do it ?" 
 
 Not I." 
 
 " Fool !" 
 
 " Can you get no one to do a thing of this sort 
 but me ? You've a hard heart and a strong arm 
 do it yourself, Balvelsio, do it yourself." 
 
 " I would rather face the devil than that stripling! 
 I never could accomplish it, his face haunts me 
 like a spectre ; there's something in his look that 
 freezes the marrow in my bones !"
 
 17 t LLOl'VOKKO. 
 
 " There's a man in the gang whom I can trust, 
 and he shall do it." 
 
 " Can you trust him ?" 
 
 " Ay, by heaven !" 
 
 "But 'twill spread to the rest he'll tell of it." 
 
 " Not a word, not a word ; I could trust him with 
 anght." 
 
 " But it must be done to night this very night. 
 Another day must not dawn upon him." 
 
 " 'Tis everlasting night where he is ; the day 
 never dawns upon that dungeon." 
 
 " The night of death must close upon him the 
 long night of death ! Where is the man ?" 
 
 " I know not." 
 
 "Ha!" 
 
 " How should I know ? He's on the prowl in the 
 woods." 
 
 " Didst thou not say that he could do it ? 
 
 " Ay, hut not to night." 
 
 a Come, come, Shirwalto, throw from thee this 
 foolish fear grasp thy dagger follow me to the 
 castle, and by the holy saints, you shall have cause 
 to rejoice. Whatever sum you wish speak but the 
 word I care not what it is I swear by heaven 
 you shall be paid it !" 
 
 " To morrow night, when the castle clock strikes 
 twelve, come to this passage, and you will find the 
 man I spoke of ready for action. I will accompany 
 him, but mark me, will have no hand in the 
 butchering part of the affair."
 
 uKo. 175 
 
 " Hath he nerve ?" 
 
 " Ay, for grappling- with a fiend." 
 
 " I would not have any groaning or struggling ; 
 instantaneous death ; the seat of life must be reached 
 at once." 
 
 " He's let the soul out of a body before 
 to-day. I would not give a copper ring for his 
 life after Plomargo hath been one minute in his 
 company." 
 
 " Suppose in his drunkenness, when his tongue 
 shakes loosely, he should blab of it to the gang ; 
 I might as well placard the deed on the walls of 
 Florence. Brigands are the last men I'd trust with 
 a secret of consequence; they're always in frays, 
 and liable to be struck down by the enemy, then 
 comes a whining monk from a convent, who tortures 
 the departing spirit so with his hypocritical cant, 
 that he confesses all. Then come the blood hounds 
 down upon our ambush then follow chains, torture, 
 and death upon the wheel. By heaven I like not 
 to trust him 1" 
 
 " I'll answer for his honour in as far as that is 
 concerned. He's subtle as the adder I durst leave 
 my life in his keeping." 
 
 " You see the necessity of caution a single false 
 step may ruin us." 
 
 " I know pretty well how to work affairs of this 
 sort. How have I been able to elude the iron arm 
 of the law else ? How have I escaped the chains 
 and the gibbet ? Have the dogs ever been able to
 
 176 LLOLVOKK6. 
 
 touch the hem of my robe ? Hath an ignominious 
 chain ever bound these wrists ? Hath a dungeon 
 ever closed over this body? No, by heaven ! I've 
 plundered castles carried off maidens stayed the 
 life-pulse of old dotards given soothing cordials to 
 love sick swains disposed of obnoxious heirs re- 
 moved dull husbands from delicate sensitive ladies, 
 and given them in their stead noble cavaliers full of 
 love and vigour released nuns from their prison 
 houses forced virgins into the cloister who would 
 fain have remained in the world and have prowled 
 these forests for thirty years as a bandit, and never 
 yet have the law-sharks been able to finger me ! Ha, 
 ha! I'm an old wolf, Balvelsio ! I've been of vast 
 service to the nobility Ay, ay, the gold-robed ca- 
 valiers who hold their heads so high, and seem to 
 the world the very stars of honour, owe most of their 
 good fortune to me. But they filled my coffers ; a 
 stream of gold flowed around me. There is nothing 
 like a remover of obnoxious persons ; the rewards 
 are noble." 
 
 " I can trust you, Shirwalto, I can trust you ! 
 When will you bring the man ?" 
 
 " Two hours after sun set you will find me in this 
 passage. We can reach the cavern through the 
 vaults under the castle." 
 
 " Mark me, come not before midnight ; let the 
 bell of the castle have tolled the twelvth hour before 
 you set foot in the passage. All must be still, not a 
 sound must be stirring in the building. To avoid
 
 LLOUVORKO. 177 
 
 suspicion I will retire early to my chamber, but at 
 the stroke of twelve will meet you here ; then, un- 
 seen by all save the owls and bats, we can do the 
 deed, and hide from the world for ever the spring 
 of all my misery." 
 
 " Let it be so." 
 
 Shirwalto left the spot, and disappeared in the 
 darkness of the forest, whilst Balvelsio returned to 
 the castle through the subterranean passages. 
 
 The following night, when the inmates of the 
 building had retired to rest, and no sound was heard 
 save the low moaning of the wind as it played 
 amongst the turrets, Balvelsio, like a grim demon, 
 crept from his lair, and stole with quiet step through 
 the galleries and halls of the immense fabric, to the 
 vaults. He appeared like the foul enemy of man- 
 kind visiting in the silent night the homes of men, 
 seeking for a victim. He carried a small lamp, 
 whose feeble gleam played upon the great pillars 
 and winding stair cases by which he passed ; and 
 the shadow of his body, enlarged to an immense 
 size, rested upon the lofty walls and ceilings. All 
 was wrapped in impenetrable darkness save where 
 the light of the taper fell ; and at the extremity of 
 the rays, where they were sw r allowed by the dark- 
 ness, the gradations of shadow formed into strange 
 fantastic shapes ; the different objects, just discern- 
 able through the misty light, appeared like hideous 
 spectres scowling upon the passer, who moved with 
 slow and regular step along the silent halls. At
 
 178 LLOUVOIIKO. 
 
 length he reached the secret door which communi- 
 cated with the hidden vaults : he turned slowly 
 round, and cast his eyes in every direction, seeming 
 to fear the presence of some spy, but nothing living 
 met his gaze all was silent as death." 
 
 " I'm unobserved, (said he ). The torpor of sleep 
 rests upon the eyelids of all. When this Llouvorko's 
 down, no fears will rack me I'll rest secure my 
 brother, too, will soon be with the dead he cannot 
 linger long." 
 
 He again cast his eyes around, and gazed ear- 
 nestly into every recess, but nothing met his vision 
 save walls and darkness ; he touched a small spring 
 and a door flew quickly back, through which he 
 passed ; he moved along the damp vaults and wind- 
 ing passages until he came to the one in which 
 he had met Shirwalto on the preceding night ; he 
 gazed around, but nothing met his sight save the 
 mouldering stones ; he was not there. 
 
 " Ha ! not arrived! (said he) But it yet wants a 
 few minutes of the stroke. He's perhaps concealed 
 in some of the arches/' 
 
 He examined them, but saw no one. He paced 
 backwards and forwards, occasionally stopping to 
 listen as distant sounds fell upon his ear. 
 
 " Doth he fail ? (at length he said) Oh ! by 
 heaven, but he shall rue this !" 
 
 He moved quickly along the passage, entered the 
 fountain, ascended the steps, and looked out into 
 the forest, which lay slumbering beneath the soft
 
 LLOUVOKKO. 179 
 
 light of a j list arisen moon; the tops of the trees 
 were tipped with her wan beam, and the distant 
 cataracts shone like liquid silver. But Balvelsio's 
 eyes rested not upon the beauties of the night, they 
 sought other objects ; he tried to strain his vision 
 through the shadow that clothed the trunks of the 
 trees ; he cast his eyes rapidly around, but they saw 
 not Shirwalto. He was returning into the fountain, 
 when he heard a rustling amongst the bushes, 
 and turning suddenly round, beheld him standing 
 amongst the trees within five yards of him. 
 
 " You're past the time, (said Balvelsio.) Why how 
 is this? Why keep me so long in agony? I've 
 been stalking through the darkness like a ghost 
 for the last half hour ! Follow me into the vaults. 
 Have you brought the man ?" 
 
 " He s at hand." 
 
 " Follow quickly ." 
 
 Balvelsio hurried into the vaults. Shirwalto 
 gave a low whistle, and instantly a man crept from 
 amongst the brushwood; he was muffled up in a 
 cloak which entirely covered his face. Shirwalto 
 whispered a few words in his ear ; they then followed 
 Balvelsio into the fountain. 
 
 " Was all quiet in the forest? (asked the 
 Count, as Shirwalto joined him in the passage). 
 You saw no lurkers ? No spies stealing among the 
 trees ?" - 
 
 " Not a soul crossed our path."
 
 180 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " I'm fearful of a surprise. Saw you no lights in 
 the castle as you passed ?" 
 
 " All was in darkness." 
 
 " No window, no loop hole sent forth a ray ?" 
 
 "All was dark." 
 
 " Shirwalto, can you trust that man ? Is he 
 faithful." 
 
 " He's my bravest worthiest follower He's an 
 inestimable gem he's to me what I am to you, a 
 faithful servant that would lay down his life for his 
 master." 
 
 " I see nothing but his eyes and they are full of 
 the devil's fire. I doubt not but he'll do it effectu- 
 ally." 
 
 " No fear, no fear." 
 
 " He'll likely be asleep." 
 
 " It will be the easier done." 
 
 " But if it should so happen that he's awake, how 
 will he manage to dispatch him ?" (asked Balvelsio). 
 
 " How will he manage ? Why, walk coolly up to 
 him and cut his throat as he would a sheep's. The 
 fellow's cool in affairs of this kind ; he's like a cat, 
 he loves to torture his victims before he dispatches 
 them ; plays with the nerves and arteries a little 
 with the point of his dagger. He was formerly a 
 torturer to the inquisition, and know's where the 
 sensitive parts lay." 
 
 " Let us lose not a moment, but instantly to the 
 cavern."
 
 LLOUVORKO. 181 
 
 " Is Belando on guard ? How shall we draw 
 him from his post ?'' (asked Shirwalto). 
 
 " I put him on another watch at sunset." 
 
 " The cell's unguarded then." 
 
 " Except by chains and bars." 
 
 " 'Tis better ; we shall be unobserved." 
 
 " You know the way to the cavern. I'll remain 
 in this passage until it's over," (said Balvelsio). 
 
 " Will you not accompany us ?'' 
 
 " No." 
 
 "You have no occasion to enter his cell. You 
 and I will remain beneath the rocks while Plomargo 
 enters." 
 
 " I'll remain here." 
 
 " You had better see it done, at least you had 
 better witness the body carried out, so that there 
 may be naught unpleasant afterwards." 
 
 " I can trust you. Begone ! begone ! But stay, 
 here are the keys of the chains which bind his 
 limbs ; when his breath is gone, unlock them ; let 
 the man carry out the body and bury it in the wood- 
 You can return through the passages to me." 
 
 Shirwalto and Plomargo left Balvelsio. They 
 moved cautiously through the dismal vaults, and 
 gloomy passages, until they came to tbe great 
 cavern in which was Llouvorko's dungeon. 
 
 " Mark me, Plomargo, (said Shirwalto, when 
 they had approached within twenty yards of the 
 prison.) Let there be no groaning or struggling. 
 I would have the deed clone at once. Strike him
 
 182 LLOUYORKO. 
 
 in the most vital part ; leave him not strength sufficient 
 to create a sigh. I would not have him kept a 
 moment in unnecessary pain, for he's a brave lad, 
 and I feel more reluctance to the deed than any I 
 was ever engaged in. But necessity demands it. 
 Whilst he lives there's no safety either for Balvelsio 
 or myself, nay, our noble band would be swept from 
 the earth. Is your heart stout to night ? is your 
 hand steady ?" 
 
 "Steady as a rock. I'll have his heart split in 
 the turn of an eye." 
 
 " Take a sure aim ; no second thrust ; one blow 
 must do the business. Let me look at your dagger. 
 This dagger's but weak, and the edge is poor. 
 Take this one, 'tis stronger, and hath an edge like a 
 lancet. You cannot fail with this weapon. When 
 you've done the deed, cany him out into the forest, 
 and bury him." 
 
 " Will you not help to put the earth over him?'' 
 (asked the man.) 
 
 " No, no. I'll return through the vaults to the 
 Count. You'll do it with little labour in one 
 of the dark dells where the ground is soft and 
 rotten. And here are the keys of the chains which 
 bind him; when he's dead unfasten them, and 
 make as little noise as possible. I'll remain in 
 this recess." 
 
 Shirwalto retired beneath the rocks, and Plomargo 
 moved stealthily to the cell of the hapless Llou 
 vorko. He listened for a moment or two, and
 
 LLOUVORKO. 183 
 
 then began slowly to remove the bars ; he turned 
 the bolts of the heavy locks, and the door, with a 
 harsh sound, moved slowly back. He stayed a 
 minute or two after it was opened before he entered; 
 at length he peeped cautiously into the apartment, 
 and then muttered in a low voice, he sleeps ! 
 
 He drew forth the dagger, and crept into the 
 gloomy vault; the small light he bore cast a faint 
 sickly gleam, and disclosed the form of Llouvorko 
 stretched upon a heap of straw in one corner of 
 the cell, apparently in sleep. The man gazed upon 
 him for a moment with the eye of a rattle snake, 
 then made a sudden bound with the intent of driving 
 the steel into his heart, but his foot caught against 
 an iron ring which protruded from the floor, he lost 
 his balance, fell with all his weight upon Llouvorko, 
 and the dagger which was intended for his heart 
 was thrust several inches into the ground. 
 
 Llouvorko awoke, and perceiving the swarthy 
 villain laying across him with an unsheathed dagger, 
 discovered in a moment his object that he came to 
 murder him so, exerting all his strength, he seized 
 the struggling assassin by the throat, and hurled 
 him down with all his force ; but he fought 
 desperately, and strove to release his hand which 
 grasped the dagger ; at length he partly disen- 
 gaged it, and Llouvorko felt the cold steel passing 
 through his shoulder; he made a mighty effort, 
 and by a sudden turn of his body, succeeded in 
 getting the chain which was fastened to his wrist,
 
 184 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 round the bravo's neck, who, finding himself 
 nearly choked, struggled so dreadfully, that Llou- 
 vorko was thrown over him, and the chain drawn 
 tighter ; he let go the dagger, and, in the agony 
 of suffocation seized Llouvorko with both hands 
 round the neck and drew his head to his body 
 with such terrible force as nearly to dislocate the 
 joint. Llouvorko almost smothered, relinquished 
 his hold of the assassin's throat, and the fiend was 
 just upon the point of rising, when Llouvorko's hand, 
 as it reached the ground, accidentally fell upon the 
 dagger he had dropped ; he seized it, and with all 
 his strength plunged it into the body of the monster, 
 a heavy groan burst from his throat. Llouvorko 
 repeated the blow again and again, saying, 
 
 " Ha ! devil, thou'st met with thy master ! He's 
 been commissioned by Balvelsio to murder me ! I 
 wonder if there are any waiting without! if not, I 
 might escape in his clothes. But I am fettered ! 
 oh ! could I but unfasten these chains ! 'tis impossi- 
 ble ! oh ! heaven ! 'tis impossible !" 
 
 He tried to unfasten the locks with the dagger ; 
 he thrust the point into the key-holes ; he tried to 
 prize off the facings, but found it was impracticable. 
 He threw himself upon the earth in despair, and 
 groaned in agony. At length he started up as if a 
 sudden thought had struck him. 
 
 " Ha ! they never intended that I should remain 
 here to rot after death ; for their own safety they
 
 LLOUVORKO. 185 
 
 would have buried me; and doubtless the assassin 
 hath the keys of my chains about his person." 
 
 He searched the dead man, and found the keys 
 suspended from his belt. 
 
 " They're here ! great heaven, they're here !'' 
 
 He freed himself from the fetters, took off his 
 clothes, put on those of the robber, and then dressed 
 the corse in those he had cast off. 
 
 "I wonder if there's any more of the infernal 
 gang in the cavern, (said he). It will require the 
 utmost care to avoid detection. Should I fail this 
 time my death's inevitable ! But I have the villain's 
 dagger, and, by heaven, whoever molests me shall 
 feel it ! I'll never again be taken into captivity, 
 I'll fall before their swords first ! I'll creep to the 
 door, which I perceive is partly open, and see if 
 there is any one in the cavern." 
 
 He wrapped the bravo's cloak around him, drew 
 the collar well over his face, moved with noiseless 
 step to the door, and was just stepping into the 
 cavern, when he perceived, within four yards of 
 him, the form of Shirwalto. The blood rushed 
 from his heart, and he nearly fell to the earth ; he 
 turned slowly round, with the intention of returning 
 into the dungeon, when Shirwalto asked in a low 
 voice, 
 
 " Is the deed done ? Is he down ?" 
 
 Llouvorko perceiving himself not discovered, re- 
 plied in a whisper, so that his voice might not 
 betray him,
 
 186 tLOUVORKO. 
 
 " He's dead !" 
 
 " I could have finished off a dozen by this time ! j 
 (said Shirwalto) Bring out the body lose not a 
 moment I have opened the cavern door." 
 
 Llouvorko returned into the cell, placed the dead 
 man upon his shoulders, and stepped into the 
 cavern ; Shirwalto led him to the door. 
 
 " Bury him in the deepest part of the wood, (said 
 he). Leave no mark, but cover the grave well over 
 with brambles and leaves." 
 
 Llouvorko passed through the door into the 
 forest, and Shirwalto returned to Balvelsio in the 
 passage.
 
 LLOUVORKO. 187 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 What sounds are creeping on the cold night air ? 
 Hark! hark! 
 
 IT was late the following night, not a sound stole 
 through the castle ; the inmates had all retired to 
 rest. Nothing was heard but the baying of the 
 blood hound in the court yard, and the chime of the 
 great bell as it tolled the quarters. At this silent 
 hour, two persons were stealing cautiously along 
 the deep passages which lay under the building; 
 one was an old white haired man, who carried a 
 small lamp, the other a delicate maiden. They 
 were Silerto and Plesina. 
 
 "Keep thy heart up, sweet lady, (said Silerto) 
 we shall shortly be free from this obnoxious place ; 
 we shall soon be at the door I spoke of." 
 
 . " Alas ! dear friend, I tremble with dread ! Should 
 they surprise us ! Ah ! should they have dis- 
 covered our escape ! 
 
 " 'Tis impossible. Every one in the castle is in 
 the anus of sleep. There is no danger, believe me. 
 'Tis impossible our escape can be known."
 
 188 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 " Jesu protect me ! what is that I hear ? There is 
 some one in pursuit !" 
 
 " No, no ; 'tis merely the wind in the vaults. 
 Give not way to fear. Lean on my arm, dear lady ; 
 I'll conduct you to liberty." 
 
 " What frightful vaults. Are we in the inquisi- 
 tion ?" 
 
 "These are the prisons of the tyrant Balvelsio. 
 Do you see those small doors ? there pine the 
 victims of oppression ; in those narrow cells groan 
 wretched beings for liberty and light." 
 
 " Hark ! do you not hear faint groans ?" 
 
 " They come from the prisons. Poor wretches ! 
 Oh ! that I could release ye from your misery ! Let 
 us hasten, lady." 
 
 " Have we much further to go ?" 
 
 " When we have passed those prisons, a very few 
 minutes will bring us to the door which communi- 
 cates with the forest." 
 
 " I fancy I hear noises in the distance !" 
 
 "'Tis merely the wind." 
 
 They had now reached the first of the .prison 
 doors, and were proceeding cautiously past them, 
 when Silerto suddenly stopped, and gazed forward 
 with starting eye-balls, whilst his lips quivered, and 
 large drops of sweat rolled from his wrinkled' brow. 
 Plesina clung to him for support, and kept asking 
 in a voice of agony, " What is it ? what is it !" But 
 Silerto spoke not, but kept his eyes rivetted upon 
 the object which had attracted him. This was the
 
 LLOUVORKO. 189 
 
 figure of a man, upright and stiff as a pillar, who 
 stood against one of the prison doors ; so still was 
 he that he appeared part of the building. His 
 sight rested upon the ground as if he had not 
 perceived their approach. Silerto turned slowly 
 round with the intention of proceeding down 
 another passage, but no sooner was his back turned, 
 than the strange man rushed like a wolf from its 
 lair upon him, and seized him violently by the 
 collar. Silerto turned his head, and saw before him 
 the demonic features of Lambremo, whom Balvelsio 
 had ordered to watch beside the old Count's 
 prison. 
 
 "Ha! old devil! have I caught thee!" (said 
 Lambremo) and as he spoke he squeezed Silerto's 
 neck so violently as nearly to choke him ; he tried 
 to speak, but his mouth filled with froth ; his hand 
 fell upon the handle of his dirk, he drew it forth, 
 and plunged it into Lambremo's heart, who fell to 
 the earth and expired. 
 
 " Thank heaven ! (cried Silerto, when he'd re- 
 covered his speech) thank heaven ! Fear not, lady ! 
 the villain's dead! See, he's now as harmless as 
 this rock. We're safe ! we're safe ! another minute 
 and we shall be in the forest. Poor dear ! how you 
 tremble ! Lean on my arm, sweet lady. Nothing 
 shall harm you ! I feel my old arm s trong as a 
 giant's !" 
 
 They were moving swiftly forward, when a voice
 
 l!K) LLOUVORKO. 
 
 fell upon their ears ; it seemed to come from the 
 cell which Lambremo had guarded. 
 
 " Who passes the dens of the wretched ? (said 
 the voice). Who is it thit uses the words of 
 gentleness and peace, so long a stranger to these 
 wretched ears ? Art come to save me ? Oh ! burst 
 this iron cage ! Oh ! burst it ! kind being let me 
 free ! I die ! I die ! Leave not a fellow man to 
 perish thus !" 
 
 " Heavens ! I should know that voice ! (said 
 Silerto, stepping up to the door) W r ho art thou ? 
 speak. I surely know thy voice." 
 
 " A dying wretch ! Release me, friend, release 
 me !" 
 
 " How long hast thou been confined ?'' 
 
 " For years for long black years !'' 
 
 " Ha ! What is thy name ? Tell me quickly." 
 
 '" Count Bulenzo." 
 
 " Count Bulenzo ! Oh! merciful God! my old 
 master ! Heaven and earth ! and art thou still 
 alive ! and in a dungeon ! I am Silerto, thy old 
 servant ! I will release thee if it be possible." 
 
 " What ! Silerto here ? (said the voice) my valued 
 friend of yore ! Great God! I thank thee !" 
 
 " How shall I get you out of this horrid den ? 
 Lambremo hath doubtless got the keys about him 
 I'll search They're here ! they're here ? Thou'rt 
 free ! thou'rt free ! I'll set thee free, my dear mas- 
 ter ! I'll set thee free !"
 
 LLOUVORKO. 1D1 
 
 Silcrto unfastened the prison door, and in the 
 next moment they were locked in each others 
 arms. 
 
 " And do I see thee thus, dear master ! Oh ! 
 Almighty heaven !" 
 
 "One word, Silerto Tell me of my wife what 
 was her fate ? Ah ! tell me ! tell me 1" 
 
 "Alas! alas!" 
 
 " Come ! tell me all Keep nothing: from me." 
 
 " She fell a victim to thy mortal foe !'* 
 
 " Great God ! my brother ?" 
 
 " Too true ! too true !" 
 
 " Oh ! God ! forgive him ! What a heart !-Oh ! 
 what a soul ! And is she dead ?" 
 
 " She died of a broken heart!" 
 
 " My poor Ebeina !" 
 
 " This maiden hath been imprisoned by the 
 monster. I was conveying her. to liberty when our 
 progress was arrested by your guard. Behold the 
 villain's down this withered arm dispatched him." 
 
 " What is the maiden's name ?" 
 
 "Plesina." 
 
 " Ha !" 
 
 " Count Griliscio's daughter. 
 
 " Griliscio's daughter ? What ! my old friend's 
 child ? my son's betrothed ? Come to my arms, 
 thou dear one !" 
 
 " Hark ! Do you hear nothing ? (said Silerto, 
 stepping hastily up to Count Bulenzo, who had his
 
 192 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 arras thrown around the trembling Plesina) Hark 
 there ! I hear approaching footsteps ! Hasten ! 
 hasten! follow me or all will he lost! 'Tis the 
 tyrant." 
 
 They moved rapidly along the passage, but had 
 not proceeded twenty yards, ere they heard a terrible 
 voice calling out, " Stop traitors ! stop !" and in the 
 next instant a red flame flashed upon the wall. 
 Plesina uttered a loud shriek, and fell to the earth, 
 just as two huge ruffians rushed from a side passage, 
 with drawn swords and faces black with fury. 
 Silerto raised his eyes, and saw before him the 
 dreadful countenances of Balvelsio and Shirwalto. 
 
 " Ha ! have I found thee, traitor ! (roared Bal- 
 velsio, the fire of hell flashing from his starting 
 eyes,) have I found thee, traitor!" 
 
 And he seized hold of Silerto, lifted him from 
 the earth, and was just about to dash him with all 
 his might against the projecting wall, when his eyes 
 fell upon his brother. His face turned ashy white, 
 large di'ops of icy sweat stood upon his brow, and 
 he trembled in every limb ; he let Silerto fall to the 
 earth uninjured, and stood gazing upon his brother's 
 ghastly face with an eye of horror. Just at this 
 moment a dull heavy sound was heard, something 
 like the roll of distant thunder. Shirwalto raised 
 his eyes in amazement ; he tried to arouse Balvelsio, 
 but he stood rivetted to the spot. Other noises now 
 echoed through the vaults, like the sound of hurried
 
 LLOUVORKO. 193 
 
 footsteps mixed with eager shouts and the rattling 
 of arms. 
 
 " By heaven, Balvclsio, (said Shirwalto), the 
 castle's stormed !" 
 
 He shook him violently, calling out, " The 
 soldiers ! the soldiers !" Balvelsio turned his head, 
 and cast upon Shirwalto a fixed and earnest stare. 
 It seemed as if he'd been suddenly deprived of 
 reason. 
 
 " Nay, then, die fool !" And so saying, Shirwalto 
 darted along the passage, but ere he'd proceeded 
 thirty yards, a body of soldiers were seen rapidly 
 advancing, with Llouvorko and Count Griliscio at 
 their head. The scared bandit suddenly turned, and 
 fled in another direction, but was seized and 
 pinioned by some other soldiers who were coming up 
 another passage. 
 
 " Ha ! (roared Balvelsio,) is the legion of hell let 
 loose upon me!" 
 
 " Seize him, soldiers, (exclaimed Count Griliscio, 
 for Llouvorko was bending over the senseless form 
 of Plesina,) seize the hell- wolf !" 
 
 The soldiers rushed up to Balvelsio, but ere they 
 could secure him, he had buried his dagger in his 
 heart, and he fell upon the earth lifeless. Plesina 
 had been restored, and she now lay in Llouvorko's 
 arms, with her face hjd in his bosom ; f their 
 rapture was too great for utterance. The old Count, 
 Griliscio, and Silerto, shed tears of joy, and thanked
 
 191 LLOUVORKO. 
 
 Almighty God for their happy deliverance. Shir- 
 walto died upon the rack. Llouvorko and Plesina 
 were united in the sweet bands of wedlock, which 
 were doubly sweet after the great sufferings they 
 had endured ; and the old Count took possession of 
 his castle, and lived many years in happiness and 
 peace, broken only by one pang the fate of his 
 poor unfortunate Ebeina. 
 
 END OF LLOUVORKO.
 
 SONGS OF TIIK VALLEY.
 
 SONGS OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 THE MAIDEN'S SPIRIT. 
 
 SWEET spirits flit down thro' the ambient air, 
 Leave your crystal abodes where the far stars are 
 
 gleaming, 
 
 Come down from the moon, from the planets ; repair 
 To this wild shadow'd valley where twilight is 
 
 dreaming, 
 For a pure maiden's spirit beneath these pale 
 
 willows 
 
 Is waiting, is waiting for ye 
 To bear it away to the land of the blest, 
 
 The spotless, the just, and the free, 
 Where heart-broken lovers alone find their rest. 
 Haste ! haste! happy spirits', the star's o'er the sea.
 
 198 
 
 It is the hour, it is the hour 
 When happy spirits meet 
 To bear unto the heav'nly bow'r 
 
 A lovely maiden sweet. 
 The flash of the billow, the ray of the star, 
 Will light her sweet way thro' the welkin afar, 
 And meteors of heaven will stream round her car. 
 
 We come, Oh ! we come from the isles of the blest ! 
 
 The poor maiden's sorrows for ever are over ; 
 
 In the bosom of angels she ever will rest ; 
 
 She'll leave this cold earth and her false hearted 
 
 lover ; 
 And a bright wreath of glory shall play o'er her 
 
 forehead, 
 
 And gleam on her delicate brow ; 
 And cherubs shall fan her sweet form with their 
 
 wings, 
 
 And heav'nly music shall flow 
 Till ev'ry bright region with melody rings. 
 Haste ! haste ! lovely sisters ! the star's sinking low. 
 It is the hour, it is the hour 
 When happy spirits meet 
 To bear unto the heav'nly bow'r 
 A lovely maiden sweet.
 
 199 
 
 The flash of the billow, the ray of the star, 
 Will light her sweet way thro' the welkin afar, 
 And meteors of heaven will stream round her car. 
 
 OH! TELL ME SWEET ZEPHYR, OH! TELL 
 ME OF WILLIE ! 
 
 OH ! tell me sweet zephyr, Oh ! tell me of Willie ! 
 Thou'st flown from the ocean, thou'st fann'd his 
 
 dark hair, 
 Thou'st kiss'd his sweet lips, thou hast fondl'd his 
 
 bosom ; 
 
 Come tell me ! Oh ! tell me ! and ease my despair ! 
 Thou'st lately been with him, my kind gentle laddie ! 
 Thou'st spoke to him, play'd with him, sang to him 
 
 too! 
 
 I envy thee zephyr ! Oh ! that I was like thee ! 
 Oh ! that I could fly to him! kiss him like you. 
 
 Oh ! lend me thy wings, let me traverse the ocean, 
 And seek the proud vessel that bears him away ; 
 These eyes since we parted have never ceas'd weeping! 
 Oh ! why from his Annie, Oh ! why does he stay ?
 
 Oh ! why were we parted ? why, why did he leave me? 
 
 Oh ! waft me sweet zephyr across the blue sea ! 
 
 I long- to repose on my Willie's fond bosom, 
 
 And hear his sweet voice say, ' He loves none but me !' 
 
 HOW LONG HAVE I WATCH'D BY THESE 
 WILD FOAMING WATERS. 
 
 How long have I wateh'd by these wild foaming 
 
 waters, 
 
 How long have I wept on this bleak rugged shore, 
 How long have I view'd yon pale distant horizon, 
 In hope of beholding my Willie once more ? 
 For years, weary years, my eyes, Oh ! have wander'd 
 Across the expanse of this terrible sea, 
 And nothing I've seen but the mists of the ocean ! 
 Alas ! my sweet Willie returns not to me ! 
 
 The pal* 1 ghostly sea-bird seems mocking my sorrow, 
 And screams on the wild blast, "Thy Willie is dead !" 
 The wind seems to waft his last sigh to my bosom ! 
 The rock says, " My sister now pillows his head !"
 
 201 
 
 The moon says, " I saw him fall under the billows, 
 And dcck'd his wan brow with my delicate ray," 
 The passing wave murmurs "My cold arms em- 
 braced him !" 
 Moans echo "I bore his last death-plaint away." 
 
 SWEET FOREST MAIDEN! 
 
 SWEET forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Thine eye's as the star-beam that silver's the sky ! 
 
 It beams and it flashes 
 
 Beneath the dark lashes, 
 Then melts into tears like the dew from on high. 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Thine eye's as the star -beam that silver's the sky! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Thou'rt light as a fairy in quivering mist ! 
 
 You dance and you tremble ; 
 
 A sprite you resemble, 
 A cherub from heaven whom angels have kiss'd !
 
 202 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 A cherub from heaven whom angels have ktss'd ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden .' 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 The woods are thy home, and the fountain's thy bath; 
 
 Thy bowYs 'neath the hazels ; 
 
 The flow'rs are thy jewels ; 
 
 Thou'rt fann'd by the breezes that spring from the 
 south. 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Thou'rt fann'd by the breezes that spring from the 
 south. 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Thou'st stolen my heart ! Oh ! thou'st stole it away ! 
 
 Tis gone ! Oh ! it's vanished ! 
 
 My peace thou hast banish'd ! 
 Oh ! give me my heart, cruel maiden, I say ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 
 Sweet forest maiden ! 
 Oh ! give me my heart, cruel maiden, I say !
 
 203 
 
 I'LL MEET THEE WITCHING ANNA, LOVE! 
 
 I'LL meet thee witching Anna, love, 
 
 When all are fast in sleep, 
 When glow-worm's sweetly shining, love, 
 
 Where tender willows weep ; 
 Thro' fragrant bow'rs we'll wander, love, 
 
 Where silence reigns alone, 
 And whisper words of sweetness love, 
 
 My Anna, oh ! my own 
 
 My own sweet blooming Anna ! 
 
 Thy bonny hair's like amber, love ! 
 
 As pure as sparkling too ! 
 Thine eyes are bright as jewels, love ! 
 
 They've pierced my bosom thro' ! 
 Thy cheeks are like the roses, love ! 
 
 My heart hath from me flown ! 
 One smile from thee is rapture, love ! 
 
 My Anna, oh ! my own 
 
 My own sweet blooming Anna!
 
 204 
 
 COME, MY SWEET MARY, LETS SEEK THE 
 BLUE WAVE. 
 
 THE soft wind is waving the flowers, 
 Their fragrance is floating around, 
 Each petal is hright with the showers, 
 
 That lie on the emerald ground. 
 The leaves on the branches are playing, 
 
 And kissing each other in glee ; 
 The sun beams of ev'ning are laying 
 
 In beauty upon the wide sea. 
 So come, my sweet Mary, let's seek the blue wave, 
 And listen the water within the old cave 
 Repeating its music in warblings sweet 
 To nymphs of the deep 
 Just waking from sleep 
 In the bright coral cave by the sea-queen's seat. 
 
 No cloud's in the pure ether sailing, 
 All's silver, and pearl, and rich gold ; 
 
 The sea-birds are plaintively wailing, 
 And sweetly their pinions unfold ; 
 
 JEolitm murmurs are creeping 
 
 From grottos with brilliants all bright,
 
 205 
 
 The wavelets are sportively leaping, 
 
 Their bosoms empierced with the light. 
 So come my sweet Mary let's seek the blue wave, 
 And listen the water within the old cave 
 Repeating its music in warblings sweet 
 To nymphs of the deep 
 Just waking from sleep 
 In the bright coral cave by the sea-queen's seat. 
 
 MY MOUNTAIN FLOWER. 
 
 ACCEPT this rose, sweet Jessie fair, 
 
 'Tis lovely, sweet, and bright, 
 It wafts a fragrance on the air, 
 
 And captivates the sight. 
 But oh ! tho' lovely 'tis to see 
 
 When waving in the bow'r, 
 Yet 'tis not half so sweet as thee, 
 
 Thou charming mountain flow'r ! 
 
 Thy cheeks are richer than its leaves, 
 
 Thy breath is sweeter too, 
 It bears a thorn which anguish leaves, 
 
 No sorrow springs from you !
 
 Thou'rt sweetness all, and goodness, worth ! 
 
 I'll love thee till death's hour! 
 Naught lovely in this lovely earth 
 
 Can match my mountain flow'r ! 
 
 And then to gaze upon thy smile 
 
 Is tasting- heav'uly joy, 
 No music in celestial isle 
 
 Is like thy melting' sigh; 
 Thine eyes surpass the welkin blue 
 
 At spotless ev'ning- hour ; 
 "With love thou'st pierc'd my bo^om thro', 
 
 Enchanting- mountain flow'r! 
 
 SING SOFTLY SWEET MERSEY WITHIN 
 YOUR OLD CAVERNS. 
 
 SING softly sweet Mersey within your old caverns, 
 Oh ! lash not too rudely this oak cover'd hill, 
 For here, in a lone grove, my Annie reposes, 
 Lull'd sweetly to rest by a low warbling- rill. 
 Oh ! sing on ye breezes, be gentle and tender, 
 Let no sudden gust her sweet slumber disturb, 
 Oh ! scream not wild sea-bird, fly noiselessly o'er her, 
 And ye, shaclow'd dingles, no echo-js reverb.
 
 See ! see ! where she slumbers, by young roses fondl'd, 
 Her neck and her bosom by zephyrs earess'd; 
 
 The angels leave heaven in joy to behold her, 
 And say she's no equal in isles of the blest ! 
 
 Hush ! hush ! foaming torrent, the noise of thy waters 
 May waken my sweet one, Oh ! cease thy loud roar ! 
 Sing on modest woodlark, thy notes so bewitching; 
 And gurgle bright ripples, below on the shore ; 
 Wave ' wave ! o'er her forehead sweet bloom of the 
 
 woodbine, 
 
 And fan her pure breast with thy rich honied air, 
 For sweeter than thee is the maid thou'rt caressing ! 
 The world's brightest beauty is slumbering there ! 
 
 Sec! see! where she slumbers, by young roses fondl'd, 
 Her neck and her bosom by zephyrs earess'd; 
 
 The angels leave heaven in joy to behold her, 
 And say she's no equal in isles of the blest !
 
 208 
 
 BREAKING OF THE LIGHT. 
 
 THE crimson streamers on the mountain rest ; 
 Each hanging cloud with pearly light is shining, 
 Rich rosy streaks their inmost folds are lining, 
 
 Which fall and rise on zephyrs from the west. 
 
 The sky's clear blue with luscious col'ring blends ; 
 Light streaks of green the glowing red caresses, 
 And tender pink upon rich purple presses, 
 
 And snow white clouds to morning's painter bends, 
 
 And for the tints their snowy breasts expand. 
 Broad streaks of orange gild the distant ocean, 
 The waves appear like liquid gold in motion, 
 
 And roll in beauty on the yellow sand. 
 
 Old blaek-brow'd rocks are tipp'd with amber rays, 
 The huge fir's crown hath lost its heavy mantle 
 And peers below e'en with an aspect gentle, 
 
 For on its sombre crest the sweet light plays.
 
 209 
 
 The gliding rills amongst the dismal woods 
 
 Gleam forth like lightning thro' a black cloud 
 
 breaking, 
 As on they move the hoary ocean seeking, 
 
 Their low call joining with the roar of floods. 
 
 And lonely hazels stretch their deep brown arms 
 To catch the light just thro' the forest glancing, 
 Whilst ev'ry spray and leaf in glee is dancing 
 
 As fibres chill'd with cold the rich beam warms. 
 
 The little flow'rets, cover'd o'er with dew, 
 Expand the petals of their blushing blossom 
 To catch the sun-ray, darting o'er the bosom 
 
 Of distant seas that kiss the concave blue. 
 
 The stern oaks smile upon the just born light 
 As o'er the forest breaks it sweetly flashing; 
 And headstrong torrents late in darkness dashing 
 
 Roar forth their joy as on their summits white 
 
 The virgin beams in tender streamers play : 
 And tow'rds it bend the melancholy willows, 
 And lilies dancing on the lake's small billows 
 
 Expand their snowy bosoms to the ray.
 
 210 
 THINE EYES HAVE KILLED ME ! 
 
 THE shaft of love is in my heart ! 
 
 Oh ! maiden smile on me ! 
 For sweeter than the flow'rs thou art, 
 
 That spring in secrecy ! 
 Thy cheeks are as the blush of day ! 
 
 Thy lips have coral dye ! 
 And in thine eyes such beauties lay, 
 
 They've kill'd me ! Oh ! I die ! 
 
 Thine eyes have kill'd me ' Oh ! sweet maid ! 
 Thy beaming eyes have kill'd me ! 
 
 Thy voice is as the morning notes 
 
 Soft gushing o'er the lea ! 
 Within my inmost soul it floats, 
 
 It rapture brings to me ! 
 Thy hair in glossy ringlets play 
 
 With ev'ry passing sigh ; 
 And in thine eyes such beauties lay, 
 
 They've kill'd me ! Oh !I die! 
 
 Thine eyes have kill'd me! Oh ! sweet maid ! 
 Thy beaming eyes have kill'd me !
 
 Turn not that witching glance away ! 
 
 Blight not my tender heart ! 
 Oh ! stay, thou lovely maiden, stay ! 
 
 An angel sure thou art ! 
 Oh ! stay, dear girl ! Oh ! stay ! Oh ! stay ! 
 
 I yearn to be thee nigh ! 
 For in thine eyes such beauties lay, 
 
 They've kill'd me ! Oh ! I die ! 
 
 Thine eyes have kill'd me! Oh ! sweet maid ! 
 Thy beaming eyes have kill'd me ! 
 
 HE WENT TO THE BATTLE, MY OWN 
 WINSOME JOHNNIE. 
 
 HE went to the battle, my own winsome Johnnie, 
 He went to the battle to fight the proud foe ; 
 The flow'r of the laddies hath left his green vallies, 
 And left his poor Jennie distracted with woe ! 
 
 And Oh ! he was sweet as the rose of the dingle ! 
 
 
 And bold as the pine tree that braves the black storm ! 
 
 His eyes like the' eagle's were bright as the sun-beam ! 
 With pity and kindness his bosom was warm !
 
 212 
 
 And Oh ! how I loved him ! his eyes vivid lustre 
 To me was as light from the land of the blest ! 
 His smile was like nectar from blooms of Elysium ! 
 'Twas rapture upon his fond bosom to rest! 
 He's left me ! he's left me ! no more I'll behold him ! 
 In India's hot deserts, my Johnnie will die ! 
 Forlorn here I wander ! my poor heart is broken ! 
 Oh ! why didst thou leave me ! Oh ! why Johnnie ? why ? 
 
 I'LL MEET THEE, MY MARY. 
 
 WHEN moon's behind the hill, 
 
 And twinkling stars are bright, 
 
 When music of the rill 
 
 Breaks solemn pause of night, 
 
 When glow-worms bright emit their light, 
 And aspen trees dance in the breeze, 
 I'll meet thee, my Mary ! 
 
 When from the hollow dell 
 
 
 
 The nightingale is heard, 
 When caves in echo swell, 
 Blithe answering the bird,
 
 213 
 
 When sea-bud's wail creeps on the gale, 
 And lilies sigh, and pinks reply, 
 I'll meet thee, my Mary ! 
 
 Where silence reigns around 
 
 In solitude afar, 
 
 Where honeysuckles round 
 
 The roses twisted are ; 
 
 When in the lower the sweet doves cower, 
 And fairies play 'midst vapour grey, 
 I'll meet thee, my Mary ! 
 
 A SHEPHERD'S LIFE'S A LIFE OF JOY. 
 
 A SHEPHERD'S life's a life of joy, 
 
 When merry summer gleams, 
 When gentle gales are gliding by, 
 
 And glowing are the beams, 
 When choristers cnraptur'd sing 
 
 Join'd by the limpid rills, 
 His moments fly on pleasure's wing 
 
 Upon the flow'ry hills
 
 214 
 
 By his bleating flock surrounded 
 
 'Alongst streams, and lakes, and flow'rs, 
 
 True pleasure lie hath found it ; 
 How happy glide the hours ! 
 
 The clear blue sky so bright and fair, 
 
 That o'er him sweetly lays ; 
 The pure elastic upland air 
 
 That round his forehead plays ; 
 The distant echoes from the vales 
 
 That faintly greet his car, 
 And far off ocean's plaintive wails 
 Conjoin his heart to cheer. 
 
 By his bleating flock surrounded 
 
 'Mongst streams, and lakes, and flow'rs, 
 True pleasure he hath found it ; 
 How happy glide the hours ! 
 
 From bustling multitudes his time 
 
 Glides cherrily away ; 
 'Midst mighty nature's seat sublime 
 
 He journey's thro' the day ; 
 His pipe is heard by passers by 
 
 Soft warbling o'er the dells, 
 Sailing thro' gloomy ravines nigh 
 
 Above the torrent's swells ;
 
 By his bleating flock surrounded 
 
 'Midst streams, and lakes, and flow'rs, 
 
 True pleasure he hath found it; 
 How happy glide the hours ! 
 
 But when dark winter's howling- blast 
 
 Sweeps angry o'er the scene, 
 And wastes of smoth'ring- snow are cast 
 
 Across the once briglif green, 
 How bitter then's the shepherd's day ! 
 
 What sorrow hems him round ! 
 Alas ! how often doth he lay 
 In death by ices bound ! 
 
 By his starving- flock surrounded 
 
 'Midst g-loom, and ice, and snow, 
 Whose pallid hills around him 
 Their cheerless bosoms throw. 
 
 I'LL MEET THEE ON THE PEBBLY SHORE. 
 
 I'LL meet thee on the pebbly shore 
 
 When g-leams the ev'ning star, 
 When moon-beams stream the water o'er 
 
 And she\v the land afar,
 
 When Naiads leave tho rippling sea 
 Deck'd with the pallid ray, 
 
 I'll wander forth, dear girl, with thee, 
 Thou'st stole my heart away ! 
 
 Thine eyes are full of witching light 
 
 Thine heart is full of joy 
 Thy hair is darker than the night 
 
 Beneath an orbless sky 
 
 Thy cheeks are as the lovely rose 
 
 Round which sweet zephyrs play 
 And from thy lip such music flows, 
 
 Thou'st stole my heart away ! 
 
 BY THE MERSEY'S DARK WATERS A MAIDEN 
 WAS WAN'DRING. 
 
 BY the Mersey's dark waters a maiden was wand'iing, 
 When dim rolve of twilight was falling around, 
 
 When the lone star of ev'ning in distance was shining 
 Above the black mountains of Cambria's high ground;
 
 sea gull was soaring above the cld billow, 
 The rough wind in gusts whistled down from the sky 
 And beat round the form of the poor hapless maiden, 
 Who strayed o'er the pebbles with tears in her eye. 
 "And where art thou, Henry ? (she cried in her sorrow) 
 
 Oh ! come my sweet love from the terrible wave ! 
 Oh ! long have I sought thee forlorn and heart broken ! 
 
 Oh ! come love, Oh ! come ere I sink in the grave !" 
 
 The night sky grew darker, the star hid its bosom, 
 
 The wild wind roav'cl louder, the billows rose high, 
 And from the dark clouds that were rapidly sailing 
 The lightnings bright flame to the water did fly. 
 She crept 'neath a rock that rose high o'er the ocean, 
 When a deep dying groan made each cavern reply, 
 And now a pale corse the waves washed up beside her, 
 The corse of her Henry before her did lie. 
 She gazed on his features her blue eyes roll'd wildly, 
 " Have I found thee, my lost one ? Oh ! Henry '." 
 
 (she cried) 
 
 Then threw herself down on his cold senseless bosom, 
 Gave a low plaintive moan, sighed, "My Henry!" 
 and died !
 
 218 
 
 'TIS NOT BECAUSE THINE EYES ARE 
 BRIGHT. 
 
 'Tis not because thine eyes are bright 
 
 And full of light and joy, 
 Or that thy lovely neck is white 
 
 As snow on mountain high, 
 'Tis not because thy flowing hair 
 
 Is like the glitt'ring gold, 
 That I do love thee so, my fair ! 
 Thine outward charms are cold 
 
 Conipar'd with thy sweet little heart .' 
 For it sorrows, 
 
 It sorrows, 
 
 For others oppress'd, 
 
 And it dances, 
 
 It dances, 
 
 When others are bless'd ! 
 'Twas the charm that directed love's dart ! 
 
 'Tis not because thou art the queen 
 
 Of beauty's choicest flow'rs, 
 The brightest gem that e'er was seen 
 
 In nature's lovely bow'rs,
 
 219 
 
 Or that thy chrek exceeds the dye 
 
 Of roses richest fold, 
 That I for thee, sweet maiden, sigh ! 
 Thine outward charms are cold 
 Compar'd with thy sweet little heart ! 
 For it sorrows, 
 
 It sorrows, 
 
 For others oppressed, 
 
 And it dances, 
 
 It dances, 
 
 When others are hless'd ! 
 'Twas the charm that directed love's dart ! 
 
 I'LL MEET THEE SWEET' MARY BESIDE YON 
 BROWN HAZELS. 
 
 I'LL meet thee sweet Mary beside yon brown hazels 
 That clustre in beauty above yon lone stream, 
 When far o'er the mountains the sun is declining, 
 And from the dim landscape hath vanished each beam, 
 There, far from the world, 'mongst the long purple heather, 
 We'll whisper those sweet things which lovers delight, 
 And none but the wild bird shall witness our meeting, 
 The mist of the valley shall screen us from sight.
 
 220 
 
 The faint virgin moon-beam .shall fall o'er thy forehead, 
 
 Amongst thy gold tresses its silver shall play ; 
 
 The large star of ev'ning will peep thro' the cloudlets 
 
 In wonder beholding thine eye's witching ray ; 
 
 The flow'rs of the dingle will hide their sweet beauties 
 
 Abash' d at the sight of thy heavenly charms ; 
 
 The nightingale's song will grow plaintive and tender 
 
 As 'mongst the broom blossoms thou rest's in my arms. 
 
 HER BEAUTIFUL BOSOM OF SNOW. 
 
 GIVE battle's sons their laurels green, 
 
 Give kings their glitt'ring throne ; 
 Pure joy they seldom bring, I ween ; 
 
 They cause the heart to groan. 
 Give mighty lords their wide domain, 
 
 Their castles rising high ; 
 Their pomp, their pow'r, their pleasures vain, 
 
 They lead but to the sigh. 
 
 Give me a rural cottage sweet 
 
 Beneath the poplars tall, 
 Where flow'rs of rarest beauty meet 
 
 And clasp the spotless wall !
 
 221 
 
 And there with my Alice in rapture I'd dwell, 
 
 Seen by none save the bird of the air; 
 And wander at eve in the dim lonely dell, 
 And wreathe in her beautiful hair 
 
 Sweet flow'rs of the forest, 
 
 The brightest and fairest, 
 The primrose and modest blue bell ; 
 
 And drink in the glances 
 
 That from her eye dances, 
 And catch the soft sigh as it fell 
 
 From her bosom of snow 
 
 Oh ! her bosom of snow ' 
 Her beautiful bosom of snow ! 
 
 Give fashion's sons their glitt'ring halls, - 
 
 Their wine and ladies bright ; 
 Their festivals and splendid balls 
 
 Soon sicken on the sight. 
 Give sporting barons high bred steed, 
 
 Swift dog, and sounding horn ; 
 They joy to see the young doe bleed ! 
 
 The hare's poor bosom torn ! 
 
 Give me a rural cottage sweet 
 Beneath the poplars tall,
 
 Where flovv'rs of rarest beauty meet 
 And clasp the spotless wall ! 
 
 And there with my Alice in rapture I'd dwell, 
 
 Seen by none save the bird of the air ! 
 And wander at eve in the dim lonely dell, 
 And wreathe in her beautiful hair 
 Sweet flow'rs of the forest 
 The brightest and fairest, 
 The primrose and modest blue bell ; 
 And drink in the glances 
 That from her eye dances ; 
 And catch the soft sigh as it fell 
 From her bosom of snow 
 Oh ! her bosom of snow ! 
 Her beautiful bosom of snow ! 
 
 MY LITTLE BARK'S WAITING, SWEET 
 MARY. 
 
 THE sea is decked with amber, 
 
 The sky is glitt'ring bright, 
 The timid bird's rejoicing 
 
 Upon the wavelet white,
 
 223 
 
 The balmy breeze is sighing 
 
 Along the yellow shore, 
 And crystal gems are beaming 
 
 Where silver ripples pour. 
 
 My little bark's waiting, sweet Mary ! sweet Mary ! 
 My little bark's waiting 
 Beneath yon dark rock. 
 
 Come ! wilt thou cross the water 
 
 With me thou lovely maid ? 
 I'll be thy guardian angel ! 
 
 Let ev'ry terror vade. 
 The breeze shall wave thy ringlets 
 
 And fan thy blushing cheek, 
 And fays will leave their billow 
 
 Thy witching glance to meet. 
 My little bark's waiting, sweet Mary ! sweet Mary ! 
 My little bark's waiting 
 Beneath yon dark rock. 
 
 I'll ever love thee dearly, 
 
 Thou'rt all the world to me ! 
 No other e'er could win me, 
 
 I sigh alone for thee !
 
 Yon isle in misty distance 
 
 Is where my castle stands ; 
 Come ! dear one, let us hasten 
 
 To those delightful lands. 
 
 My little bark's waiting, sweet Mary ! sweet Mary ! 
 My little bark's waiting 
 Beneath yon dark rock. 
 
 'TIS THE NOTE OF THE BUGLE. 
 
 SEE ! see ! how he's bounding across yon wide common ! 
 See ' there goes the stag on the wings of the wind ! 
 His antlers stand out like the arms of a soldier. 
 On ! on ! my brave huntsmen ! we're lagging behind ! 
 Dash forward ! dash forward ! put spurs in your horses ! 
 He's topping yon mountain encircl'd with mist. 
 Thro' valleys, o'er marshes and hills bright with heather, 
 We follow the bold chase List ! list brothers ! list ! 
 
 'Tis the note of the bugle ! the note of the bugle ! 
 
 How sweetly it echoes amid the old caves ! 
 
 Whilst each gloomy ravine replies to its summons, 
 
 And wafts its rich windings across the blue waves.
 
 On ! on! my brave dogs ! you're the pride of the huntsman! 
 
 Howl forth your delight till each dingle replies ; 
 
 Hark forward ! my sweet ones ! the old stag's exhausted ! 
 
 Oh ! raptui'e to me is your musical cries ! 
 
 The earth rolls beneath us, the old rocks salute its, 
 
 The streams and the fountains are laughing with joy, 
 
 The trees wave their branches in majesty o'er us, 
 
 And roar as we pass them. List, brothers ! Hark ! High ! 
 
 Sounds the note of the bugle ! the note of the bugle ! 
 
 How sweetly it echoes amid the old caves ! 
 
 Whilst each gloomy ravine replies to its summons 
 
 And wafts its rich windings across the blue waves. 
 
 SHE LOVES NONE BUT ME. 
 
 BESIDE the Mersey's flashing flood 
 
 There lives a lovely maid : 
 A little cot within a wood, 
 
 With many a flow'r array'd, 
 Doth screen her from the wide world's gaze, 
 Doth hide this sweet gem's witching rays.
 
 She loves none but me ! she loves none but me ! 
 
 This beautiful daughter of heaven ! 
 And Oh ! her to see, and Oh ! her to see 
 
 In the exquisite twilight of even 
 Is pleasure so great that the angels all pine 
 In arbours of glory for rapture like mine ! 
 
 Her hair is rich as streaming gold ! 
 
 Her eyes are darkly blue ! 
 Her cheeks are as the inmost fold 
 
 Of rose bud wet with dew ! 
 Her neck is pure as snow-drop bud 
 Reflected in the sombre flood ! 
 
 She loves none but me, &c. 
 
 So light and airy is her tread 
 
 It scarcely bends the flow'rs ; 
 And ev'ry little flow'ret's head 
 
 All bright with glist'ning show'rs 
 
 Doth open as she passes by, 
 
 
 And says " of envy I shall die !" 
 
 She loves none but me, &c. 
 
 Her heart is like an angel's, pure ; 
 Her soul is full of light ;
 
 337 
 
 She clings to those who woes endure, 
 
 She makes their burdens light. 
 Sweet pity's gleam is in her eyes, 
 Her breast for others heaves with sighs. 
 
 She loves none but me ! she loves none but me ! 
 This beautiful daughter of heaven ! 
 
 And Oh ! her to see, and Oh ! her to see 
 In the exquisite twilight of even 
 
 Is pleasure so great that the angels all pine 
 
 In arbours of glory for rapture like mine ! 
 
 I'LL MEET THEE, ANNIE. 
 
 WHERE mossy roses catch the dew, 
 Where zephyrs kiss the flow'rets blue, 
 Beneath the pines, where pigeons coo, 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie. 
 
 Where flashing waters fall and spring, 
 Where timid coots extend their wing, 
 And limpid drops around them fling, 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie.
 
 228 
 
 Where milk-white blossoms kiss the lake, 
 Where long reeds in the zephyrs shake, 
 Where herons sporting minnows take, 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie. 
 
 Where modest flow'rs expand their bloom 
 Seen only by the twilight gloom ; 
 Where furious torrents spurt their spume 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie. 
 
 Where little robins build their nest 
 Beneath the velvet mosses' crest, 
 By tiny flow 'rets arms caress'd, 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie. 
 
 Where timid hares in peace repose 
 Beneath the blushing forest rose 
 That peeps above the milky sloes, 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie. 
 
 Of all the flow'rs that deck the earth, 
 
 Of all the gems of rarest worth, 
 
 Of all sweet things that ere had birth, 
 
 Thou'rt sweetest, Annie.
 
 229 
 COME! ENTER MY BEAUTIFUL BARK. 
 
 THE river glows with golden light, 
 
 No cloud is in the sky 
 Save one small speck of silv'ry white 
 
 That's sweetly sailing by ; 
 The wavelets lave the sparkling shore, 
 
 And wash the pearly shell, 
 
 So let us glide the water o'er, 
 
 For Oh ! I love thee well ! 
 
 Come enter my bark, pretty maiden, 
 
 Sweet maiden ! 
 Come ! enter my beautiful bark. 
 
 Sweet breezes o'er the water flit 
 
 From yonder flow'ry land ; 
 The sea-birds on the ripple sit 
 By warbling zephyrs fann'd ; 
 Gondolas blithely glide along, 
 
 And hark ! cantatas swell, 
 List, list, sweet maid, the lovely song ! 
 Let's haste I love thee well ! 
 
 Come enter my bark, pretty maiden, 
 
 Sweet -maiden ! 
 Come ! enter my beautiful bark !
 
 230 
 THY SIGHS ARE LIKE ^OLIAN AIRS ! 
 
 Thy sighs are like ^Eolian airs ! 
 Thy voice is like the blissful choir ! 
 Thy laughing eyes would banish cares ! 
 Thy tresses fall like golden wire ! 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee ! it loves thee I it 
 
 loves thee ! 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee, 
 Thou cherub of light! 
 
 My tender heart thou'st stole away ! 
 
 My pulses aye with rapture beat! 
 
 Oh ! turn not lovely girl away, 
 
 For Oh ! thou'rt all on earth that's sweet ! 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee ! it loves thee ! it 
 
 loves thee ! 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee, 
 Thou cherub ol light ! 
 
 * 
 
 Thy bosom's pure as virgin snow ! 
 Thy heart's the home of every good ! 
 Sweet virtues ever from it flow ! 
 'Tis purer than the lily bud !
 
 231 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee ! it loves thee ! it 
 
 loves thee ! 
 
 And Oh ! my heart loves thee, 
 Thou cherub of light ! 
 
 COME, LET US WANDER, SWEET OXE, BY 
 YON STREAM. 
 
 Come, let us wander, sweet one, by yon stream, 
 Where willow boughs are o'er the water falling, 
 And timid birds are 'mongst the rushes calling, 
 
 And crystals dart beneath the solar beam. 
 
 By yonder torrent let us take our seat. 
 
 Thro' whose bright bosom amber light is flashing, 
 As o'er the rocks it journeys, leaping, dashing, 
 
 Seeking, in shadowed vale, a calm retreat.
 
 We'll wander thro' yon wood, and list awhile 
 
 The sweet birds chanting in the hlossom'd bowers ; 
 And catch the fragrance of the lonely flowers, 
 
 That there alone on dusky twilight smile. 
 
 Thro' secret dells we'll stray, where all is shade, 
 And mark the restless sombre torrents leaping 
 As if they'd fain at cheerful day be peeping, 
 
 "Whose golden light was ne'er upon them laid. 
 
 And watch the silver moths, that shun the light, 
 Thro' dewy depths, like floating diamonds flitting, 
 Or on the wide black lake in clusters sitting, 
 
 Like tiny stars upon the ebon night. 
 
 And on a mossy bank, beneath the screen 
 
 Of some sweet hawthorn, studded o'er with blossom, 
 I'll clasp thee fondly to my glowing bosom, 
 
 And tell thee how I love thee ! beauty's queen !
 
 33 
 
 THE LITTLE WAVELETS LAVE THE 
 SHORE. 
 
 THE little wavelets lave the shore ; 
 
 The breeze is soft and bland ; 
 The lucid streamers sweetly pour 
 
 Along the glitt'ring sand; 
 The sea-birds skim -the purple wave 
 
 And call from sombre rock ; 
 And music's springing from the cave 
 
 'Neath which the billows rock. 
 
 The bright stream invites thee, sweet Lucy, sweet Lucy, 
 The bright stream invites thee, Come ! let us embark ! 
 
 The little skiff 
 Beneath yon cliff 
 Will sweetly skim the sea, 
 And bear thee o'er 
 To yon sweet shore 
 Where pleasure waits on thee. 
 
 The bright stream invites thee, sweet Lucy, sweet Lucy, 
 The bright stream invites thee, Come ! let us embark !
 
 234 
 
 Across thai restless flashing stream. 
 
 There is a lovely bo\v'r, 
 Deep shadow'd from the solar beam 
 
 And deck'd with many a flow'r ; 
 And 'mongst the roses blushing- there 
 
 We'll sit and talk of love, 
 Far, far, from busy haunts of care 
 
 Lets o'er the water rove. 
 
 The bright stream invites thee, sweet Lucy, sweet Lucy, 
 The bright stream invites thee, Come ! let us embark ! 
 
 The little skiff 
 Beneath yon cliff 
 Will sweetly skim the sea, 
 And bear thee o'er 
 To yon sweet shore 
 Where pleasure waits on thee. 
 
 The bright stream invites thee, sweet Lucy, sweet Lucy, 
 The bright stream invites thee, Come ! let us embark !
 
 OH! ROAR NOT SO LOUDLY, THOU WILD 
 FOAMING STREAM. 
 
 On ! vo;\v not so loudly thou wild foaming stream, 
 Flash not thro' this valley thy water's bright gleam, 
 Lave gently the pebbles, disturb not the grass, 
 Go ask yon lone willow who sleeps here, alas ! 
 'Tis Edgar, my love, once the pride and the joy 
 Of this blighted bosom ! Oh ! why did he die ! 
 
 By this lonely river how oft have we stray'd ! 
 How oft hath my head on his fond bosom laid ! 
 But now his pale forehead is sprinkl'd with gore ! 
 The breezes will fan his black tresses no more ! 
 Oh ! weep not my lone heart! yon dark mournful tree 
 That droops o'er thy lost one, will soon cover thee !
 
 OH! MEET ME, SWEET ROSA! 
 
 WHEN the ocean is set with young morning's rich 
 
 rubies 
 
 And gold-hues illumine the far distant hills, 
 When the breezes, just born leave the heavens rejoicing 
 
 And kiss fan and fondle the feathery rills, 
 When the flow'rs, bright with dew-drops, are teeming 
 with fragrance, 
 
 And birds pour their notes thro' the listening woods, 
 And the echoing caverns are gaily repeating 
 
 Soft sounds wafted over the wild spumy floods, 
 
 Oh ! meet me, sweet Rosa! thou angel of light ! 
 Thou fav'rite of nature! thou maiden all bright 
 With the lustre of beauty, of goodness, of joy ! 
 Thou cherub of heav'n sent down from the sky 
 
 To smile on this shadowy earth ! 
 
 To smile on this shadowy earth !
 
 287 
 
 When the ripples are singing amongst the bright pebbles, 
 
 And white water lilies their beauties unfold, 
 And the reeds of the streamlet salute the green water 
 
 Which silently wanders beneath the trees old, 
 When the minstrel of heaven in ether suspended 
 
 Just peeps at his charmer beneath the heath bud, 
 And pours thro' the welkin a love song to cheer her, 
 
 Then rises in beauty above the brown wood, 
 
 Oh ! meet me, sweet Rosa ! thou angel of light ! 
 Thou fav'rite of nature ! thou maiden all bright 
 With the lustre of beauty, of goodness, of joy ! 
 Thou cherub of heav'n sent down from the sky 
 
 To smile on this shadowy earth ! 
 
 To smile on this shadowy earth !
 
 HER PEACE OF MIND'S FOR EVER FLOWN! 
 
 HER peace of mind's for ever flown ! 
 
 Naught's left her heart to cheer ; 
 Despair hath mark'd her for its own ! 
 
 No ray of comfort's near ! 
 The lustre's left her beaming eye ! 
 
 Oh ! once like dew drop bright ! 
 In solitude she's left to sigh ! 
 
 Her days are turn'd to "night ! 
 
 The cheerful smile that once adorn'd 
 
 That countenance so fair, 
 To melancholy now is turn'd 
 
 And everlasting care ! 
 She once was pure as breath of May ! 
 
 And lovely as the flow'r ! 
 Till heartless man, made her his prey ! 
 
 Oh ! cursed be the hour i
 
 sao 
 
 THE FLOW'RS HAVE CLOS'D THEIR 
 TENDER BUBS. 
 
 THE flow'rs have clos'd their tender buds ; 
 
 The lark hath crept within her nest ; 
 A shadow's creeping o'er the floods ; 
 
 Grey mists surround the mountain's crest ; 
 The amber beam hath left the cloud ; 
 
 The sun hath fled to other shore j 
 And thro' the misty twilight shroud 
 
 The just bom stars in beauty soar. 
 
 'Tis ev'ning, my sweet one ! 'tis ev'ning ! Let's stray 
 In the dim lonely valley, beneath the sweet ray 
 
 Which springs from the moon, 
 From the moon o'er yon hill, 
 That's streaming, 
 And beaming, 
 And straying, 
 And playing 
 
 Amongst the bright cloudlets of pearl. 
 'Tis ev'ning, my sweet one ! 'tis ev'ning ! Let's stray 
 In the dim lonely valley, beneath the sweet ray.
 
 240 
 
 The bat hath left the hollow cave 
 
 And round the waving- branches flits ; 
 The star beam's resting on the wave ; 
 
 Upon her nest the plover sits ; 
 The birds have sought the sombre wood, 
 
 Their plaints are wafted on the gale ; 
 And hark, the wild delicious flood, 
 
 Of music from the nightingale ! 
 
 Tis ev'ning, my sweet one ! 'tis ev'ning ! Let's stray 
 
 In the dim lonely valley, beneath the sweet ray 
 Which springs from the moon, 
 
 From the moon o'er yon hill, 
 That's streaming, 
 And beaming, 
 And straying, 
 And playing 
 
 Amongst the bright cloudlets of pearl. 
 Tis ev'ning, my sweet one ! 'tis ev'ning ! Let's stray 
 In the dim lonely valley, beneath the sweet ray.
 
 THIS HEART BUT BEATS FOR THEE. 
 
 THIS heart but beats for thee ! 
 Without thy honied smile, 
 'Twould e'en be like a blasted tree 
 In some dark sunless isle ! 
 
 Then smile upon me, cherub gay ! 
 Turn not those witching- orbs away ! 
 I love thee Oh ! I love thee ! 
 
 Sweet pity's in thine eyes ! 
 
 Thou'rt pure as heav'n above I 
 My heart is ever lull with sighs 
 For thee, my only love ! 
 
 Then smile upon me, cherub gay ! 
 Turn not those witching orbs away ! 
 I love thee Oh ! I love thee ! 
 
 THE MOON'S SILVER BORDER'S JUST 
 KISSING THE OCEAN. 
 
 THE moon's silver border's just kissing the ocean, 
 
 The far distant wavelets are tinged with her ray, 
 And merrily dance in the soft warbling zephyr, 
 
 That Hits o'er the water from lands far away ; 
 
 Q
 
 The lark's song is ended, beneath the blue clover, 
 Encircled with dew-drops, in slumber he's drown'd; 
 
 The nightingale's melody springs from the valley 
 And breaks with sweet music the solemn profound. 
 
 The shadows grow deeper beneath the dim hazels ; 
 
 No lustre's illuming the slumbering lake ; 
 No breezes are moving the oaks and the beeches, 
 
 The aspens alone in the light zephyr shake ; 
 A rich mellow softness is thrown o'er the landscape ; 
 
 All's tranquil and lovely beneath the mild air: 
 Come, sweet one, let's wander beneath yon green 
 hawthorns 
 
 Far, far from the world and its heart-chilling care. 
 
 WILT THOU BE MINE THOU MAID DIVINE. 
 
 THY laughing eyes 
 Where beauty lies, 
 Have stole my heart away ! 
 Wilt thou be mine 
 
 Thou maid divine ? 
 Oh, sweet one, sweet one suy !
 
 The star of night 
 
 In silver light 
 Is not so pure as thee ! 
 
 Nor dewy rose 
 
 That sweetly blows 
 Upon the waving tree ! 
 
 The turtle dove, 
 
 The type of love, 
 It's heart is hard to thine ! 
 
 The amber beam 
 
 Upon the stream 
 Is like thy tresses fine ! 
 
 Thy laughing eyes 
 Where beauty lies, . 
 
 Have stole my heart away ! 
 Wilt thou be mine 
 Thou maid divine ? 
 
 Oh, sweet one, sweet one say !
 
 244 
 I'LL MEET THEE AT THE DAWN OF DAY. 
 
 I'LL meet thcc at the dawn of day 
 
 When first the skylark springs 
 Above the cloudlet far away 
 
 On eager fluttering wings ; 
 When rosy streamers deck the sky 
 
 And kiss the slumb'ring sea, 
 And new born zephyrs softly sigh, 
 
 Sweet girl I'll meet with thee 
 
 I'll meet thee love, I'll meet thee love, 
 Beside the silver Dee. 
 
 Oh, thou art dear unto my heart, 
 
 The source of all my joy ; 
 My paradise on earth thou art ; 
 
 A cherub fyom on high ; 
 Elysium opens 'fore my view 
 
 When thy bright smile I see ; 
 To view again thine eyes of blue, 
 
 Sweet girl I'll meet with thee 
 
 I'll meet thee love, I'll meet thee love, 
 Beside the silver Dee.
 
 245 
 
 AWAKE FROM THY SLEEP, OH, AWAKE! 
 
 THE moon's shining brightly my love, my sweet love, 
 
 Awake from thy sleep, Oh, awake ! 
 The stars are all out in the deep purple sky, 
 The bland south'rn zephyr is carolling- by, 
 Above the old beeches the red-beetles fly, 
 
 The bats their lone wanderings take. 
 
 The fountain is singing my love, my sweet love, 
 
 Descend from thy bow'r, Oh, descend ! 
 The willows are rustling above the still lake, 
 The leaves of the aspen from slumber awake. 
 The soft wind is sighing within the dark brake, 
 The flow'rets their petals distend. 
 
 The glow-worms are gleaming my love, my sweet love, 
 
 Awake, Oh, awake from thy rest ! 
 The nightingale looks at the moon as he sings, 
 The wan-ray just silvers his delicate wings, 
 The woodland and valley with melody rings 
 
 As love -notes are sweetly expresf.
 
 The fairies are dancing my love, my sweet love, 
 
 And sporting the light flow'rets o'er, 
 Their pale steeds are prancing the moon-beams among, 
 Like light from the morning they're darting along, 
 Within the dim vapour the gay minstrels throng 
 And ravishing melody pour. 
 
 THE GLANCE OF THINE EYE IS LIKE 
 LIGHT OF THE DAY. 
 
 THE glance of thine eye is like light of the day 
 By cherubs transported from lands far away ! 
 Thy cheek has the bloom of the valley's sweet rose ! 
 Thy bosom's the arbour where graces repose ! 
 Thy beauty and gentleness won my fond heart, 
 But now thou hast left me ! Ah ! cruel thou art ! 
 
 Thy smile is like heaven vouchsafed to the earth, 
 Within it a million of beauties have birth !
 
 247 
 
 Thy neck is as pure as the lily's young- bud ! 
 
 Thy voice like the fountains deep hid in the wood ! 
 
 Thy beauty and gentleness won my fond heart, 
 But no\v thou hast left me! Ah ! cruel thou art ! 
 
 Thy step is so modest, thine aspect so sweet, 
 The flow'rs are enchanted and fondle thy feet ; 
 The birds sing enraptured rejoiced thee to see, 
 Thy smile them delighted, but Oh ! it's kill'd me ! 
 Thy beauty and gentleness won my fond heart, 
 But now thou hast left me ! Ah ! cruel thou art! 
 
 DIP GENTLY THE OAR. 
 
 THE soft wind scarcely curls the stream ; 
 
 Without a cloud's the sky ; 
 In some absorbing pleasant dream 
 
 The ocean seems to lie ;
 
 The curlew skims the ripples' crests, 
 It's breast of purest snow 
 
 
 
 Reflected in the water rests 
 Where ruby corals grow. 
 
 Dip gently the oar, disturb not our song, 
 Hark ! hark ! how it echoes the caverns among ; 
 We'll charm the sea-maidens whilst gliding along. 
 
 The shore the water sweetly laves, 
 
 List, list, the gentle sound. 
 Gondolas lightly skim the waves, 
 
 The white spray falls around. 
 Beneath yon rocks the Naiads play 
 
 With crystals mantled o'er, 
 Their wildsome music dies away 
 
 O'er yonder distant shore. 
 
 Dip gently the oar, disturb not our song, 
 Hark ! hark ! how it echoes the caverns among ; 
 We'll charm the sea-maidens whilst gliding along t
 
 249* 
 
 SWEET ANNA, SWEET ANNA SMILES 
 FONDLY ON ME. 
 
 To wealth I'm a stranger, no flocks I possess ; 
 The minions of fortune do not me caress ; 
 No mansion of splendour for me rears its form, 
 My home is the lone wild, I heed not the storm ; 
 Like birds of the forest that warble in joy, 
 My days glide in gladness without an alloy ; 
 From cares of this cold world my bosom is free 
 Sweet Anna, sweet Anna smiles fondly on me ! 
 
 I meet her at even beside the dark lakes 
 
 When the lone bittern's cry on the stillness awakes. 
 
 Beneath an old tree on the moss we recline ; 
 
 To her pure soul I whisper " I ever am thine !" 
 
 She leans on my bosom, a sigh leaves her heart, 
 
 The tear-drops of love to her dark lashes start. 
 
 I'm blest .' Oh ! I'm blest ! Who a monarch would be ? 
 
 Sweet Annn, sweet Anna smiles fondly on n:e !
 
 250 
 
 THE STAR OF THE EV'NING IS OVER 
 THE OCEAN. 
 
 THE star of the ev'ning is over the ocean ; 
 
 The sun's golden streamers have left the pure sky ; 
 Beneath the blue heather the sky-lark's reposing ; 
 
 Secure in the marshes the green-plover lie ; 
 
 The bat's left the cavern and flits round the aspens ; 
 Among the tall rushes the silver moths play ; 
 
 The breezes are gentle, the nightingale's singing; 
 Come ! come, dearest Mary ! Come ! let us away. 
 
 We'll seek yon dim valley where flow'rets are op'ning 
 
 To catch the sweet clew as it falls to the earth, 
 Where streamlets and fountains are merrily singing 
 
 And cheering young blossoms just springing to birth, 
 And there in the solitude silent and dreamy, 
 
 Seen by none save the birds and the winnowing trees, 
 We'll whisper of love till the moon leaves the mountains 
 
 And sinks to her rest o'er the far distant seas.
 
 ADIEU DEAREST MARY ! 
 
 ADIEU, dearest Mary ! adieu ! adieu ! 
 
 Park sorrow is piercing my bosom thro', 
 
 For Oh ! fate hath will'd it we now must part ! 
 
 I leave thee, sweet dear, with a broken heart ! 
 
 Oh ! where shall I find a spirit like thee 
 
 All beauty, all goodness, all purity ? 
 
 Thou to my soul wast like dew to the flow'rs ! 
 
 Like light to the world in its darkest hours ! 
 
 Like May's brilliant sun to the blossoming trees ! 
 
 Like hope to the soul in its miseries ! 
 
 Oh ! where shall I look for that heav'nly light, 
 That exquisite love-beam which danc'd in thy sight ? 
 Where find the bright ivory decking thy brow, 
 As pure and as lucid as glittering snow ? 
 Where find the rich tresses, black black as the night, 
 Long, glossy, and fine as the thistle-down light ?
 
 Where look for the ruby adorning thy lip 
 That angels would leave their bright regions to sip ? 
 Where look for the goodness that dwells in thy heart ? 
 My soul's full of sorrow ! alas ! we must part ! 
 
 Ah ! I go sweet girl to a country far, 
 
 Across the wide ocean where strangers arc ! 
 
 Where no kind bosom will sorrow for me ! 
 
 Oh ! then my Mary I'll yearn for thee ! 
 
 Oh ! then I shall miss thy welcoming smile ! 
 
 Oh ! then I shall sorrow for England's isle ! 
 
 Oh ! then I shall think of thy fondness, thy love, 
 
 And call on thy name to the angels above ! 
 
 Oh ! then I shall think of our wanderings wild 
 
 By the warbling Mersey, from man cxil'd. 
 i 
 
 But weep not, my dear one, we yet shall meet 
 In that happy country, the lovers retreat ! 
 Tho' parted by avarice here below 
 We'll meet in that region where 'twill not be so ;
 
 253 
 
 Where lucre and pride will be far in the shade, 
 And vile worldly honours in dust will be laid. 
 So weep not, my Mary, thy lover is true! 
 His last earthly thought will be only of you ! 
 The last word he utters thy name it will be ! 
 His last dying sigh will be wafted to thee !
 
 CONTENTS OF THE SONGS. 
 
 PACE. 
 
 Adieu dearest Mary . 215 
 
 A Shepherd's life's a life of joy 245 
 
 Awake from thy sleep my sweet love ? 333 
 
 Breaking of the light 208 
 
 By the Mersey's dark waters a maiden was wand'ring .. 216 
 
 Come, let us wander, sweet one, by yon stream 23 1 
 
 Come ! enter my beautiful bark 229 
 
 Come, my sweet Mary, let's seek the blue wave 204 
 
 Dip gently the oar 247 
 
 He went to the battle, my own winsome Johnnie 21 1 
 
 Her peace of mind's for ever flown ! 238 
 
 Her beautiful bosom of snow 220 
 
 How long have I watched by these wild foaming waters.. 200 
 
 I'll meet thee, Annie . . . ; 227 
 
 I'll meet thee at the dawn of day 244 
 
 I'll meet thee witching Anna, love ! 203 
 
 I'll meet thee, my Mary 212 
 
 I'll meet thee sweet Mary beside yon brown hazels .... 219 
 
 I'll meet the on the pebbly shore 2 lo
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 My mountain flower , 205 
 
 My little bark's waiting, sweet Mary 222 
 
 Ob ! roar not so loudly, thou wild foaming stream 235 
 
 Oh ! meet me, sweet Rosa ! 236 
 
 Oh ! tell me sweet Zephyr, Oh ! tell me of Willie ! 199 
 
 She loves none but me 225 
 
 Sing softty sweet Mersey within your old caverns 206 
 
 Sweet forest maiden 201 
 
 Sweet Anna, sweet Anna smiles fondly on me 249 
 
 The little wavelets lave the shore 233 
 
 The flow'rs have closed their tender buds 239 
 
 The moon's silver border's just kissing the ocean 241 
 
 The glance of thine eye is like light of the day 246 
 
 The star of the ev'ning is over the ocean 250 
 
 The maiden's spirit > 197 
 
 Thine eyes have killed me 210 
 
 This heart but beats for thee 241 
 
 Thy sighs are like acolian airs 230 
 
 'Tis not because thine eyes are bright 218 
 
 'Tis the note of the bugle 224 
 
 Wilt thou be mine thou maid divine ? 242
 
 T. THOMAS, PRINTER, 
 
 EASTGATE STREET ROW, 
 
 CHESTER.
 
 A 000104648 1