credence to a charge of such unheard-of villany | against his destined son-in-law? Was it not more likely that Alzato should be guilty of forgery than Carrara of murder? Lovely Antonia! it was thy divine beauty, thine overpowering charms, that lured me into this snare; but never shall I again behold my heart's adored one: for me an ignominious death awaits-for her a lingering life of wretchedness. Ye powers of heaven, why do ye thus permit vice to triumph and virtue to be abased?" And the bandit chief sank upon his wretched pallet and groaned deeply. At that bitter moment, when despair was gathering around him and penetrating to his very soul; when all of this world seemed torn from him for ever, and nothing left to him but infamy and death-a light suddenly gleamed through the darkness of his dungeon-a taper flashed before him he looked up, and merciful Heaven! he beheld the bright eyes of Antonia beaming through her tears all benignantly upon him! The suddenness of his rapture held him mute; and the maiden was the first to speak. "O Alzato, is it for this that you have served Antonia and saved the life of Manfred? Can ingratitude so base dwell in the hearts of men? But, alas, it is to me that you owe all this. Could I but have summoned courage to have bid you farewell when you last stood by me, you would ere this have been beyond the reach of Carrara's vengeance. O Alzato, canst thou forgive the wretched Antonia that she has involved thee in this fate?" The astonished brigand would have fallen on his knees had not his fetters prevented him. He groaned deeply, and Antonia turned pale as their clanking grated on her ears. "O, peerless daughter of Tarento," said the knight, "why art thou here? Why talkest thou of forgiveness from me? Hast thou not heard? Can a mountain robber, the scourge and terror of Italy, aspire to the love of one so gentle, so divine, as thou art? Can I even hope for pardon that I have profaned thy ears with my daring suit?" "O Alzato!" returned the princess, "little knowest thou the heart of thy Antonia; or thou wouldst not doubt that she loves thee for thyself alone. Though chained in the dungeons of my cruel father, and branded with the name of bandit, Antonia sees none other than her own Alzato, the preserver of her life, the lord of her affections." "And can Antonia then, the daughter of a prince-the heiress of Tarento, the flower of Italia's beauty, yield her heart to a brigand-the proscribed and outlawed Red Mask?" "Alzato!" sorrowfully replied the maiden, "wilt thou vie in cruelty with the fierce Carrara ? Art thou indeed weary of Antonia's love?" she added, with a slight accent of pride. "Forgive me, fairest one, that I have awakened such a thought," exclaimed the Red Mask. "Heaven is witness that I cherish it as the dearest blessing of my life." "Then think of me as thine," returned Antonia, "thine in heart and soul. What to me is it that you lead a bold and outlawed band, the scourge, not of the peasant, but of the noble-himself a bandit all but in name? I have heard of the Red Mask-many a recital of his bold deeds has reached my ears; but never yet one of treachery or cruelty. Would that of all our coroneted princes and castled barons I could say as much." "You are right, Antonia. The course of the Red Mask has been indeed a wayward one; but never stained with violence or blood." "Alas!" replied the princess, “this will not avail thee: the hateful Carrara thirsts for thy blood. O would that I could save thee from this death! These fetters-how can I unloose them?" "The task would be too difficult for your weak hands," replied the bandit; "yet I will not yield without a struggle. An hour ago, and I cared not for this hapless life; but your presence has raised me from the depths of despair to the towering heights of hope. Carrara's designs may yet be baffled, and thy father saved." Holy Virgin! my father!" exclaimed Antonia, "I had forgot. Can I not aid thee to escape?" "You cannot," replied her lover; "these fetters are too strong for woman's hand to unfasten; and the vengeance of Carrara too vigilant to allow me to pass these walls. But do not despair, Antonia (for the trembling maiden seemed ready to sink upon the earth). You can still aid me. Take the ring which you see glittering on my finger." The princess bent over her lover, and withdrew the jewel. "What can this avail, Alzato?" she said dejectedly. "Attend, dearest one," replied the bandit. "This night some page with your orders may leave the palace and the city; choose the trustiest and most wary-you can pretend a mission to the convent of Santa Maria without the walls-but bid him repair forthwith fearlessly to the old tower which overlooks the grove of elms. There let him clap thrice with his hands, and to the first man he meets show this ring: he will conduct him to my lieutenant. To him let him commit it, and at the same time command him from me to repair ere dawn with all his followers, well armed, to the low half-hidden portal near the old church of San Marco; some friendly hand from within might there admit an host. Let your page be stationed there to receive him." "It shall be so," replied the princess. "But these banditti-they respect your name?" "You need fear no more from them than from your father's body-guard," replied the youth. "Forgive me the boast; but the followers of the Red Mask might shame the troops of any prince in Christendom for discipline and forbearance." "It is enough, Alzato. I will haste me and despatch forthwith a shrewd and faithful page upon the errand. But when within the city-what then?" "The old church of San Marco is spacious," replied the chief; "within, Struzzo and the band may lie concealed until the bell tolls for my execution. To-morrow, at high-noon, Carrara has decreed it. That hour shall witness his downfall.” "The Holy Virgin grant it may be so," ejaculated Antonia; "but O, Alzato! for my father's sake, for mine, spare the citizens." "I know your generous soul full well," replied Antonia, "and will trust in Heaven for the rest. Farewell, Alzato; may gentle sleep refresh thy fettered limbs, and dreams of thy Antonia soften thy rugged pillow. To-morrow, with the blessed Virgin's aid, I shall behold thee free." "And Manfred saved, and Carrara vanquished," added the Red Mask; “until then, dearest one, farewell." The lips of the princess pressed those of her bandit lover; and a kiss of pure affection confirmed their plighted vows. "I will," replied the Red Mask; "but fear | breathless suspense the moment when the brigand not, the people of this city hate the marquis far chief should be launched into eternity; when sudmore than they do the bandit chief. It is not denly a deep, determined, measured tread was from them, but from Carrara's myrmidons, hos-heard in the adjoining streets; and in a few motility awaits us; and not one drop of Tarentine ments a numerous body of banditti appeared, blood shall flow if mortal vigilance can prevent advancing_with_levelled muskets towards the it." Plaza. The Tarentine horseguards retreated among the multitude-a well directed volley dispersed the myrmidons of Carrara-and the brigands surrounded the scaffold. The Red Mask was received into the arms of his companions, and, ere his foes had time to rally, he burst upon them, the bandit chief himself, with crimson visor and ribboned bonnet, as he had often issued from his mountain fastnesses at the head of his daring band. The marquis, leaping from his seat, led on his men to the attack. Manfred himself, enraged at this defiance of his power, ordered his horseguards to advance; but these, entangled among the populace, afforded but little succour, and the whole burden of the contest fell upon the satellites of Carrara. Their chief would have been far less eager in the fray had he not trusted that, with the assistance of the Tarentines, he should have been easily able to overwhelm the banditti. When he beheld the supineness of these, he half repented of his precipitancy; but it was now too late; so fiercely raged the battle that retreat was death. The Red Mask himself was bearing down upon him; and wherever he appeared the attendants of Carrara sank back dismayed. In vain the marquis urged them to rally round him, their disordered ranks could ill sustain the furious charge of the mountain_brigands; in vain he turned his eyes to the guards of Manfred, the dense throng had hemmed them in; the tiger was now caught in the snare, and nothing remained for him but to fight or die. CHAP. V. The sun was shedding down his meridian beams over the city of Tarento, as a stately procession swept through the principal streets to the place of execution. First rode a body of the prince's horse-guards, the officers of justice followed with Alzato in their midst, the executioner by his side. Prince Manfred, surrounded by Carrara and his well-armed myrmidons, brought up the rear. When they reached the Plaza di Ladrone-the spot appointed for the awful ceremony-a vast concourse had assembled; and it was with difficulty that the guards could form a passage for their victim. All pressed forward to obtain a glimpse of the celebrated Red Mask, whose enterprising courage bad impressed their minds with mingled admiration and dread. But who could recognize the bandit leader in the knightly form and courtly features of the youth now hurried to the scaffold? The voice of pity scarcely repressed was heard on every side-the soldiers of the prince seemed ashamed of their task, and the | followers of Carrara grasped their arms more firmly. But all was now silence through the assembled throngs. Alzato stood at the foot of the gallows, and waving his hand addressed them -"Prince and people of Tarento, I seek not to move your pity or to crave your mercy. The bandit is an outlaw, and from the executors of the law he must not look for compassion. But the Red Mask has been no common robber of the soil; he glories, even at the scaffold, that no deed of cruelty can be brought against him; that no poor son of Italy has cause to remember him with hatred; that if he has taken from the rich, he has given to the needy; that if he has been the terror of blood-stained barons-such as the lord of Carrara-he would have been the firm defender of Tarento's righteous prince. Beware, my Lord Manfred, beware: the Red Mask knows well the secrets of yon marquis, and bids you, as with his last breath, beware!" The Prince moved not-Carrara beckoned impatiently-the executioner approached-and the bell of a neighbouring church tolled heavily the knell of death. The multitude around awaited in The vengeful Struzzo had cut his way to his hated foe, the Marquis; and his blood-stained weapon sparkled at his breast. But Carrara was no contemptible swordsman; he parried the thrust with skill, and stood upon his defence. A rattling storm of blows succeeded, and the incessant clash of the glittering steel attested the fury of the combatants. At length Carrara, failing in a deadly thrust, exposed his side, and the next moment the sword of the revengeful Struzzo was buried to the hilt in the body of his foe. Carrara sank bleeding; his attendants were dispersed, but the prince had descended from his throne, and with loud voice was summoning his subjects to cut down the brigands. 66 Stay, my lord Manfred," cried the Red Mask, advancing to the side of his lieutenant, "for one moment stay." And standing over the prostrate noble he tore aside his crimson vizor, and disclosed │—not the features of the bandit chief, nor even of the knight Alzato, but the well remembered visage of Carrara's elder brother, whose titles and estates the present usurper had for the last three years enjoyed. The fallen marquis was now in the agonies of death; but the presence of one risen as it were from the grave, to which his murderous hatred had consigned him, added ten-fold to the horrors of his expiring soul. "Speak, Rudolpho of Carrara!" cried the victor; "behold you not in these features those of your elder brother, Tancredi, the rightful Marquis of Carrara ?" At that awful moment, when all of earth was floating from the eyes of the dying chief-when revenge, and power, and ambition, were but empty names, conscience resumed her long neglected sway within his hardened bosom; and all the terrors of a remorse, too late, convulsed him. 66 Away, Tancredi, away!" he said, "I know thee well; thy spirit mocks me in this dark hour; thy body lies deep in the Brenta's stream, pierced by the stilettoes of my trusty bravoes." "Your trusty bravoes failed you there, Rudolpho," returned Tancredi; "the wounds they inflicted on my body, ere they plunged me beneath those waters, were indeed most dangerous, but still not mortal. A poor fisherman rescued me from the jaws of that death to which the tender mercies of a brother had consigned me. In his hut I remained secure until my wounds were healed. I then beheld you in the possession of my castle and estates, revelling in the thought that you had swept your brother for ever from your path. In these fierce times might, alas, is right; and, friendless and forlorn, I had no means of coping with you. Despair drove me to the brigand's life; a brigand I became, but such an one as Italy might well prefer to the titled robbers who oppress her soil and hunt her children to dishonour or to death. I speak not vain-gloriously; the fame of the Red Mask is heard through the circuit of his native land for his generosity as well as for his daring; but Heaven now restores me to my rights. I thank thee, Rudolpho, that thou hast made me acquainted with adversity; and, in that adversity, with a treasure of more value than is contained in all the treasuries of kings-the divine Antonia. Rudolpho, I forgive thee, with heart and soul I forgive thee." And the generous Tancredi stretched out his hand to his dying brother. The unhappy Rudolpho feebly clutched it, and with a deep groan expired. Prince Manfred and his people had witnessed in breathless silence this meeting between the brothers. What was their amazement to find in the Red Mask, the bandit of the mountains, the rightful Marquis of Carrara? His princely mien and noble bearing might well have carried conviction to the hearts of all, had not the words of the dying usurper so fully attested the lawfulness of his claim to the dignity which so well became him. | Manfred now approached, and embracing him, | entreated his forgiveness, and besought him to repair forthwith to the palace. "One moment, Prince," said Tancredi, "while I speak to these, my faithful people. Gallant followers," he cried, addressing the brigand troop, "the Red Mask, the bandit of the hills, is now the Lord of Carrara. Do ye grieve, or do ye rejoice at this? Will ye choose another leader, and repair to the mountains, or will ye be sharers of my prosperity as ye have been of my adversity, and follow me as servants-nay, rather as friends -to my hereditary halls? Say, gallant followers, which path do ye resolve on?" An enthusiastic shout responded to the appeal. "It is needless, my lord, to ask," said Struzzo; "we follow thee in life and death." "It is well, good comrades," replied Tancredi. "I glory in your fidelity. Then, turning to the Prince, he implored his hospitality for his men. "They shall be quartered in my palace," said the admiring Manfred, "and I will trust them as the servants of my household. But let us hasten thither, my dear Tancredi; the princess, my daughter, will rejoice at your altered fortunes, for she grieved for the fate of the gallant Red Mask." CHAP. VI. "One mystery, however, still remains," said Manfred to his new guest, as they stood in his palace hall. "What has become of our late friend, the knight Alzato?" At that moment the Princess entered, and her father introduced to her the rightful Lord of Car rara. Antonia started, turned pale, and sank upon a couch; but Tancredi approached, knelt before her, and addressed her: "Beauteous Antonia, forgive me that my cruel fate has hitherto compelled me to veil my hereditary dignity in various disguise. As the Red Mask I first saw and loved you. Oh, well do I recal the hour when, as I stood with muffled cloak behind a pillar in the porch of St. John of Rome, awaiting my lieutenant, you swept by me, and your peerless charms flashed full upon my dazzled gaze. From that moment I was yours in heart and soul. In vain I sought to tear your image from my memory; it rested there, a golden link, binding me to the world I had renounced for ever. Love triumphed over revenge; and I beheld in thee the star of my future fortunes. I repaired forthwith to Venice, and procuring from a skilful artist a light mask, so well wrought that it might defy detection, I assumed a new character. As Alzato, I rescued you from a feigned attack of my own banditti, and thus obtained an entrance into the household of your grateful sire. Oh, what bliss was it to be near my Antonia-to remain under the same roof-to be numbered among her defenders. But imagine my surprise and horror, when I beheld the preparations for your marriage with Rudolpho-my mingled grief and exultation when your suitor sought my aid for the execution of his nefarious schemes. But I spare the memory of a brother; heaven has restored me to my lawful rank_and_wealth, and these I prize only that I may lay them at the feet of my heart's adored one the lovely and all-beauteous Antonia." Tancredi paused and raised his eyes, still more eloquent than words, to the arbitress of his fate. Antonia smiled approvingly. The tone and gesture were those of her Alzato; the voice of love whispered to her that she was in the presence of the loved one-that she beheld in the warrior at ber feet the youth who had already wooed and won her; and if handsome as the graceful and vizored knight, still more so was he in his native and manly beauty as the acknowledged heir of a noble house. We will not detain the reader. Prince Manfred, to whom his blushing daughter referred her impassioned suitor, welcomed his future son-in-law. In due time, after the obsequies of the guilty Rudolpho, the marriage rites were performed. In the principal church of the city, in the presence of its assembled rank and beauty, Tancredi and Antonia sealed their plighted troth with the nuptial vows. Joy and festivity reigned throughout Tarento-the citizens hailed their future sovereign-a thousand acclamations greeted him as he led his lovely bride in triumph to the palace of her father; and few would have recognised in the courtly and coroneted Marquis the bandit of the mountains, the far-famed and far-dreaded Red Mask. GENIUS. Hard is the fate of him, whose mind disdains A slave to those it cannot help despise- And worldly rank can urge against its claim, Genius alone is never bought and sold, As honour purchased at the price of shameMeet marketing, indeed, for empty fame! Ab! little heed the multitude who know The pleasant music of the poet's strain, That oftentimes its sweetest measures flow, As mere relief from overwhelming pain. JoUN LUKE CLENNELL. SONG." "I have survived my own affections." LADY'S LESSON. 'Tis over, 'tis over, the bright dream of love, 'Twas a lovely dream! but it would not stay- ANSWER TO CHARADE, AT PAGE 214. OLD TOM. Well may the songs thou singest for thy bread be very sad It were strange if thou couldst utter aught merry, gay, or glad; It were strange if thou one moment couldst drown thy soul's regret, And stranger still couldst thou the Past, the happy past forget. But soon, full soon thy pilgrimage on this earth shall be o'er, And soon, oh! weary-hearted one! thine eyes shall weep no more; And oh mayst thou, thy sins forgiven, soar to a brighter sky, And evermore sing praises with the seraph choir on bigb. Then oh! bear up with patience, and be not overcast; Thy woes, though very heavy, cannot for ever last; And remember, that the Merciful thy sins will still forgive, If thou repentest truly, and thou in Heaven shalt live. CLEON. MEDITATION.-The most meditative hour of man's existence (generally speaking) is that which precedes his rising. At night, the weariness of the body overpowers the mental faculties, and both sink together into the temporary oblivion of sleep. But in the morning the mind and faculties, "like a giant refreshed with wine," awake with fresh vigour, the soul soars aloft on new plumage, and the imagination takes a higher flight. 'Tis then the philosopher meditates, the lover muses, the poet poetizes, and the man of the world schemes; and more plots are devised, and more projects formed, in that first waking hour, than all the rest of the twenty-four can often see executed. M. B. W. LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP.-Love may be likened to the meridian sun, which scorches all it looks upon; Suggested by a tale in La Belle Assemblée for Friendship to the milder, but cold moonbeam, that veils itself beneath every passing cloud. June. W. Fortunately this is by no means a large class— we say fortunately, because the idle and vagrant life which they lead must necessarily unfit them for the graver duties of more advanced years. Nevertheless, we have known not a few, and one in particular, who from sweeping a crossing in our immediate neighbourhood, fell under our daily and hourly observation. She must have been about thirteen then, or perhaps a few months older, and although poorly and thinly clad, had a bright, merry face, and a ready wit, which was perfectly astonishing. In fine weather we saw but little of her, but felt certain there was mirth and mischief wherever that unquiet spirit had betaken itself. But of a wet, dirty day, out she came again like a water kelpie, and from morning to night might be found untiringly at her post; until at length we almost fancied we could detect, from the different degrees of reverence which her curtsey indicated, whether it was a halfpenny or a penny which had been bestowed upon her, and once or twice felt quite sure that it was neither, by a certain playful jerk of her broom which she was in the habit of giving at such times, much to the detriment of the splashed and unconscious passenger. Whoever addressed her, either in sport or anger, she had always an answer ready; so that many turned back again to bestow the involuntary reward which her wit or impertinence-for to tell the truth, it bordered oftener on the latter-so well deserved. And it was amusing to see her stop short all of a sudden in her quarrels or noisy play with the idle boys of the neighbourhood, who seemed to take pleasure in teazing her, and apply herself vigorously to the broom, at the approach of some respectablelooking person, whose appearance promised the expected coin, after which she again returned to her companions; while that loud, boisterous laugh was far from unmusical, for it had not a note of care to mar its rude, yet pleasing harmony. And who so happy as that sweeper girl? At one o'clock, when the pieman came round, she always dined-a hot dinner every day! And then, when she could afford it, went afterwards to a neighbouring fruit-stall, and chose her own desert. We well remember being at the window one day about this time. The street was almost deserted, and the rain came down in torrents; even the girl herself had forsworn what seemed her native element, and been fain to betake herself to the shelter of a neighbouring gateway, already thronged by those who likewise sought a temporary shelter | from that summer shower. Presently, however, it passed away, and the sun peeping out, though palely, the people ventured forth also, and quietly dispersed to their various homes, until there remained none but the sweeper girl and an old greyheaded man, who stood with his head bent down upon his bosom, as though he had forgotten all about the storm, and knew not that it was over. His companion spoke to him—no marvel, by-the-bye, for she always did to every one who came in her way-but whatever his answer was, it did not make her laugh as usual; and presently she went nearer, and put something in the old man's hand; and when he would have remonstrated, took up her broom, and went back to the crossing, which, owing to the heavy rain, required all her industry; and after a time he turned away, and entering a baker's shop, purchased a penny loaf, and walked on, eating it ravenously; and then the girl, looking after him, laughed out aloud for very gladness of heart. Presently the pieman came by as usual, and seemed about to pause, but she shook her head-she was not "hungry to-day." The truth was she had given away her all to that aged man. It has been beautifully said that, "The charity which Plenty spares to Poverty is human and earthly; but it becomes divine and heavenly when Poverty gives to Want." We beckoned her over, and she came at once, broom in hand, with her usual saucy smile. "And so you have given away your dinner?" said we, while something like a blush flitted over the_dark_cheek of the sweeper girl, who would perhaps have brazened out a dozen petty faults, but looked ashamed of being detected in that one good deed, which in our eyes more than redeemed them all, and presently answered in a subdued voice"I could not help it, indeed; he looked so like my old father just before he died." And then we learned that she was an orphan, and much more, which has no connection with our present sketch. Soon after this a change of residence caused us to lose sight, for a time, of our merry-hearted favourite; and on returning to the old house, there was a fresh crossing-sweeper, and no one could tell us what had become of her. God knows; she might be in her grave, for we often feared she would catch her death of cold, standing there in all weathers; or, it may be, that a brighter destiny removed her for awhile from our sight. But the recollection of her glad face and clear, ringing laugh has ever since inspired us, as we trust it will our gentle readers also, with a sort of lingering affection for the "Sweeper-Girl," wherever they may chance to meet with one. TO A PARVENU. Such pompous pride becomes you illYour splendour has no real worth; Correct your arrogant self-will, By looking backward at your birth. The butterfly on brilliant wing, With such as you may well compare; He was a creeping, loathsome thing, Before be floatedi he air. ISABEL. |