ut the great mass were dominated by a profound and indeed most painful
sensation of awe; curiosity induced them to remain, though their
misgivings prompted them to fly from the spot which had been fixed upon
for the execution. The flowers of Florentine loveliness--and never in
any age did the republic boast of so much female beauty--were present:
but bright eyes flashed forth uneasy glances, and snowy bosoms beat with
alarms, and fair hands trembled in the lover's pressure. In the midst of
the square was raised a high platform covered with black cloth, and
presenting an appearance so ominous and sinister that it was but little
calculated to revive the spirits of the timid. On this scaffold was a
huge block: and near the block stood the headsman, carelessly leaning on
his ax, the steel of which was polished and bright as silver. A few
minutes before the hour of sunset, the chief judge, the procurator
fiscal, the two assistant-judges, and the lieutenant of sbirri, attended
by a turnkey and several subordinate police officers, were repairing in
procession along the corridor leading to the doomed prisoner's cell.

The chief judge alone was dignified in manner; and he alone wore a
demeanor denoting resolution and at the same time self-possession. Those
who accompanied him were, without a single exception, a prey to the most
lively fear; and it was evident that had they dared to absent themselves
they would not have been present on this occasion. At length the door of
the prisoner's cell was reached; and there the procession paused.

"The moment is now at hand," said the chief judge, "when a monstrous and
ridiculous superstition, imported into our country from that cradle and
nurse of preposterous legends--Germany--shall be annihilated forever.
This knave who is about to suffer has doubtless propagated the report of
his lupine destiny, in order to inspire terror and thus prosecute his
career of crime and infamy with the greater security from chances of
molestation. For this end he painted the picture which appalled so many
of you in the judgment hall, but which, believe, my friends, he did not
always believe destined to retain its sable covering. Well did he know
that the curiosity of a servant or of a friend would obtain a peep
beneath the mystic veil; and he calculated that the terror with which he
sought to invest himself would be enhanced by the rumors and
representations spread by those who had thus penetrated into its fe