thered
in just at the commencement of the swell of the leg, were small and
beautifully shaped; and so light was her tread, that she scarcely seemed
to touch the ground on which she walked.

As the lady issued from the door of the merchant's shop, she cast a
rapid but inquiring look toward Alessandro, though whether in anger or
curiosity he was unable to determine, for the eyes only could he see,
and it was impossible for him to read the meaning of the glances they
sent forth, when unassisted by a view of the general expression worn by
her countenance at the same time.

Accident, however, favored him far more than he could have possibly
anticipated. At the very moment when the lady's head was turned toward
him, she tripped over the cordage of a bale of goods that had shortly
before been opened beneath the painted awning over the front of the
shop, and she would have fallen had not Alessandro sprung forward and
caught her in his arms.

She uttered a faint scream, for her veil had shifted aside from its
proper position; and her countenance was thus revealed to a man, and
that man evidently by his dress a Christian!

Instantly recovering her self-possession, she readjusted her veil, gave
a gentle but graceful inclination of the head toward Alessandro, mounted
her mule by the assistance of the slaves, and rode away at a somewhat
hasty pace. Alessandro stood gazing after her until she turned the angle
of the nearest street, and it struck him that her glance was for an
instant cast rapidly back toward him, ere she disappeared from his view.

And no wonder that he stood thus rooted to the spot, following her with
his eyes; for the countenance which accident had revealed to him was
already impressed upon his heart. It was one of those lovely Georgian
faces, oval in shape, and with a complexion formed of milk and roses,
which have at all times been prized in the East, as the very perfection
of female beauty; a face which, without intellectual expression,
possesses an ineffable witchery, and all the charms calculated to
fascinate the beholder. The eyes were black as jet, the hair of a dark
auburn, and luxuriantly rich in its massive beauty; the lips were of
bright vermilion, and between them were two rows of pearl, small and
even. The forehead was high and broad, and white as marble, with the
delicate blue veins visible through the transparent complexion.

Alessandro was ravished as he reflected on the wondrous beauty thus f