n in the nature and order commanded by the
demon.

Fernand Wagner saw that the mind of his lovely companion, his charming
bride, was ruffled; and, as he embraced her tenderly, he inquired the
cause. His caresses for the moment soothed her, and induced her to
struggle against the ideas which oppressed: _for there are thoughts that
Satan excites within us_, which we can wrestle with--ay, and conquer if
we will.

Finding that Nisida became more composed, and that she treated her
mournfulness and his agitation merely as the results of a disagreeable
dream, Fernand rose, hastened to perform his own ablutions, and then
repaired to the adjacent grove, as above stated. But Nisida remained not
long in the Mediterranean's mighty bath; the moment Wagner had departed
from her presence, thoughts which had recently passed in sad procession
through her brain came back with renewed vigor; forcing themselves, as
it were, upon her contemplation, because she offered but a feeble
resistance to their returning invasion. And as she stood on the shore,
having donned her scant clothing, and now combing out her long,
luxuriant hair, to the silk richness of which the salt water had lent a
more glorious gloss--she became a prey to an increasing restlessness--an
augmenting anxiety, a longing to quit the island, and an earnest desire
to behold her brother Francisco once again, sentiments and cravings
which gave to her countenance an expression of somber lowering and
concentrated passion, such as it was wont to exhibit in those days when
her simulated deafness and dumbness forced her to subdue all the
workings of her excited soul, and compress her vermilion lips to check
the ebullition of that language which on those occasions struggled to
pour itself forth.

"O Italy! Italy!" she exclaimed in an impassioned tone; "shall I ever
behold thee again? O! my beloved native land, thou too, fair city, whose
name is fraught with so many varied reminiscences for me, am I doomed
never to visit ye more?"

"Nisida--dearest Nisida!" said Wagner, who had returned to her
unperceived, and unheard--for his feet passed noiselessly over the sand;
"wherefore those passionate exclamations? why this anxious longing to
revisit the busy, bustling world? Are not the calm and serene delights
of this island sufficient for our happiness? or art thou wearied of me
who love thee so tenderly?"

"I am not wearied of thee, my Fernand!" replied Nisida, "nor do I fail
to apprec