se
is intolerable, I cannot endure it even for a few short hours! No--I
will speed me at once to the dwelling of my Flora, and thus assuage her
grief and put an end to my own fears at the same time!"

Having thus resolved, Francisco repaired to his own apartment, enveloped
himself in a cloak, secured weapons of defense about his person, and
then quitted the mansion, unperceived by a living soul. Almost at the
same time, but by another mode of egress--namely, the private staircase
leading from her own apartments into the garden, and which has been so
often mentioned in the course of this narrative--Donna Nisida stole
likewise from the Riverola palace. She was habited in male attire; and
beneath her doublet she wore the light but strong cuirass which she
usually donned ere setting out on any nocturnal enterprise, and which
she was now particularly cautious not to omit from the details of her
toilet, inasmuch as the mysterious appearance of the muffled figure,
which had alarmed her on the previous evening, induced her to adopt
every precaution against secret and unknown enemies. Whither was the
Lady Nisida now hurrying, through the dark streets of Florence?--what
new object had she in contemplation?

Her way was bent toward an obscure neighborhood in the immediate
vicinity of the cathedral; and in a short time she reached the house in
which Dame Margaretha, Antonio's mother, dwelt. She knocked gently at
the door, which was shortly opened by the old woman, who imagined it was
her son that sought admittance; for, though in the service of the Count
of Arestino, Antonio was often kept abroad late by the various
machinations in which he had been engaged, and it was by no means
unusual for him to seek his mother's dwelling at all hours.

Margaretha, who appeared in a loose wrapper hastily thrown on, held a
lamp in her hand; and when its rays streamed not on the countenance of
her son, but showed the form of a cavalier handsomely appareled, she
started back in mingled astonishment and fear. A second glance, however,
enabled her to recognize the Lady Nisida; and an exclamation of wonder
escaped her lips. Nisida entered the house, closed the door behind her,
and motioned Dame Margaretha to lead the way into the nearest apartment.
The old woman obeyed tremblingly; for she feared that the lady's visit
boded no good; and this apprehension on her part was not only enhanced
by her own knowledge of all Antonio's treachery toward Count