my own account, and rose from
my easy-chair.

"Veramente," I said, lightly, "so have I, very nearly! And if I would
appear as a gay bridegroom, it is time I went to bed. Buona notte."

"Buona notte, signor."

And we severally retired to rest, he satisfied that I had been in my
own room all the evening, and I, thinking with a savage joy at my heart
of what I had prepared out there in the darkness, with no witnesses of
my work save the whirling wind and rain.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

My marriage morning dawned bright and clear, though the high wind of
the past night still prevailed and sent the white clouds scudding
rapidly, like ships running a race, across the blue fairness of the
sky. The air was strong, fresh, and exhilarating, and the crowds that
swarmed into the Piazza del Popolo, and the Toledo, eager to begin the
riot and fun of Giovedi Grasso, were one and all in the highest good
humor. As the hours advanced, many little knots of people hurried
toward the cathedral, anxious, if possible, to secure places in or near
the Chapel of San Gennaro, in order to see to advantage the brilliant
costumes of the few distinguished persons who had been invited to
witness my wedding. The ceremony was fixed to take place at eleven, and
at a little before half past ten I entered my carriage, in company with
the Duke di Marina as best man, and drove to the scene of action. Clad
in garments of admirable cut and fit, with well-brushed hair and beard,
and wearing a demeanor of skillfully mingled gravity and gayety, I bore
but little resemblance to the haggard, ferocious creature who had faced
me in the mirror a few hours previously.

A strange and secret mirth too possessed me, a sort of half-frenzied
merriment that threatened every now and then to break through the mask
of dignified composure it was necessary for me to wear. There were
moments when I could have laughed, shrieked, and sung with the fury of
a drunken madman. As it was, I talked incessantly; my conversation was
flavored with bitter wit and pungent sarcasm, and once or twice my
friend the duke surveyed me with an air of wondering inquiry, as though
he thought my manner forced or unnatural. My coachman was compelled to
drive rather slowly, owing to the pressing throngs that swarmed at
every corner and through every thoroughfare, while the yells of the
masqueraders, the gambols of street clowns, the firing of toy guns, and
the sharp explosion of colored bladders, t