olo are in the hands of the Signoria. The
Palace doors are guarded; the Doge is shut up in his rooms, watched
like a criminal by his own faithless body-guard. Away! away!"

"'Half unconscious, Antonio suffered himself to be slipped into the
gondola. There were distant voices, clangour of weapons, one or two
cries of terror, and then, with the deepest darkness of the night,
heavy, soundless silence.

"'Next morning the populace, broken with deadly fear, saw a terrible
spectacle, which made the blood in all veins run cold. During the night
the Council of Ten had passed sentence of death on all of the
conspirators who had been taken; they were strangled, and thrown down
to the Lesser Piazza di San Marco, from the gallery whence the Doge
used to witness the festivities--alas! where Antonio had hovered before
the beautiful Dogaressa when he handed her the flowers. Among the
bodies were those of Marino Bodoeri and Bertuccio Nenolo. Two days
afterwards old Marino Falieri was sentenced by the Council of Ten, and
executed on the so-called Giant Staircase of the Palace.

"'Antonio had been creeping about, almost unconscious. He was not
apprehended, for no one knew that he was one of the conspirators. When
he saw Falieri's grey head fall, he awoke as from a heavy dream. With a
cry of the wildest terror, and a shout of "Annunziata!" he burst into
the Palace and ran through the galleries. No one stopped him. The
guards stared at him, like men stupefied with the horrors which had
been going on. The old woman came limping up to meet him, weeping, and
loudly lamenting. She took him by the hand. In a few paces he was in
Annunziata's chambers. She was lying senseless on the couch.

"'Antonio rushed to her, covered her hands with glowing kisses, and
called her by the fondest and tenderest names. Slowly she opened her
beautiful eyes. She saw Antonio; but at first it cost her an effort to
realise who he was. But suddenly she rose, put both her arms about him,
pressed him to her heart, bedewed him with hot tears, kissed his
cheeks, his lips.

"'"Antonio!" she cried, "my Antonio, I cannot tell you how I love you!
There is still a heaven here on earth! What are the deaths of my
father, my uncle, my husband, in comparison with your love! Oh, come,
let us fly from this scene of murder!"

"'With bitterest sorrow and most fervent love, with thousand kisses and
thousand tears, they vowed eternal truth, and forgot the frightful
events of that