rt.

Giuseppe Mansana was in love with a woman whose temperament was not
dissimilar to his own: a woman who must be conquered, and who had
captivated hundreds without herself yielding to the spell of any lover.
Of her a local poet at Ancona, in a wild burst of passion, had written
some verses to the following effect:

"The spirit of all evil things,
The light that comes from Hell,
In your dark beauty, burns and stings,
And holds me with its spell.

"In your deep eyes I see it shine,
It dances in your veins like wine,
Throbs in your smile, your glance of fire,
Your siren laugh, that wakes desire.

"I know it! yet 'tis better far,
My empress, at your feet to lie,
Than be as other lovers are,
And happy live, and peaceful die.

"Yea, better have loved thee and perished,
Sphinx-woman, in darkness and tears,
Than be loved by another and cherished,
Through the long, uneventful, dull years."

She was the daughter of an Austrian general and of a lady who had
belonged to one of the noblest families in Ancona. That a woman in this
position should marry the chief of the hated foreign garrison caused at
the time a good deal of resentment. And the indignation was, if
possible, increased by the fact that the husband was quite an elderly
man, while the bride was a lovely girl of eighteen. Possibly she had
been tempted by the general's fortune, which was very large, especially
as she had lived in her ancestral palace in a condition of absolute
poverty. It is a state of affairs common enough in Italy, where the
family palace is often held as mere trust-property by the occupant, who
has no sufficient revenue provided out of the estate to keep it in
proper order. This was the case in the present instance. Still there
may have been some other attraction in the general besides his wealth;
for when he died, shortly after his daughter's birth, his widow went
into complete retirement. She was never seen, except at church, and by
the priests. The friends, who had broken with her at the time of her
marriage, but who now showed themselves extremely willing to renew
their acquaintance with the rich and beautiful young widow, she kept
steadily at a distance.

Meanwhile Ancona became Italian, and the Austrian general's widow, ill
at ease amid the festivities, the illuminations, and the patriotic
celebrations of her native town, quitted it and settled in Rome,