to your senses!' 'What have you to
do with my senses?' she replied; 'you have no hold upon me for good or
bad.' 'Indeed!' said he, drawing closer and closer, 'all the same one
does not like the disgrace to attach to our village of having no young
man worthy of such a jewel. Probably you have now found out that your
foreigner was but a poor make-believe, like the rest, and that you
would do better to remain at home.' And she. 'What I think of _him_ is
my affair. Why do you always come after me? You knew long ago what I
think of you.' Then seizing her arm he said in a hoarse voice, 'For the
last time, Erminia, I give you warning. Renounce him, or both you and
he will have to rue it. I cannot prevent your loving him, but that he
should rob you of honour and happiness, that as sure as GOD lives I
_will_ prevent and that shortly. Do you understand me?' Then she stood
still, looked him full in the face, and said, 'You and no one else
wrote that letter.' And he, without answering, went on as before. 'Will
you give him up and remain here?' Then when she continued silent, and
shook her head resolutely, he three times repeated the same question.
'Will you, Erminia, give him up and remain here?' And when she
pretended not even to be aware that any one was speaking to her, but
quickened her steps fearing that he might do her some violence in the
deserted piazza, she suddenly felt his hand grasp her arm as in a vice,
heard the words, 'To hell, then, with your Lutheran,' and in the same
moment fell down mortally wounded close to my door.

"And now she had no wish, she said, but that her lover should forgive
her for leaving him against his will; she expiated it dearly enough. He
had meant to make her his wife, and take her to his own home. Instead
of that she must go down into the grave, and who could say whether the
Virgin Mary would intercede for her; and whether she should ever pass
out of the pains of purgatory into the Heavenly Paradise!

"That was the last sentence that crossed her lips, then her head sank
back, and she was dead!"

When the little man had got so far, he stretched himself back in his
arm-chair, and closed his eyes with a deep sigh. After some minutes so
spent he sprang up, walked several times to and fro in his dark shop,
and seemed to make a strong effort to recover his self-control. At
length he stood still beside me, laid his hand on my shoulder, and
said, "What after all is human life, _amico mio!_ A fleeti