remembers it is he who
deprives them of a protector: but it is too late to think now; for he
is approaching the scene of his fault and the place of his punishment,
and other feelings swell in his heart. His brows are contracted; his
eyes bent on the house of the Bardi, as if they would pierce the
stones of its walls; and now they are cast down, as though he would
raise them no more on earth. But he starts, for he hears a loud
shriek, a rushing, and an opening of the crowd: they seem to be awed
by something that approaches. It is a woman, whoso violent gestures
defy opposition; she looks like a maniac just escaped from her
keepers; she has reached Hyppolito; his fettered arms move as if they
would receive her, but in vain. She turns to the crowd, and some among
them recognise the modest and beautiful daughter of Bardi. She calls
out: 'He is innocent of every crime but having loved me. To save me
from shame, he has borne all this disgrace. And he is going to death;
but you cannot kill him now. I tell you he is guiltless; and if he
dies, I die with him.'

The people stand amazed. At last there is a shout: 'It must be true!
he is innocent!' The execution is stopped till the truth is
ascertained, and Dianora's statement is fully confirmed. And who shall
paint the return from death to life of poor Hyppolito? and to such a
life! for blazoned as the story of her love had been, Dianora's
parents, considering also her firm character, subjected even the
spirit of party to the voice of affection and reason; and Hyppolito's
family, softened by sorrow, gladly embraced their Ghibeline daughter.
Whether in after-life Hyppolito and Dianora were distinguished by the
qualities they had shewn in youth, and whether the promise of
affection was realised by time and intimate acquaintance, no chronicle
remains to tell. This short glimpse of both is all that is snatched
from oblivion--this alone stands out in bright relief, to shew us they
once were; the rest is lost in the darkness of time.

The moment chosen by the artist is when Dianora rushes from her house
into the midst of the crowd, and reaches Hyppolito, surrounded by
priests and soldiers. It is easy to see to what a varied expression of
passion and action this point of the story gives rise.

A CURIOSITY IN NATURAL HISTORY.

The crustacean class of animals, of which the lobster, crab, and
shrimp are familiar examples, have this peculiarity of structure--that
their soft bodi