arning him against shedding
the blood of the innocent. "Senor Mendez is mistaken," the letter said;
"he did not see the assassin, who attacked him from behind, and Giuseppe
Ripa is not guilty."

This judge, whose name was Marino, appears to have been a just man, and
to have felt some dissatisfaction with the evidence against Ripa;
inasmuch as Mendez, who, when first questioned, had spoken confidently
as to his identity, had since faltered when he came to give his evidence
in public, and seemed unable to afford any positive testimony on the
subject. The presumption against the prisoner, without the evidence of
the Spaniard, was considered by the other judges strong enough to
convict him; but Marino had objected that since the attack was made by
daylight--for it was in the summer, and the evenings were quite
light--it seemed extraordinary that Mendez could give no more certain
indications of his assailant. Added to this, although every means had
been used to obtain a confession--such means as are permitted on the
continent, but illegal in this country--Giuseppe persisted in his
innocence. Moreover, as no money had been found about him, and Faustina
Malfi was exceedingly desirous of recovering what had been lost, she
exerted herself to obtain mercy to at least the extent, that hopes of a
commutation of his sentence should be held out to the prisoner, provided
he would reveal where he had concealed the bagful of silver he had taken
from her brother. But in vain. Ripa was either guiltless or obstinate,
for nothing could be extracted from him but repeated declarations of his
innocence.

In the mean time Bianca had been undergoing a terrible persecution from
her father on the subject of Mendez, who had returned from Florence, and
taken up his abode as formerly at Forni. Her former lover was a
condemned man, and altogether _hors de combat_; she might regret him as
she would, and lament his fate to her heart's content, but he could
never be her husband; and there was the Spaniard, rich and ready; whilst
the increasing age and poverty of her parent rendered a good match of
the greatest importance. In short, under the circumstances of the case,
it was urged upon her on all hands, that she was bound both by her duty
to her father and to evince her abhorrence of Ripa's crime--which
otherwise it might be supposed she had instigated--to marry Mendez
without delay.

Persuaded of Giuseppe's innocence, and half believing that the
acc