It Is About Three Weeks Since I Persuaded Our Captain To Draw Down To
The Vicinity Of Frosinone, In Hopes Of Entrapping Some Of Its Principal
Inhabitants, And Compelling Them To A Ransom.
We were lying in ambush
towards evening, not far from the vineyard of Rosetta's father.
I stole
quietly from my companions, and drew near to reconnoitre the place of
her frequent walks.
How my heart beat when, among the vines, I beheld the gleaming of a
white dress! I knew it must be Rosetta's; it being rare for any female
of the place to dress in white. I advanced secretly and without noise,
until putting aside the vines, I stood suddenly before her. She uttered
a piercing shriek, but I seized her in my arms, put my hand upon her
mouth and conjured her to be silent. I poured out all the frenzy of my
passion; offered to renounce my mode of life, to put my fate in her
hands, to fly with her where we might live in safety together. All that
I could say, or do, would not pacify her. Instead of love, horror and
affright seemed to have taken possession of her breast. - She struggled
partly from my grasp, and filled the air with her cries. In an instant
the captain and the rest of my companions were around us. I would have
given anything at that moment had she been safe out of our hands, and
in her father's house. It was too late.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 308 of 433
Words from 82189 to 82439
of 115667
