"Though, in the early part of my life, I entertained no very high opinion of the character of Berlotte, knowing that his sentiments were mean, and his abilities contracted; yet allowing that years and reflection might have refined the one, and expanded the other, though I did not express myself on this occasion with equal warmth and ardour, I was not insensible to his professions of friendship, or undesirous of cultivating it.
"Having walked with him as far as the hotel, I requested that his visits might be frequent and without ceremony; and, after giving him my address, hasted back to Laurentina.
"Not expecting me at so early an hour, my visits being usually nocturnal ones, I was told she was absent. Believing that she was only gone on some trifling business, without regarding the answer, and meaning to wait her return, I walked on to the saloon.
"Having entered this room, the first object that engaged my attention was a small miniature portrait, suspended over the chimney-piece by a chain of gold: It was the figure of a young Signor in a military habit, of a noble and dignified appearance. The countenance was fine, open, and impressive, and had at once an air of grandeur and of sweetness. That this was some favoured lover of Laurentina's was an idea that instantly occurred, and brought with it all the tortures of jealousy and resentment. The words of De Pietro returned to my recollection, who I now believed was acquainted with her inconstancy, and was only prevented from disclosing it by an unreasonable warmth, which determined me, on a next interview with him, to interrogate him concerning her.
"When the first emotions of surprise and anger had subsided, I again took the picture from its place, and was gazing upon it attentively, when Laurentina entered.
"She started in visible confusion on observing me; but in a moment recollecting herself, assumed an appearance of composure that filled me with astonishment, since the miniature was still in my hand, which I considered as a testimony of her falsehood;
"This, however, she seemed not to regard; but was advancing towards me with one of those fascinating smiles, which had so often deceived me, when I demanded, in an authoritative tone, for whom that portrait was designed? She was too able a practitioner in the art of dissembling, to suffer the least hesitation to betray her, and replied emphatically, her brother. I regarded her earnestly as she spoke, but the undaunted serenity of her countenance was unchanged; and having expressed my surprise that I had never heard her speak of her brother, she informed me that he had entered into the service of his country very early in life, and having been some years abroad, he had sent her that picture as a memento, which had lately been conveyed to her by Signora Bairdiella.
"There was too much of the appearance of truth in this recital to justify suspicion, which made me anxious, by the gentleness of my manners, to atone for the want of confidence I had betrayed, as well as to reward the patience with which she had supported it.
"This was no time for expatiating on the necessity of adopting a plan of economy, being too much humbled by her artifice to propose any thing on that subject; and having an engagement at the villa, I left her with many expressions of tenderness, and hasted to fulfil it.
"The circumstance of the picture, and the conversation of the Conte, in spite of all my efforts to the contrary, would frequently return to my memory, and awaken unpleasant surmises. There was indeed nothing improbable in the story of its being the portrait of her brother, nor had I any reason, at present, to doubt her veracity; yet it by no means amounted to conviction.
"Berlotte was now frequently at the villa, and generously made one in our parties, on private as well as public occasions, though he was far from being a general favourite. There was indeed nothing prepossessing in his appearance; and he was justly suspected of shallowness and affectation.
"My wife, who was candour itself, could not sometimes forbear uttering something to his disadvantage; his confidence distressed her, and his conversation at once wounded her feelings, and excited disgust.
"I now anxiously sought an opportunity of questioning the Conte concerning Laurentina; and was not long before I succeeded. I found that nothing material could be alledged against her; but I was still chagrined and unhappy. De Pietro observed my uneasiness, and being convinced that a state of suspense is, of all others, the least supportable, asked me if I would submit to a stratagem, that would at once either remove or realize my suspicions. Having assured him that I would gladly embrace any means that could be adopted with honour, he proposed, that when I next visited Laurentina, I should inform her that business of importance made me under the necessity of quitting Naples for a few weeks. That on the supposition that I had put my intentions in execution, she would consider herself at liberty to follow her own inclinations; and in the mean time, avoiding detection, I might observe her actions in those places of public resort to which she was the most attached.
"This proposal was no sooner made than agreed to; and having acquainted Laurentina with my design of leaving the city for a few weeks, on an affair of importance, I became a spy upon her conduct.
"The masquerade was, I knew, a favourite diversion; and as this was one of which the Contessa never partook, and a place of more security than any other, I frequently spent my evenings there with Laurentina, and determined to make my first trial there.
"I had not been long in this place before a number of dominos entered the room. To ascertain her by her dress was I knew impossible, as she seldom appeared twice in the same. But a figure of more than ordinary elegance, who entered leaning upon the arm of a young Signor in a blue domino, soon attracted my regard; and this, on a near view, I conceived to be the object of my search. The jewels that braided her hair, which I had lately presented to her, convinced me of the truth of the conjecture; and the suspicion that the person who attended her was a lover, was soon lost in conviction.
"It was with much difficulty that I was enabled to forbear discovering myself to her, and of upbraiding her with the infamy of her proceedings.
"My endeavours to overhear any part of the conversation were unsuccessful, as it was invariably delivered in a whisper; yet I still followed, in hopes of hearing something of which I might openly accuse her, till the rest of the company unmasking, they suddenly retreated.
CHAPTER III
Know'st thou not.
That when the searching eye of heav'n is hid
Behind the globe, and lights the lower world.
Then thieves and robbers range abroad unseen.
In murders and in outrage, bloody here?
But when from under this terrestrial ball
He fires the proud tops of the Eastern pines.
And darts his light through ev'ry guilty hole.
Then treasons, murders, and detested sins.
The cloak of night being pluck'd from off their backs.
Stand bare and naked, trembling at themselves.
-SHAKESPEARE
"The various emotions of rage, jealousy, and remorse that the conviction of her falsehood had awakened, for some time deprived me of the power of action; and in a frame of mind little short of distraction, I returned again to the villa.
"The ruin to which her artifice was leading me, now flashed upon my mind; the altered looks of the Contessa added keenness to my affliction, and I felt all the miseries of guilt and anguish.
"Several days passed before I had fixed upon any mode of proceeding respecting Laurentina; in which time the agitation of my mind was so great, that my situation was thought to be alarming.
"Affairs were in this train when a Monk of the Crucifix Order arrived at the villa, who having intimated that his business was of moment, requested an audience.
"Being admitted into a private apartment, after strictly enjoining me to secrecy as to what he was about to relate, in a manner not less singular than impressive, he proceeded to inform me of a piece of treachery, which had been unfolded to him at the confessional of the Order of the Holy Cross.
"Who the penitent was by whom the confession was made, was, he added,
unknown to him; and even could it have been ascertained, the rules of the church absolutely forbade a discovery. But that a female had attended on the preceding day, who appeared to suffer much from the horrors of an awakened conscience; and, after an endeavour on his part to console her with promises of forgiveness on a candid avowal of her sins, she began to disclose the cause of her remorse.
"She had, she said, yielded to the solicitations of a young man, that was employed by a courtezan, whose name was Laurentina Bertola, to administer poison to the Contessa della Croisse. That he had addressed her as a lover, and had so far insinuated himself into her affections and wrought upon her by his promises, that she had finally consented. Since which time she had suffered such dreadful, such uneasy sensations, that she was resolved to abandon the project. And the idea of having agreed to participate in a crime of such magnitude, returned so forcibly upon her mind, that she had hasted to the Confessional, at once to disburthen her conscience, and to obtain absolution.
"As it appeared probable to the Father that, without timely interference, some other person would be employed to commit this atrocious murder, he had, he continued, taken the earliest opportunity of apprizing me of it.
"He then repeated his former injunctions respecting my secrecy in what he had unfolded; since, if known, not even the necessity of the case would excuse his disobedience to the ecclesiastical laws: the nature of a confession never being permitted to be made public, unless the priest to whom it is made, is called upon by the Courts of the Inquisition to prove something which cannot otherwise be known in cases where, for capital offences, the culprit is either punishable according to the severe rules of that institution, or is given lip to the civil powers, as in cases of murder, or of any other crime not bearing the imputation of sacrilege.
"Surprise, horror, and resentment almost deprived me of utterance; but when the first tumults had subsided, and the Monk had quitted the villa, I loaded the authoress of my misfortunes with the most bitter invectives; and having already formed a resolution never more to enter her doors; but to make an assignation with her that I might convince her I was not ignorant of her perfidy and ingratitude, I repaired to an hotel.
"From this place I wrote a billet, in which I desired that she would meet me in a retired spot in the evening, having something of importance to communicate to her in private. In this I avoided mentioning her name, and having given it to my valet, with orders for him to convey it immediately as directed, hastened to the Conte de Pietro's.
"He was from home, and finding that he was not expected till the evening, I was for some time irresolute how to dispose of myself, not being sufficiently tranquil to be able to see Helena, who expressed much anxiety about my health, without adding to her distress; which determined me, after some consideration, to return again to the hotel, and to wait there the hour in which I had appointed to meet Laurentina.
"Never shall I forget with what sensations I quitted this place, when I went to fulfill the engagement—when I went to accuse the fair cause of all my griefs and inquietude of premeditated guilt, and, by one desperate exertion, to tear myself from her presence for ever.
The destined spot was near the borders of the sea; it yet wanted some minutes of the time, and seating myself upon a fragment of rock, in a state of mind not easy to describe, I listened to the moaning waves of the ocean with divided attention, till the murmur of voices at a distance roused me from my place. I started, without considering that it was unlikely that she would bring an attendant; and, before I had time for conjecture, perceived that the voices approached nearer to the spot, and soon afterwards distinguished these words, which were pronounced in low and tremulous accents:
"His frequent visits have distressed me more than I can express; and I must, if possible, be released from them. You know how much I have suffered, and that he is now more than ever my aversion.
"The answer was nearly lost in the flutter of the breeze; but I could easily discover it was the voice of a man.
"In a few moments the female advanced towards me; I did not suppose it could be any other than Laurentina, though her features were not perceptible, for her veil and the deepening shades of the twilight completely concealed them from my view.
"Having now a fresh proof of her ingratitude, as I felt assured that I was the subject of their discourse, my rage increased to such a height at the idea of having been so long the dupe of an infamous designing woman, that nothing less than the death she meditated against the most amiable of her sex, seemed adequate to her crime. Thus being worked into a fit of desperation by the violence of contending passions, without reverting to the cause, I obeyed the impulse of my feelings, and instantly drawing my stilette from my cloak, plunged it into her heart.
"She fell!—but just Heaven! what was the horror of my situation when I heard my own name pronounced, in a voice which was not Laurentina's, but which I immediately recognized as that of my wife, my much-injured Helena!
"This dreadful conviction was succeeded by a state of insensibility, from which it was long before I awoke to a sense of my irremediable crimes and misfortunes; when I did, I found myself in the hotel which I usually frequented, attended by Dc Pietro and the Marchese de Montferrat.
"As soon as the powers of recollection were returned, I asked eagerly for my wife; their looks told me she was no more; and I relapsed into a state little short of distraction.
"My death was hourly expected, but the measure of my woes was not yet full, and I recovered. I then declared the fatal mistake which had occasioned this mournful catastrophe, and found, from the confession of a servant, who sometimes carried letters to Laurentina, that he had received a bribe from Berlotte to deliver the next into his hands; who having artfully altered it, to suit it better to his purpose, enclosed it in a cover, and directing it to the Contessa della Croisse, ordered it to be conveyed to the villa.
"She had expressed her surprise at this strange appointment in the presence of her brother, the Marchese de Montferrat, who offered to accompany her, in a carriage, within a few yards of the place, as to walk so far in her weak state was impossible, and to wait her return at a convenient distance.
"This accounted for the voices I had heard, and the subject of the discourse; doubtless Berlotte, who had long secretly endeavoured to insinuate himself into the affections of Helena, as the most effectual way, attempted to convince her of my falsehood.
"When the violent effects of overwhelming distress had in some degree subsided, I found, upon enquiry, that this melancholy affair had been managed with so much secrecy by the Conte and Marchese de Montferrat, that it was not generally understood. The rumour that prevailed was, that the Contessa della Croisse was assassinated when walking unattended by the Bay of Naples, and it was supposed, though the cause could not be investigated, that it was perpetrated by one of those inhuman wretches who are too frequently hired for that dreadful purpose.
"It was long before I had courage to enquire for my children; when I did, I learned that Vescolini, my son, was placed under the care of one of his mother's relations in Germany; and that my daughter was entered as a boarder in a neighbouring convent.
"The grief of the Conte de Pietro, who considered himself as the primary cause of my misfortunes, though it was more calm, was but little inferior to my own. What he before termed innocent amusement, and attempted to palliate by the appellation of youthful levities, he now discovered might lead to the most serious consequences, and be productive of the most fatal effects. A short time after this event, which had so materially affected his peace, he formed the design of entering into a monastery of Carthusians, and soon afterwards put it into execution.
"I would gladly have retired with him from the world, and have submitted with him to the severe discipline of the Holy Fathers, and had once adopted the resolution, but it was shaken by the entreaties of the Conte.
"He bade me to consider my children, to watch over their educations, particularly that of my son; and to guard him from thos
e fatal errors which had caused such severe calamity, and which inevitably lead to lasting misery.
"During my illness he attended me with the greatest care and humanity, never allowing Laurentina or any thing relative to the subject to be mentioned in my hearing, till I was sufficiently recovered to bear it with calmness; and then informed me that she was, by his orders, conveyed to her former place of residence, and that the settlement which she demanded, he had ordered to be paid.
"Persisting in his resolution of abandoning the world, he began to make every necessary preparation; and having wrested a promise from me not to avenge myself on Berlotte or Laurentina, but to leave them to the tortures of a guilty conscience, he hastily quitted Naples, which was become no longer supportable, and endeavoured to take refuge from inquietude in the gloom of a monastery.
"When my health was so far re-established as to enable me to leave my room, and dismiss my physician, I began to form some plan for my future conduct. Society was now become irksome to me; every object reminded me of her I had lost, and I finally resolved to quit the scene of my guilt and my sorrows, and to bury myself in a castello situated amid the solitudes of the Apennines. This to me appeared more eligible than even a monastic life, since here I should find interesting companions in my children, who were all that could make life desirable.
"This resolution being fixed, I acquainted the young Marchese with my intention, whose recent rectitude of conduct had considerably exalted him in my esteem. At first he objected to the plan with some warmth, but finding, from a second review of the subject, the propriety of the measure, he offered his assistance in the regulation of my affairs.
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) Page 342
