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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
Pellico looked round his dungeon , and discerned by the glimmering light which descended from a high loop-hole , the naked bench given him for a bed , and an enormous chain fixed in the wall ; he seated himself , took up the chain , measured its length , thinking it was , perhaps , after all , destined for him , even though
durissimo was not in the sentence . The keeper returned at noon , bringing him a pitcher of water , and telling him that the next day he would bring him bread . * Thanks , my good man ; ' ' I am not good , ' was the reply . * The worse for you then , ' said Pellico . But under a harsh and dogged exterior , this individual , whose name was
Schiller , concealed a heart full of kindness . Fortunately for Pellico , the air and the hardships of his dungeon soon brought on a crisis , which terminated more favourably for the future . He took a fever , and the surgeon of the prison peremptorily ordered that he should be removed to a higher story in the building , have better food , and a straw bed . Could he but have divided these increased
comforts with Maroncelli ! The lot , however , was not greatly mitigated ; he was still in irons , and the food though something better was so scanty in quantity , that Schiller and some of the other guards repeatedly brought the prisoners fragments of bread at their own expense ; but Pellico declined , dreading the greater misery of discovery , and of knowing that these kind-hearted souls had
been punished for his sake . They were under the strictest orders to preserve silence in the prison , yet sometimes they permitted a low song to issue from the solitary apartments , and one evening , Pellico heard a voice in the room next his own , murmuring an air , and soon after found himself accosted by the singer . They told each other their names , and exchanged a few words . The stranger was Antonio Oroboni , who henceforth becomes one of the most
interesting personages mentioned in the narrative . By dint of constant practice and experiments , these adjoining fellow-sufferers learned to hold occasional communications , with little molestation from the guards . They learned so to modulate and direct their voices , and so to vary the tone on the approach of danger , as to escape observation , or , if their communications were perceived by
Schiller and one or two others , they were winked at , provided some less indulgent did not overhear . In this manner they found mutual consolation . The past as concerned each was related , they discussed the deepest and highest themes . Oroboni was a Christian in heart and faith , and they spoke much of religious comforts . The esteem Pellico was led to feel for his new friend increased
daily . He seemed to be the very soul of charity : he was perpetually turning his attention to the motives which should make men indulgent towards their enemies . Never did he mention an adversary , but Oroboni strove to mitigate his anger ; he seemed to have suffered deeply , but to pardon every one . Alas ! this noble spirit soon passed away . Successive fits of illness , on both sides , frequently prevented communication between the friends , but at No . 78 . 2 G
Untitled Article
Silvio Pellico . 409
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1833, page 409, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2616/page/49/
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