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Untitled Article
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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
pressed on him ; and presently , the naked hands , red with gore , of Jeidaz , stretched forth , attempting to clutch the weapon , and defending- his face and throat from the blows and thrusts which fell with horrible rapidity . He was now leaning against a casement frame , and the people below held out their arms , calling on him to leap down ,
but his head dropped forward , and he rolled through the opening , a dead mass—hacked , pierce *! , mangled with a hundred wounds ! Lucio sprang after him , and alighted safely in the arms of the people . Standing then erect , gazing for a minute on the body , he threw the red sword , with a sweep of his arm , away beyond the limits of the crowd . For a while his father stood as if benumbed : then throwinghis arms round his neck , he said , in broken accents , ' Lucio ! Lucid !
what hast thou done ? ' He was a murderer , father : ' with unfaltering tone and steady eye , was Lucio ' s answer . Then , after a pause , * Melaza ' s ! ' and his voice wept , though his eyes were dry ; and he laid his hands across his breast ; then , as if suddenly , and startingly feeling with his fingers for something which he expected , but could not find , he tore open his vest , gasjU , then shrieked c lost ! ' and instantly his voice seemed to sink doiminto his very heart ' s core , as the suffocated groan ' gone ! gone ! ' was uttered ; and before any
arm could be stretched forth in check , he broke through the mass , and in an instant was up the steps , again through the portal , again lost to their view . In the amazement consequent on this rash act , allstupified with terror and dismay , the crowd ran wildly about to different points of the building , mingling their exclamations of grief and agony . The failing masses of timber and walls foretold the speedy and entire demolition of the building , when a cry was heard , which at once lifted their hearts to a hope of preserving him . He was seen bursting through a burning door , which led to the stairs in the vestibule , where
the destructive element had not yet committed such ravages as to preclude all chance of escape that way . He forced his passage through , and a loud cheer told the joy of the multitude . He turned the angle of the wall , on which the flame was creeping and flashing as if seeking some place of hold , and began to descend . He was out of sight presently , andwas thoug-ht to emerge in safety ; and the eager friends rushed forwards up the steps to meet and welcome him , when a heavy ,
dense sound , mingled with harsh crashings , struck them aghast . The inner wall swayed and fell , pressing the fierce flame through every opening and crevice , into the faces of all within its scorching reach , and dashed them back by its violent bursting . Then the fire , for a moment , seemed to be crushed beneath the load of masonry , while the dried and pulverized cement and rubbish , which rose up in ponderous masses , obscured every object : and these subsiding " , the flames again uprose . Lucio was lost for ever , and destruction was
complete . Jt was in that sorrowful calm , when each turned from the immediate present to inquiries of the past , that Signior Goznia ' s knowledge of the fate of Lady Melaza was communicated by Nicolo to the nearer friends of Lucio ; but he protested that both Count Jeldaz and himself were innocent of her death . He stated that the count had gone privately into her chamber in the night , and found her seated at
Untitled Article
Autobiography of Pel . Verjuice . 641
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1833, page 641, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2622/page/57/
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