CHAPTER XXII.

THE NOCTURNAL EXPEDITION.

It was about midnight, when a party of eight or nine men, armed with swords and daggers, and enveloped in dark mantles, traversed, in silence, the skirts of the wood, which flanked the western side of the castle of Montebore. The skies were covered with clouds, through which the faint light of a seven-days' moon, dimly struggled. A sea-breeze rustled in the dry leaves of the chestnuts; deadening the sounds of the steps of the men who were guided on their way by a female, who, by her free and unhesitating pace, seemed well-acquainted with the locality. Having reached a spot which commanded a view of the entrance to the castle, she paused, and addressing the two, who appeared to be the leaders of the party, she abruptly said:"It is by the great portal that ye would enter, is it not?"

"Come, come, Pattumeia," replied one of them, whom she had spoken-to, “let us have no untimely jesting. Remember, we can cast thee from this precipice, if thou art capricious, so, forward, and gain the reward of fair dealing."

"I care-not for thy miserable gold," retorted the woman, sullenly, "neither for thy dagger's point. But, enough-let us proceed."

"By the concealed way, and no other."

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Yes, yes," she replied, with a bitter smile, "Guglielmo degli Uberto and his brave companion may chance to come-forth, feet-foremost, from the grand portal; but, doubtless, they shall enter only by the postern door."

So saying, she resumed her office of guide, walking so fast, that the troop could scarcely keep-pace with her; nor did she stop until she reached the external walls of the moat. At a part which was shadowed by a clump of old oaks and ivy, she directed the men to affix a ladder of cords, with which they were provided, and by this she-herself ascended, followed by the rest, and crossing the moat, on the other side, arrived at the postern-door.

Nothing broke the profound silence, but the sighing and whistling of the wind; and Puttumeia, taking from her girdle a large key, unclosed the small, concealed door, with difficulty, and entered into a narrow passage, which hardly allowed one person to pass-along it. Here she lit a small lamp, and they proceeded to ascend a flight of stairs, extremely steep and narrow, so that the party could follow, only in file. Having reached the last step, Pattumeia, turning to Guglielmo, said: "Wilt thou proceed at the head of thy men? Now thou knowest the way as well as I do myself."

"No, no," replied Guglielmo. "I do-not remember these cursed passages. Proceed-proceed-but cautiously. Where are we, now?"

"Thou hast passed here, twice, signor Calpucio; thou canst direct thy master; but speak freely, for this wing of the castle is abandoned to the evil spirits. Ye may enter, if ye will, the chamber of the deceased Rodegonda, where, doubtless, her ghost resorts, nightly. Out with thy dagger, signor, to make-war on the bats. On that side,

sir Guglielmo, as, surely, thou knowest, is the corridor, leading to the apartment of your shall I call her-spouse! Ah, poor Alice! But the dagger of her brother will be in thy heart quickly, if thou darest to assert, even, that thy lips have tasted her cheek. Ha!

Ha!"

"Silence, hag," exclaimed Calpucio. "If thou raiseth such a din, we shall be discovered."

"Fear-not, I tell thee; but mark this door-it leads direct to the armoury; if thou needest a stouter corslet to save thee from the point of a spear.

And there

silence is the chamber of the Fleming; if thou wilt begin with him . . ."

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'No, no," said Guglielmo, “I want no dealings with that fool. Lead on," and the whole party continued to follow Pattumeia in silence.

The architecture of the castle was such, that a straight line had seldom been attained. All the corridors were curved, and so intermingled, that, to pursue them to any fixed end, was perplexing in the extreme. They were, therefore, some time traversing through this wing, and arriving at the southern front, which, alone, was now inhabited. An enormous, iron grating, open on its hinges, separated it from the part which they had traversed; and, having reached this, Pattumeia stopped, and giving her lantern to Guglielmo, she whispered:-" My office is completed. Yonder door opens into the chamber of Folchetto; that, into the baron's. Slaughter -destroy-fill yourselves with blood. May the arch-demon, himself, come to aid thee, whilst I revel in destruction, and dance upon the palpitating carcasses."

So saying, she retired to the extremity of the passage, beyond the grating, muttering some words, which had no particular sense for the ears which heard them. Although her precipitate retreat displeased Guglielmo, this was-not the time to oppose her inclination; time was precious; and, unsheathing their daggers, they divided their forces, and entered the apartments of their enemies. Infuriated with hatred, and the desire of revenge, Guglielmo, bending over the bed of Folchetto, plunged his dagger repeatedly into the coverlid and mattrass, whilst Calpucio did the same in the other chamber, without, at first, discovering that both were unoccupied.

The transports of rage into which Guglielmo fell, can be easier imagined than described; and Calpucio, whose heart palpitated as much with fear as disappointment, was forced to subdue his own feelings, and urge upon his master the necessity of an immediate retreat-endeavoring to soothe him with the reflection, that his vengeance was but deferred. Execrating all the saints in heaven, and cursing all the demons of hell, for having assisted the objects of his hatred, Guglielmo and his followers retraced the corridor, with far less precaution than they had used in their first approach. But when Calpucio reached its termination, he was suddenly stopped; he turned deadly pale; a cry died upon his lips-the iron grating was closed! With a trembling hand, he tried one of the solid bars, but it was firm as a rock; and the truth becoming apparent to all, they united in a storm of menaces and oaths. After the first explosion of wrath was subsiding, one of the body suggested that there might be another outlet, and they set-themselves to search by the feeble light of their solitary lanthorn, but, in vain; the windows, or, rather, loopholes, were high

in the wall, and barred strongly with iron, and the opposite end of the corridor was fastened with another grating, which had been unobserved, before, in the gloom, it having been then unclosed.

Every hope was, now, vain, of recovering their liberty; and whilst Guglielmo and Calpucio indulged in bitter recrimination, the remainder of the party, with the thoughtlessness and recklessness, so characteristic of the retainers of the nobles in those times, wrapt-themselves closer in their dark cloaks, and threw-themselves upon the hard floor, in patient, or sullen expectation of the events of the future. Calpucio, who listened angrily to his master's unlimited abuse, at last interrupted him with:"Instead of casting all the blame upon me, signor, it would be more just to invoke thy maledictions upon the cursed witch who has led us into this snare."

"And in the name of the great demon, where is she?" cried Guglielmo. Pattumeia, where art thou? Answer, I say, or I will tear thee piece-meal."

"She has had the foresight to put the iron grating between us," said Calpucio. "Evil to him who forged its bars."

Guglielmo, for the first time, awakened to a sense of the treachery and deceit by which the wise witch of Varenilla had led them into the very jaws of destruction, like beasts to the slaughter. His heart was too full of rage at her, and anger at his own credulity, in being so duped, to be able to review their situation with any calmness. He felt, only, that he was in the hands of his most determined enemies, whose animosity would be increased, by the discovery of an action, which was of a dastardly and unknightly nature. Impatiently awaiting the dawn, which, however, would but faintly illumine those dark and dreary passages, he paced up-and-down their narrow precincts, in a state of mind which even the Malaspina might have compassionated.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE MESSENGERS TO THE CONVENT.

SUNDAY, which had been so anxiously expected by the two factions, as that which would cement their united powers, passed over, without Folchetto and his two followers presenting-themselves in the great Duomo, in obedience to the summons. The people had preserved an external appearance of calm, which animated the magnate to persist in his designs. He had been informed that the Malaspina had retired to the monastery of Precipiano, and he immediately dispatched a messenger, with an injunction to the abbot to forward the criminals, without delay, to the episcopal prisons.

Before we proceed to relate what reception these orders of the magnate met from the abbot, we must enter the monastery, itself, where the Malaspina and Stull were assembled, by the secret advice of Pattumeia, the counsel of Opizzone, and the invitation of the abbot. This powerful ecclesiastic, who had a strong disposition to exercise the dominion of a secular baron, was, in his person, robust, and in his deportment, determined and imperious, and his grey locks, shading his temple in profusion, seemed more fitted for a helmet than a cowl. The prior was a man of a cheerful countenance, with an air of content and health, tallying exactly with his character; and the father procurator was small, active and slender, like an Arab courser; cunning and shrewd; and, who, to every interrogation of his superior, replied in the very mode which was calculated to suit his wishes. Such were the three principal personages who held-rule in the celebrated monastery of Precipiano. Giordano, who had awaited his guests with all disguised impatience, received them with warm cordiality, but with a kind attention to their anxiety. After the first greetings were over, he displayed the notice from the abbess of Santa Chiara, which gave-them the consolatory certainty, that their beloved Alice was safe under her holy protection.

The following day, which was the eventful Sunday, was passed in a pleasant cessation from care; the abbot, especially, was at the summit of exultation, for the indefatigable procurator had discovered in the archives of the convent, an ancient deed of great importance, long lost, or mislaid, the production of which would materially aid his views of independent jurisdiction. Folchetto thought deeply on the disasters that menaced his country, and on the perplexities of the fair Leonilla, but even he was soothed and composed by the quiet of the sacred dwelling, and the hospitable attention of the brothers.

But more stirring events occurred on the morrow. Two messengers arrived nearly at the same time at the monastery. The first was the bearer of a dispatch from Opizzone, which ran as follows:

"Honoured kinsman aud friend. I, Opizzone Malaspina salute thee as one whom I esteem and love.

He who sets out on his way, arrives at his destination, at last, however slowly he may

advance; so, by various marches and counter-marches, our advanced guard has so cleared the passage that we shall be enabled to bring-forward the chief of the army, without fear o dangers or want of provision. Some lawless men, it is true, yet seek to attack us, but we scorn them as those taken in a snare, whose power is destroyed. Soon thou wilt understand of whom I speak, those who are put-aside, and have-not obtained the rites of burial.

I have received from you, brave and honored kinsman, a proof of deference, the most flattering. That you have been induced to retire to the monastery of Precipiano, upon the faith of my counsel, has spared much misfortune to the city, has assured our triumph, and has given a boundless satisfaction of a revenge, imperiously demanded by our offended honor. I, must, however, call upon thee to share the fruits of thy deference to my will; and I pray thee to retrace thy way, on the morrow, to the castle of Montebore, in company with the baron and Stull. But I recommend thee not to appear before mid-day. There we will meet together at the festive board, when I will reveal unto thee secrets which shall manifest the solicitude and care of,

Thy loving kinsman,
OPIZZONE."

This letter, in spite of the flattering prospects it held-out, did-not entirely please the young Malaspina. He liked-not the air of superiority assumed in it, and he began to suspect the political views of his kinsman. It seemed as if the influence which Milan sought to exercise upon the affairs of Tortona, was more than was desirable, or suitable, and he feared that a yoke was preparing for the state, not less burthensome than that from which it sought to free-itself. It was true that the approach and menaces of the emperor, rendered aid from a powerful neighbour of importance; but Folchetto was aware of some suspicious circumstances, which demanded a vigilant eye to keep-watch over them.

Opizzone had brought from Milan a banner, as a friendly gift to the citizens, to be adopted in the place of the ancient standard of Tortona. It was white, intersected with a red cross; and embroidered with a golden sun, and a silver moon-which emblems were thus explained :-"The moon shines by the reflected light from the sun, so does Tortona receive life, spendor and strength from illustrious Milan."

The letter, then, of the Milanese ambassador, was thoughtfully read-over by Folchetto, whilst Teobaldo, Stull, and the abbot saw in it nothing beyond the security of approaching triumph. They were warmly discussing the appearance of affairs, when a lay-brother entered, to announce the arrival of a messenger from the magnate, with, as he said, dispatches of serious importance for his reverence, the abbot. "Let him enter, father Eusebius, and declare his mission," said the abbot, Giordano. "I marvel what his excellency, my lord bishop would with me.”

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Yes, yes, let him come," said Teobaldo, "and if he does-not demean-himself, respectfully, he shall return to his excellency, with his ear in his hand."

The lay-brother made his reverence and departed; father Eusebius accompanied him, and, presently after, the messenger appeared, under the escort of father Peter.