The Wing-and-Wing Part 22

"They have denied my request, father," he said, "and I must die like a felon--"

"The Son of G.o.d suffered on the cross suspended between thieves."

"I believe there is far less in these opinions than we are accustomed to think--yet it is cruel for one who has filled so high employments--a prince--a Caraccioli, to die like a lazzarone!"

"Grandfather--"

"Did you speak, child? I wonder not that this indignity should fill thee with horror."

"It is not _that_, grandfather," resumed Ghita, shaking off her doubts and looking up with flushed cheeks and a face radiant with holy feelings--"Oh! it is not _that_. If my life could save thine, gladly would I give it up for such a purpose; but do not--do not--at this awful moment mistake the shadow for the substance. What matters it how death is met when it opens the gates of heaven? Pain, I am sure, _you_ cannot fear;--even I, weak and feeble girl that I am, can despise _that_--what other honor can there be in the hour of death than to be thought worthy of the mercy and care of G.o.d? Caraccioli or lazzarone--prince or beggar--it will matter not two hours hence; and let me reverently beg of you to humble your thoughts to the level which becomes all sinners."

"Thou say'st thou art my grand-child, Ghita--the daughter of my son Francesco?"

"Signore, I am, as all tell me--as my heart tells me--and as I believe."

"And thou look'st upon these opinions as unworthy--_unsuited_, if thou lik'st that better--to this solemn moment, and considerest the _manner_ of a death a matter of indifference, even to a soldier?"

"When placed in comparison with his hopes of heaven--when viewed through his own demerits, and the merits of his Saviour, grandfather."

"And wilt thou, then, just entering on the stage of life, with the world before thee, and all that its future can offer, accompany me to the scaffold; let it be known to the mocking crowd that thou derivest thy being through the felon, and art not ashamed to own him for a parent?"

"I will, grandfather--this have I come to do," answered Ghita, steadily.

"But do not ask me to look upon thy sufferings! All that can be done to lessen, by sharing thy disgrace, if disgrace it be, will I most gladly do; though I dread to see thy aged form in pain!"

"And this wilt thou do for one thou never beheld'st until this hour?--one thou canst hardly have been taught to consider just to thyself?"

"If I have never seen thee before this visit, grandfather, I have loved thee and prayed for thee from infancy. My excellent uncle early taught me this duty; but he never taught me to hate thee or any one. My own father is taken away; and that which he would have been to thee this day will I endeavor to be for him. The world is naught to me; and it will console thee to think that one is near whose heart weeps for thee and whose soul is lost in prayers for thy eternal pardon."

"And this being, father, is made known to me an hour before I die! G.o.d punishes me sufficiently for the wrong I've done her, in letting me thus know her worth, when it is too late to profit by it. No, Ghita--blessed child, such a sacrifice shall not be asked of thee. Take this cross--it was my mother's; worn on her bosom, and has long been worn on mine--keep it as a memorial of thy unhappy parent, and pray for me; but quit this terrible s.h.i.+p, and do not grieve thy gentle spirit with a scene that is so unfit for thy s.e.x and years. Bless thee--bless thee, my child. Would to heaven I had earlier known thee--but even this glimpse of thy worth has lightened my heart. Thou find'st me here a poor condemned criminal, unable to provide for thy future wants--nay, I can yet do a little for thee, too. This bag contains gold. It has been sent to me by a relative, thinking it might be of service in averting the punishment that awaits me. For that purpose it is now useless; with thy simple habits, however, it will render thy life easy and above care."

Ghita, with streaming eyes, steadily put aside the gold, though she pressed the cross to her bosom, kissing it fervently again and again.

"Not that--not that, grandfather," she said; "I want it not--wish it not. This is enough; and this will I keep to my own last moment. I will quit the s.h.i.+p, too; but not the place. I see many boats collecting, and mine shall be among them; my prayers shall go up to G.o.d for thee, now thou art living, and daily after thou art dead. There needs no gold, grandfather, to purchase a daughter's prayers."

Don Francesco regarded the zealous and lovely girl with intense feeling; then he folded her to his heart once more, blessing her audibly again and again. While thus employed the Foudroyant's bell struck once, and then those of all the surrounding s.h.i.+ps, English and Neapolitan, repeated the stroke. This, Caraccioli, a seaman himself, well knew denoted that the time was half-past four; five being the hour named for his execution. He felt it necessary, therefore, to dismiss his new-found relative, that he might pa.s.s a few more minutes alone with his confessor. The parting was solemn but tender, and as Ghita left the cabin her condemned grandfather felt as he would had he taken leave for ever of one whom he had long loved, and whose virtues had been a solace to him from the hour of his birth.

The deck of the Minerva presented a sorrowful scene, Although the prisoner had been condemned by a court of Neapolitan officers, the trial was had under the British ensign, and the feeling of the public was with the prisoner. There existed no necessity for the hurry in which everything had been done; no immediate danger pressed, and an example would have been more impressive had there been less of the appearance of a desire for personal vengeance, and more of the calm deliberation of justice in the affair. Ghita's connection with the prisoner could not be even suspected; but as it was known that she had been in the cabin, and believed that she felt an interest in the condemned, the officers manifested an interest in her wishes and too evident emotions. An immense throng of boats had a.s.sembled around the s.h.i.+p; for, hasty as had been the proceedings, the tidings that Francesco Caraccioli was to be hanged for treason spread like wildfire; and scarce a craft of proper size was left within the mole, so eager was the desire to witness that which was to occur. Either in the confusion, or bribed by money, the man who had brought off Carlo Giuntotardi and his niece was no longer to be found, and the means of quitting the s.h.i.+p seemed momentarily to be lost.

"Here is a boat close to our gangway," said the officer of the deck, who had kindly interested himself in behalf of so interesting a girl, "with a single man in it; a few grani would induce him to put you ash.o.r.e."

The fellow in the boat was of the cla.s.s of the lazzaroni, wearing a clean cotton s.h.i.+rt, a Phrygian cap, and cotton trousers that terminated at the knees, leaving his muscular arms and legs entirely bare; models for the statuary, in their neatness, vigor, and proportions. The feet alone formed an exception to the ordinary attire, for they were cased in a pair of quaint canvas shoes that were ornamented a little like the moccasins of the American Indian. Carlo caught the eye of this man, who appeared to be eagerly watching the frigate's gangway for a fare, and holding up a small piece of silver, in a moment the light boat was at the foot of the accommodation-ladder. Ghita now descended; and as soon as her uncle and she were seated, the skiff, for it was little more, whirled away from the s.h.i.+p's side, though two or three more, who had also been left by recreant boatmen for better fares, called out to him to receive them also.

"We had best go alone, even though it cost us a heavier price," quietly observed Carlo to his niece as he noted this occurrence. "Pull us a short distance from the s.h.i.+p, friend;--here, where there are fewer boats, and thou shalt meet with a fair reward. We have an interest in this solemn scene, and could wish not to be observed."

"I know that well, Signor Carlo," answered the boatman; "and will see that you are not molested."

Ghita uttered a faint exclamation, and, looking up, first saw that the feigned lazzarone was no other than Raoul Yvard. As her uncle was too un.o.bservant in general to detect his disguise, he made a sign for her to command herself, and continued rowing as if nothing had occurred.

"Be at ease, Ghita," said Carlo; "it is not yet the time, and we have twenty good minutes for our aves."

Ghita, however, was far from being at ease. She felt all the risks that the young man now ran, and she felt that it was on her account solely that he incurred them. Even the solemn feeling of the hour and the occasion was disturbed by his presence, and she wished he were away on more accounts than one. Here he was, nevertheless, and in the midst of enemies; and it would not have been in nature for one of her tender years and s.e.x, and, most of all, of her feelings, not to indulge in a sentiment of tender grat.i.tude toward him who had, as it were, thrust his head into the very lion's mouth to do her a service. Between Raoul and Ghita there had been no reserves on the subject of parentage, and the former understood why his mistress was here, as well as the motive that brought her. As for the last, she glanced timidly around her, fearful that the lugger, too, had been brought into the throng of s.h.i.+ps that crowded the anchorage. For this, however, Raoul was much too wary, nothing resembling his little craft being visible.

The reader will have understood that many vessels of war, English, Russian, Turkish, and Neapolitan, were now anch.o.r.ed in the bay. As the French still held the castle of St. Elmo, or the citadel that crowns the heights, that in their turn crown the town, the s.h.i.+pping did not lie quite as close to the mole as usual, lest a shot from the enemy above might do them injury; but they were sufficiently near to permit all the idle and curious of Naples, who had the hearts and the means, to pull off and become spectators of the sad scene that was about to occur. As the hour drew near, boat after boat arrived, until the Minerva was surrounded with spectators, many of whom belonged even to the higher cla.s.ses of society.

The distance between the Neapolitan frigate and the s.h.i.+p of the English rear-admiral was not great; and everything that occurred on board the former, and which was not actually hidden by the sides and bulwarks of the vessel itself, was easily to be seen from the decks of the latter.

Still the Foudroyant lay a little without the circle of boats; and in that direction Raoul had pulled to avoid the throng, resting on his oars when about a third of a cable's length from the British admiral's stern.

Here it was determined to wait for the awful signal and its fatal consequences. The brief interval was pa.s.sed by Ghita in telling her beads, while Carlo joined in the prayers with the devotion of a zealot.

It is scarcely necessary to say that all this Raoul witnessed without faith, though it would be doing injustice to his nature, as well as to his love for Ghita, to say he did so without sympathy.

A solemn and expecting silence reigned in all the neighboring s.h.i.+ps. The afternoon was calm and sultry, the zephyr ceasing to blow earlier than common, as if unwilling to disturb the melancholy scene with its murmurs. On board the Minerva no sign of life--scarcely of death--- was seen; though a single whip was visible, rigged to the fore-yard arm, one end being led in-board, while the other ran along the yard, pa.s.sed through a leading block in its quarter, and descended to the deck. There was a platform fitted on two of the guns beneath this expressive but simple arrangement; but, as it was in-board, it was necessarily concealed from all but those who were on the Minerva's decks. With these preparations Raoul was familiar, and his understanding eye saw the particular rope that was so soon to deprive Ghita of her grandfather; though it was lost to her and her uncle among the maze of rigging by which it was surrounded.

There might have been ten minutes pa.s.sed in this solemn stillness, during which the crowd of boats continued to collect; and the crews of the different s.h.i.+ps were permitted to take such positions as enabled them to become spectators of a scene that it was hoped might prove admonitory. It is part of the etiquette of a vessel of war to make her people keep close; it being deemed one sign of a well-ordered s.h.i.+p to let as few men be seen as possible, except on those occasions when duty requires them to show themselves. This rigid rule, however, was momentarily lost sight of, and the teeming ma.s.ses that floated around La Minerva gave up their thousands like bees cl.u.s.tering about their hives.

It was in the midst of such signs of expectation that the call of the boatswain was heard piping the side on board the Foudroyant, and four side-boys lay over on the accommodation-ladder, a mark of honor never paid to one of a rank less than that of a captain. Raoul's boat was within fifty yards of that very gangway, and he turned his head in idle curiosity to see who might descend into the gig that was lying at the foot of the long flight of steps. An officer with one epaulette came first, showing the way to two civilians, and a captain followed. All descended in a line and entered the boat. The next instant the oars fell, and the gig whirled round under the Foudroyant's stern and came glancing up toward his own skiff. Four or five of the strong man-of-war jerks sufficed to send the long, narrow boat as far as was desired, when the men ceased rowing, their little craft losing her way within ten feet of the skiff occupied by our party, Then it was that Raoul, to his surprise, discovered that the two civilians were no other than Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, who had accompanied Cuffe and Griffin, their companions in the gig, on a cruise, of which the express object was to capture himself and his vessel.

Another man would have been alarmed at finding himself in such close vicinity to his enemies; but Raoul Yvard was amused, rather than rendered uneasy, by the circ.u.mstance. He had faith in his disguise; and he was much too familiar with incidents of this sort not to retain his self-command and composure. Of course he knew nothing of the persons of the two Englishmen; but perfectly aware of the presence of the Proserpine, he guessed at their ident.i.ty, and very correctly imagined the circ.u.mstances that brought companions so ill-a.s.sorted together. He had taken no precautions to disguise his face; and the red Phrygian cap which he wore, in common with thousands on that bay, left every feature and lineament fully expressed. With Ghita, however, the case was different. She was far better known to the two Elbans, as indeed was the person of her uncle, than he was himself; but both had veiled their faces in prayer.

"I do not half like this business, Griffin," observed the captain, as his gig entirely lost its way; "and wish with all my heart we had nothing to do with it. I knew this old Caraccioli, and a very good sort of man he was; and as to treason, it is not easy to say who is and who is not a traitor in times like these, in such a nation as this. Ha! I believe my soul, this is the same old man and the same pretty girl that came to see Nelson half an hour ago about this very execution?"

"What could _they_ have to do with Prince Caraccioli or his treason, sir? The old chap looks bookish; but he is not a priest; and, as to the girl, she is trim-built enough; I fancy the face is no great matter, however, or she would not take so much pains to hide it."

Raoul muttered a "sacr-r-re," between his teeth, but he succeeded in suppressing all outward expression of feeling. Cuffe, on the contrary, saw no other motive for unusual discretion, beyond the presence of his boat's crew, before whom, however, he was accustomed to less reserve than with his people in general.

"If she be the same as the one we had in the cabin," he answered, "there is no necessity for a veil; for a prettier or a more modest-looking girl is not often fallen in with. What she wanted exactly is more than I can tell you, as she spoke Italian altogether; and 'miladi' had the interview pretty much to herself. But her good looks seem to have taken with this old bachelor, the justice of the peace, who eyes her as if he had an inclination to open his mind to the beauty. Ask him in Italian, Griffin, what mare's nest he has run foul of now."

"You seem to have found something to look at besides the Minerva, Signor Podesta," observed Griffin, in an undertone. "I hope it is not Venus."

"Cospetto!" grunted Vito Viti, nudging his neighbor, the vice-governatore, and nodding toward the other boat; "if that be not little Ghita, who came into our island like a comet and went out of it--to what shall I liken her sudden and extraordinary disappearance, Signor Andrea?--"

"To that of le Feu-Follet, or ze Ving-y-Ving," put in Griffin, who, now he had got the two functionaries fairly afloat, spared none of the jokes that come so easy and natural to a man-of-war's man. "_She_ went out, too, in an 'extraordinary disappearance,' and perhaps the lady and the lugger went out together."

Vito Viti muttered an answer; for by this time he had discovered that he was a very different personage on board the Proserpine from what the other had appeared to consider him while in his native island. He might have expressed himself aloud, indeed; but at that instant a column of smoke glanced out of the bow port of the Minerva--a yellow flag was shown aloft--and then came the report of the signal gun.

It has been said that vessels of war of four different nations were at that time lying in the Bay of Naples. Nelson had come in but a short time previously, with seventeen s.h.i.+ps of the line; and he found several more of his countrymen lying there. This large force had been a.s.sembled to repel an expected attack on the island of Minorca; and it was still kept together in an uncertainty of the future movements of the enemy. A Russian force had come out of the Black Sea, to act against the French, bringing with it a squadron of the Grand Signor; thus presenting to the world the singular spectacle of the followers of Luther, devotees of the Greek church, and disciples of Mahomet, uniting in defence of "our rights, our firesides, and our altars!" To these vessels must be added a small squadron of s.h.i.+ps of the country; making a mixed force of four different ensigns that was to witness the melancholy scene we are about to relate.

The yellow flag and the signal gun brought everything in the shape of duty to a standstill in all the fleets. The hoa.r.s.e commands ceased--the boatswains and their mates laid aside their calls, and the echoing mids.h.i.+pmen no longer found orders to repeat. The seamen gathered to the sides of their respective vessels--every part glistened with expectant eyes--the booms resembled cl.u.s.ters of bees suspended from the boughs of a forest; and the knight-heads, taffrails, gangways, and stretchers of the rigging were garnished with those whose bright b.u.t.tons, glazed hats, epaulets, and dark-blue dresses denoted to belong to the privileged cla.s.ses of a s.h.i.+p. Notwithstanding all this curiosity, nothing like the feeling which is apt to be manifested at an exhibition of merited punishment was visible in a single countenance. An expression resembling a sombre gloom appeared to have settled on all those grim warriors of the deep; English, Russian, Neapolitan, or Turk, apparently reserving all his sympathies for the sufferer, rather than for the majesty of justice. Still, no murmur arose--no sign of resistance was made--no look of remonstrance given. The unseen mantle of authority covered all; and these ma.s.ses of discontented men submitted as we bow to what is believed to be the fiat of fate. The deep-seated and unresisting habit of discipline suppressed complaint, but there was a general conviction that some act was about to be committed that it were better for humanity and justice should not be done; or, if done at all, that it needed more of form, greater deliberation and a fairer trial, to be so done as to obtain the commendation of men. The Turks alone showed apathy; though all showed submission. These subjects of destiny looked on coldly, though even among them a low rumor had pa.s.sed that a malign influence prevailed in the fleet; and that a great and proud spirit had got to be mastered by the pa.s.sion that so often deprives heroes of their self-command and independence.

Ghita ceased her prayers, as the report of the gun broke rudely on her ears, and with streaming eyes she even dared to look toward the frigate.

Raoul and all the rest bent their gaze in the same direction. The sailors, among them, saw the rope at the fore-yard-arm move, and then heads rose slowly above the hammock-cloths; when the prisoner and his attendant priest were visible even to their feet. The unfortunate Caraccioli, as has been said, had nearly numbered his threescore and ten years, in the regular course of nature; and his bare head now showed the traces of time. He wore no coat; and his arms were bound behind his back, at the elbows, leaving just motion enough to the hands to aid him in the slighter offices about his own person. His neck was bare, and the fatal cord was tightened sufficiently around it to prevent accidents, constantly admonis.h.i.+ng its victim of its revolting office.

A low murmur arose among the people in the boats as this spectacle presented itself to their eyes; and many bowed their faces in prayer.

The condemned man caught a ray of consolation from this expression of sympathy; and he looked around him an instant, with something like a return of those feelings of the world which it had been his effort and his desire totally to eradicate since he had taken, leave of Ghita, and learned that his last request--that of changing his mode of punishment--had been denied. That was a fearful moment for one like Don Francesco Caraccioli, who had pa.s.sed a long life in the midst of the scene that surrounded him--ill.u.s.trious by birth, affluent, honored for his services, and accustomed to respect and deference. Never had the glorious panorama of the bay appeared more lovely than it did at that instant, when he was about to quit it for ever, by a violent and disgraceful death. From the purple mountains--the cerulean void above him--the blue waters over which he seemed already to be suspended--and the basking sh.o.r.es, rich in their towns, villas, and vines, his eye turned toward the world of s.h.i.+ps, each alive with its ma.s.ses of living men. A glance of melancholy reproach was cast upon the little flag that was just waving at the mizzen-masthead of the Foudroyant; and then it fell on the carpet of faces beneath, that seemed fairly to change the surface of the smooth sea into an arena of human countenances. His look was steady, though his soul was in a tumult. Ghita was recognized by her companion and by her dress. He moved toward the edge of his narrow scaffolding, endeavored to stretch forth his arms, and blessed her again aloud. The poor girl dropped on her knees in the bottom of the boat, bowed her head, and in that humble att.i.tude did she remain until all was over; not daring once to look upward again.

"Son," said the priest, "this is a moment when the earth and its feelings must be forgotten."

"I know it, father," answered the old man, his voice trembling with emotion, for his sensations were too powerful, too sublime, even, for the degrading pa.s.sion of fear--"but never before did this fair piece of the creation seem so lovely in my eyes as now, when I am about to quit it for the last time."

"Look beyond this scene, into the long vista of eternity, son; there thou wilt behold that which mocks at all human, all earthly means. I fear that our time is but short--hast thou aught yet to say in the flesh?"

"Let it be known, holy priest, that in my dying moment I prayed for Nelson, and for all who have been active in bringing me to this end. It is easy for the fortunate and the untempted to condemn; but he is wiser, as he is safer, who puts more reliance on the goodness of G.o.d than on his own merits."