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colonnade of his palace, heard the scandal, and ordered us to be placed in the mner dungeon of the Inquisition, and brought up for trial the sam cvening.

“The Public Prosecutor accusced us, not only of the black art itself, but of bemng dis- turbers of the public peace and conspirators against the safety of the State. “What have we come to,” he de- claimed, ‘when our senatorsand patricians begin to change thewr heads as often as their

wigs ? To losc the head 1s human. The

history of the 1llus- trious Republic 1s not poor in cexamples of scnators and generals, ave, and Doges too, who have suffered this misfortune -—— but an cxchange of heads, ] that 15, 1ndeed, an unparalleled proceed- mg ! What endless uphcavals of the Con- stitution may not be expected when noble and common blood begins to mingle i1n

SNTRAND

MAGAZINL.

the same boily ?

What endless confusion of aristocratic and democratic prin- ciples i the same man A shortsighted lenieney in this matter may mean the dis- ruption of the State, the crum- bling into atoms of the Republic, I decree there- fore the death by beheadal of both the criminals.”

“"T'he Seerctary of the ITnquisition informed us of our doom : at midnight we were to pav the penalty of the little doctor’s mistake. Ah, what mortal has cever met a fate hike ours? Who 1s there can boast of heing, like us, beheaded twiee within the space of four-and-twenty hours ?

“The keeper of the prison was, as it happened, an old friend of mine, and a sccond cousm. “The unspeakable pickle 1 was moomoved him cven to tears, and he tricd to comfort me by the assurance that the pamn of beheadal was nothing to speak of-—a short cleetrie shock —a tickling sensa- tion made piquant with a dash of pain—that was all b But 1 shook my head sadly, and wept. OfF all this T already knew somewhat more than he could tell me. Suddenly a glorious thought struck me. After our miraculous cure, as I now remem- bered, my fingers, guided cither by the directing brain of Orazio or by the

TSN G NANY v S R

"

“ 4 ol ~7 'Y N \ N - B KA. S \

,?’/’9/‘_\ \, i

“HE TRILD TO COMFOIT ME.