Jcalousy and Revenge

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 146, 15 December 1871, Page 6

Jcalousy and Revenge

A TALE OF THE EUPHRATES. ' : ♦- • (Continued from our last.)

I Returned home, and, wearied by the excitement of the evening, fell asleep, muttering:,to myself the words, " Zoe must never love again." Next day I commissioned my servant to purchase a dress at oiie of the bazaars, in-

timating that it must be one made to fit a of much smaller dimensions than myself, and in which the said person would with difficulty be recognised by his or her mother, in case of any unpleasant rencontre., My. servant, in whose fidelity I could trust, guessed my purpose, as I judged by the twinkling of his grey eyes, and a suppressed laughter that ascended no higher than his . chest; b,ut, with true gravity, made no reply, taking his departure instantly, to .execute my orders. Not knowing well what to do, and afraid to be left with no better companions than my own thoughts, I wandered, regardless of the hest, up andi down the straggling narrow streets ofthe .town, gazing up at the bare-

looking walls, without windows, until I

knocked with some violence ap against a Turk, who was leaning against the corner

of a,ba?aar, with his eyes intently fixed on r.ftjpaper..;:.He..turned, and I saw.Osman : -his -eyes flashed fire, and his hand in a ' mpment his dagger's hilt. I stopped -«hort< and« looked sternly on him. There

; ; wiis 'a scbwl of intense hatred on his brow, .For nearly a minute we stood gazing at

one sjiqth©r, biit neither spoke V at last, Qsman iQ&dp a sort of mock obeisance to smiling with a look of peculiar meaning, So, he seems to know all, thought I. v it. have been Qsman who was lurkH- ing amongst the ruins last night ? Here

' I. observed the paper which he had held -vin-his hand; lying at. my feet; I stooped Aowh mechanically, and put it into my pocket. " I can restore it to him," I muttered, " when we meet again." Would to 'zi&fid that I had then. ; read it! . It, was a r -i letter from Eatima, the mortal enemy of ' Zoe.

Night came at last. I found my ser- ;. waiting fpr mc, as I directed; and, soon mounting my horse, struck the sharp which are there used as spurs, i»tohis sidp» and sped forward like an arrow from the bow. ; , a

ji o.On arriving near the base of the emi- : ! ii«ice upon which stood the old castle, I 7 ;dismounted, and tied my horse to a fig--tree; and. then taking my bundle of clothes in my arms, ascended. At this moment there was so little light that, to

fiacilitate rpy. progress, I left my burden ,i iQUtside the. nearest part of the ruin, and «4'then groped my way cautiously over the /alien .cubbish,; till I arrived at the ap> , ! ; there I found Zoe anxiouse .rly expecting me.. I ; confess it was a .great me to see fyer. An undefinable i dread, of something terrible —rsuch as she { hersejf experienced at our last interview — : f haunted me during the daybut now X was by her side, and I felt that all was - secfufc. , tV :. ■ , VL ; _-r : ;

" 7,1> " Ah! how glad I am that you are come. ) hear the voices of, thie dead that hare, come-from their cold graves, and are .jupaping with pain, as the chill blast reaches them in the cold crannies of the *ruihi,and makes them shiver ? Do you know " —iarid hete she put her mouth close i to my ear —" that I must soon be amongst mJr ; /. << « Oh, Zoe !" I cried, " why do you give 'j jWay.jto sjich fancies ? You are? very fever*{32& and unwell, you must not linger here. i I' have brought you the dress; 'tis out--1 side V" and as it is necessary that you should wear it when entering the city, I shall fetch it at once." She seemed to

pay but little attention to my words ; and gently taking my hand, whilst her head inclined op my bosom, and her dark eyes wjre turned towards my face, she said —

" I know that 1 have given you much trouble and much pain. Allah will reward you; and, were it permitted me, I would pray for you long—perhaps" (and she turned down her eyes) " perhaps in this world I might have been taught to love you, as you deserve ; for you are the only fiend I ever met. But I vex you, and you are angry with Zoe. It must not be so. Bring me the dress, and I will do all that you ; wish. Nay, you must kiss me ere you fetch it, or I will think that the Frank knows, hot how to forgive.", I stooped, and pressed my lips to her cold fjrehead: it was too much for me. I felt that my eyes were moist; and, turning from Zoe, I hurried to the place where I had deposited the dress. I lingered some moments when arrived there, for I felt unmanned. Suddenly a dark cloud seemed to spread all at once an J impenetrable cloak of blackness oyer the s\j; and a gust of wind swept across the plain with tremendous violence, and nearly s'look me from my feet where I stood ; whilst I thought the hideous bird of night uttered a piercing scream within the mysterious walls of the old castle. I hastened back to Zoe, for I felt awed at the voice of Nature. I had to return by a narrow passage which led from the spot where I had left, the bundle to the courtyard, where I and Zoe had first met. I was groping my way out of it, when my foot struck against something soft; and, putting my hand down to examine it, my fingers touched a human face. X endeavored to move the body with; my foot; but I soon found that, although warm, it was either lifeless or in a trance. Immediately I lifted it up—a dreadful idea flashed across my mind; I bore it into the centre of the court-yard. The cloud that had caused the momentary eclipse was passed, and the moon again shone forth. I shut my eyes; I felt my heart rising in my throat,, and, gasping for breath, I at length dare d to look upon my burden—it was Zoe! Her garments were saturated with the blood that streamed still from a tride gash in her left bosom. I laid her on the grass, apd bent over her. In a moment I was as calm as though it were a case of no more concern than feeling the pulse of an ordi- | nary patient. I was conscious of possessing a desperate coolness, till the absolute certainty that Zoe was actually dead burst on me. Then I raved and laughed alternately, like a maniac. Zoe dead! I had not left her three minutes. Impossible! Again I bent over her; and taking my handkerchief, dipped it in her blood, and then placed it in her bosom ; then, wiping away the crimson drops that oozed from her lips, madly stooped to kiss them.

; As I. lifted my head, I saw the shadow of a man, with uplifted arm, behind me; and, starting to my feet, beheld the fiend Osman, in the act of aiming a blow, which I was just in time to intercept by catching his arm as it descended. I seemed endowed with a giant's strength, and, twisting the arm I had seized till he was forced to drop the dagger from his grasp, threw myself on him with a loud cry. But my passion had blinded me; and, though I flung my adversary, I could not prevent him from catching me by the throat, whilst he drew me to the ground along with himself, and managed to tighten his hold till I felt nearly strangled. In my rage, I tore his hair, and beat his face ; but the pressure round my throat grew tighter—r.iy eyes felt starting from their sockets —I began to feel as though drunk, when suddenly I recollected my dirk; I felt for the handle, drew it, and, uncon* scious .of what I did, struck one blow. I scarce knew where, and sunk altogether exhausted.

Gradually my memory returned—pressure round my throat seemed passed away—my eyes opened. I felt my right hand still grasping a dagger hilt, and when I lifted the weapon, I drew it from the breast of Osman, and as I rose felt my hand wet with blood. I paused for a moment, threw her cloak over all that re-! mained of Zoe; and, giving one glance at the motionless body of Osman, hurried from the scene of death.

To none has the above tale been revealed till now ; and the horror which for years I felt at the awful responsibility I fancied myself under for Osman's death, even in self-defence, made me silent. What, indeed, had Ito tell ? A story that would harrow the very soul of the listener; a tale how a maiden loved "not wisely but too well;" a description ot her beauty and artlessness, that she might, like the victims of old, be adorned by her graces, as with sacrificial ornaments, only to fall by the hand of the man to whom she had surrendered the firstlings of her heart. No » such tales are not for me ; they are revolting, and my secret would have remained my own, but for an incident which happened not very long since, and which has again opened some half-closed fountains of feeling. At the splendid mansion of Lord -, in —; —; —— Square, there was one evening

collected, after my return to England, a numerous and brilliant assemblage. I was pacing one of the magnificent suite of apartments, in company with a friend, when my companion whispered- "Dolook at the handsome Count de , who is turning the heads of all our most celebrated belles. They say he is very clever, also—quite a Talleyrand in the diplomatic world. A great traveller, to. I'll lay a wager that the sweet girl he is talking to believes all he says." I looked, and beheld, certainly, a very handsome man, engaged in close and earnest conversation with a most beautiful girl of fifteen or sixteen, whose blushes now and then announced that the count was pouring - some soft nonsense into her ear. Suddenly, I broke from my companion; a few steps brought me opposite and close to the count and the lady. The former raised his head, and his eyes encountered mine. He staggered back, grew deadly pale, and supported himself on the corner of an ottoman. The lady was alarmed, and the count vainly endeavored to rally, and was at last obliged to be supported by one of the servants out of the room. Had he shown less remorse, or one iota less feeling, his name would now be published in full on this page. Header, the Count was Osman the Murderer.