James Fenimore Cooper The Bravo [txt]

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shalt hear my confession. Thou hast long been mistress of one great
secret, none other shall be hid from thee."
"Antonio!" gasped the girl. "Carlo! Carlo! what had that aged fisherman
done that thy hand should seek his life?"
"Antonio!" echoed the monk; "dost thou stand charged with his death, my
son?"
"It is the crime for which I am condemned to die."
The Carmelite sank upon the stool of the prisoner, and sat motionless,
looking with an eye of horror from the countenance of the unmoved Jacopo
to that of his trembling companion. The truth began to dawn upon him,
though his mind was still enveloped in the web of Venetian mystery.
"Here is some horrible mistake!" he whispered. "I will hasten to thy
judges and undeceive them."
The prisoner smiled calmly, as he reached out a hand to arrest the
zealous movement of the simple Carmelite.
"'Twill be useless," he said; "it is the pleasure of the Three that I
should suffer for old Antonio's death."
"Then wilt thou die unjustly! I am a witness that he fell by other
hands."
"Father!" shrieked Gelsomina, "oh! repeat the words; say that Carlo
could not do the cruel deed!"
"Of that murder, at least, he is innocent."
"Gelsomina!" said Jacopo, struggling to stretch forth his arms towards
her, and yielding to a full heart, "and of every other!"
A cry of wild delight burst from the lips of the girl, who in the next
instant lay senseless on his bosom.
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We draw the veil before the scene that followed. Near an hour must pass
before we can again remove it. The cell then exhibited a group in its
centre, over which the lamp shed its feeble light, marking the
countenances of the different personages with strong tints and deep
shadows, in a manner to bring forth all the force of Italian expression.
The Carmelite was seated on the stool, while Jacopo and Gelsomina knelt
beside him. The former of the two last was speaking earnestly, while his
auditors caught each syllable that issued from his lips, as if interest
in his innocence were still stronger than curiosity.
"I have told you, father," he continued, "that a false accusation of
having wronged the customs brought my unhappy parent under the Senate's
displeasure, and that he was many years an innocent inhabitant of one of
these accursed cells, while we believed him in exile among the islands.
At length we succeeded in getting such proof before the Council, as
ought to have satisfied the patricians of their own injustice. I am
afraid that when men pretend that the chosen of the earth exercise
authority, they are not ready to admit their errors, for it would be
proof against the merit of their system. The Council delayed a weary
time to do us justice--so long, that my poor mother sank under her
sufferings. My sister, a girl of Gelsomina's years, followed her
soon--for the only reason given by the state, when pressed for proof,
was the suspicion that one who sought her love was guilty of the crime
for which my unhappy father perished."
"And did they refuse to repair their injustice?" exclaimed the
Carmelite.
"They could not do it, father, without publishing their fallibility. The
credit of certain great patricians was concerned, and I fear there is a
morality in these Councils which separates the deed of the man from
those of the senators, putting policy before justice."
"This may be true, son; for when a community is grounded on false
principles, its interests must, of necessity, be maintained by sophisms.
God will view this act with a different eye!"
"Else would the world be hopeless, father! After years of prayers and
interest, I was, under a solemn oath of secresy, admitted to my father's
cell. There was happiness in being able to administer to his wants--in
hearing his voice--in kneeling for his blessing. Gelsomina was then a
child approaching womanhood. I knew not their motive, though after
thoughts left it no secret, and I was permitted to see my father through
her means. When they believed that I was sufficiently caught in their
toils, I was led into that fatal error which has destroyed my hopes, and
brought me to this condition."
"Thou hast affirmed thy innocence, my son!"
"Innocent of shedding blood, father, but not of lending myself to their
artifices. I will not weary you, holy monk, with the history of the
means by which they worked upon my nature. I was sworn to serve the
state, as its secret agent, for a certain time. The reward was to be my
father's freedom. Had they taken me in the world, and in my senses,
their arts would not have triumphed; but a daily witness of the
sufferings of him who had given me life, and who was now all that was
left me in the world, they were too strong for my weakness, They
whispered to me of racks and wheels, and I was shown paintings of dying
martyrs, that I might understand the agony they could inflict.
Assassinations were frequent, and called for the care of the police; in
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short, father"--Jacopo hid his face in the dress of Gelsomina--"I
consented to let them circulate such tales as might draw the eye of the
public on me. I need not add, that he who lends himself to his own
infamy will soon attain his object."
"With what end was this miserable falsehood invented?"
"Father, I was applied to as a public Bravo, and my reports, in more
ways than one, answered their designs, That I saved some lives is at
least a consolation for the error or crime into which I fell!"
"I understand thee, Jacopo. I have heard that Venice did not hesitate to
use the ardent and brave in this manner. Holy St. Mark! can deceit like
this be practised under the sanction of thy blessed name!"
"Father, it is, and more. I had other duties connected with the
interests of the Republic, and of course I was practised in their
discharge. The citizens marvelled that one like me should go at large,
while the vindictive and revengeful took the circumstance as a proof of
address. When rumor grew too strong for appearances, the Three took
measures to direct it to other things; and when it grew too faint for
their wishes it was fanned. In short, for three long and bitter years
did I pass the life of the damned--sustained only by the hope of
liberating my father, and cheered by the love of this innocent!"
"Poor Jacopo, thou art to be pitied! I will remember thee in my
prayers."
"And thou, Gelsomina?"
The keeper's daughter did not answer. Her ears had drunk in each
syllable that fell from his lips, and now that the whole truth began to
dawn on her mind, there was a bright radiance in her eye that appeared
almost supernatural to those who witnessed it.
"If I have failed in convincing thee, Gelsomina," continued Jacopo,
"that I am not the wretch I seemed, would that I had been dumb!"
She stretched a hand towards him, and dropping her head on his bosom,
wept.
"I see all thy temptations, poor Carlo," she said, softly; "I know how
strong was thy love for thy father."
"Dost thou forgive me, dearest Gelsomina, for the deception on thy
innocence?"
"There was no deception; I believed thee a son ready to die for his
father, and I find thee what I thought thee."
The good Carmelite regarded this scene with eyes of interest and
indulgence; tears wetted his cheeks.
"Thy affection for each other, children," he said, "is such as angels
might indulge. Has thy intercourse been of long date?"
"It has lasted years, father."
"And thou, daughter, hast been with Jacopo in the cell of his parent?"
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