'
Edoardo, pale, confused, penitent, bent a long last gaze on Sophia;
then left the room, saying: 'I am a villain--I am a villain.'
Two hours after, the marriage-ceremony was performed. The gondolas
that bore the bridal cortege, on their return from the church of St
Moise, were met by some fishing-boats that had drawn up a drowned
female. The gondolas had to stop in order to let them pass. 'A sad
omen for the bride and bridegroom,' said an old woman of the company.
Edoardo, who had recognised that pale corpse, had thrown himself at
the bottom of his gondola, in order to conceal his emotion, and with
a convulsive motion pressed the hand of his bride, which he held
between his own. The simple girl, interpreting that squeeze as an
expression of love, said: 'Oh, my Edoardo, you will ever love me?'
'Ever, ever,' replied Edoardo, wiping away a tear. He then muttered
to himself: 'Poor, poor Sophia!--she was an Angel, and I am a
villain.'
THE DUKE OF NORMANDY.
A ROMANCE OP REAL LIFE.
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