At Length We Shifted Our Ground, And Determined To Make A Descent Upon
The Road Between Terracina And Naples.
In the course of our expedition,
we passed a day or two in the woody mountains which rise above
Frosinone.
I cannot tell you how I felt when I looked down upon the
place, and distinguished the residence of Rosetta. I determined to have
an interview with her; but to what purpose? I could not expect that she
would quit her home, and accompany me in my hazardous life among the
mountains. She had been brought up too tenderly for that; and when I
looked upon the women who were associated with some of our troop, I
could not have borne the thoughts of her being their companion. All
return to my former life was likewise hopeless; for a price was set
upon my head. Still I determined to see her; the very hazard and
fruitlessness of the thing made me furious to accomplish it.
It is about three weeks since I persuaded our captain to draw down to
the vicinity of Frosinone, in hopes of entrapping some of its principal
inhabitants, and compelling them to a ransom. We were lying in ambush
towards evening, not far from the vineyard of Rosetta's father. I stole
quietly from my companions, and drew near to reconnoitre the place of
her frequent walks.
How my heart beat when, among the vines, I beheld the gleaming of a
white dress! I knew it must be Rosetta's; it being rare for any female
of the place to dress in white. I advanced secretly and without noise,
until putting aside the vines, I stood suddenly before her. She uttered
a piercing shriek, but I seized her in my arms, put my hand upon her
mouth and conjured her to be silent. I poured out all the frenzy of my
passion; offered to renounce my mode of life, to put my fate in her
hands, to fly with her where we might live in safety together. All that
I could say, or do, would not pacify her. Instead of love, horror and
affright seemed to have taken possession of her breast. - She struggled
partly from my grasp, and filled the air with her cries. In an instant
the captain and the rest of my companions were around us. I would have
given anything at that moment had she been safe out of our hands, and
in her father's house. It was too late. The captain pronounced her a
prize, and ordered that she should be borne to the mountains. I
represented to him that she was my prize, that I had a previous claim
to her; and I mentioned my former attachment. He sneered bitterly in
reply; observed that brigands had no business with village intrigues,
and that, according to the laws of the troop, all spoils of the kind
were determined by lot. Love and jealousy were raging in my heart, but
I had to choose between obedience and death.
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