through one of the windows. What a thrill
of joy shot through his soul at the sight! It
was a precious link, that united him, for the
moment, with the world beyond. There was
ecstacy in the thought. As he gazed, long
and earnestly, it seemed as if the windows had
lowered sufficienly for him to reach them.
With one bound he was beneath them—with
one wild spring he clung to the bars. Whether
it was so contrived, purposly to madden
with delight the wretch who looked, he knew
not; but, at the extremity of a long vista, cut
through the solid rocks, the ocean, the sky,
the setting sun, olive groves, shady walks, and
in the farthest distance, delicious glimpses of
magnificient Sicily, burst upon his sight.
How exquisite was the cool breeze as it swept
across his check, loaded with fragrance! He
inhaled it as though it were the breath of continued
life. And there was a freshness in the
landscape, and in the rippling of the calm
green sea, that fell upon his withering heart
like dew upon the parched earth. How he
gazed and panted, and still clung to his hold!
somtimes hanging by one hand, sometimes by
the other, and then grasping the bars with
both, as loth to quite the smiling paradise outstretched
before him; till exhausted, and his
hands swollen and benumbed, he droped helpless
down, and lay stunned for a considerable
time by the fall.
When he recovered, the glorious vision had
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