As the old man uttered the startling exclamation, he sprang to his feet, and stood before his companion perfectly sobered, but with features as pale as death, while his limbs trembled beneath him.
"God of mercy! what do I behold? La Belle Floretta! My child, O, my daughter!"
He would have rushed towards her, but the strong arm of the mask detained him, and that personage quietly remarked,
"Be seated, signor! It were not well for you to enter there, among them all; but you can have your choice!"
"Devil! The girl I would have clasped was my own child—my lost Floretta!—I will see her."
"Nay—that is impossible," replied the mask, as he again pressed the knob; and as quick as thought the folding-doors were closed upon the bewildering scene.
"Lost, lost!" gasped the old man, as he threw himself frantically against the doors. "Demon! bid them be parted again. My daughter is kept here against her will—bid the doors open, or I will break them down!"
At this moment, the reaction of the excitement overcame the old man, and he sank down in a fainting-fit, The mask rang a bell. It was instantly answered by the appearance of a servant.
"Bear the old man to the inner chambers, and see that he is well attended. Call Pireto to help you remove him."
The apartment was soon cleared—the mask was left alone.
"The old man shall die," he muttered, "but not yet. A thought has struck me—he shall be the means of my vengeance on Floretta, if she still refuses compliance to
