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 Marquis and my friend examined every apartment, in order to apprehend the rest of the gang; and I went down stairs to send some servants to their assistance. A death-like silence reigned every where, and not one human being was to be seen. They even had left some candles upon the stairs, to effect their escape with more ease. At the bottom of the staircase I found a lady who had been left there in a swoon; and a little farther I discovered Don Antonio in a condition that was not much better. As soon as he heard a noise on the stairs, he covered his face with his handkerchief, and expected a happy deliverance, seized with a most painful agony."

"Prepare thyself for eternity, Don Antonio!" I exclaimed, on coming nearer; "for thou must die!"

"Spare me, O! spare me only this time!" he stammered, in a hollow and broken accent, which scarcely was intelligible.