Page:Tales of the Dead.djvu/177

 “But Camilla, entirely devoted to her love, cried:—‘These chimeras of fancy render my care and attention the more necessary.’

“They approached the altar. At that moment a sudden gust of wind blew out the wax-tapers. The priest appeared displeased at their not having shut the windows more securely; but Filippo exclaimed: ‘The windows! See you not, then, that there is one here who blew out the wax-tapers purposely?’

“Every one looked astonished: and Filippo cried, as he hastily disengaged his hand from that of Camilla,—‘Don’t you see, also, that she is tearing me away from my intended bride?’

“Camilla fell fainting into the arms of her parents; and the priest declared, that under such peculiar circumstances it was impossible to proceed with the ceremony.

“The parents of both attributed Filippo’s state to mental derangement. They even supposed he had been poisoned; for an instant after, the unfortunate man expired in most violent convulsions. The surgeons who opened his body could not, however, discover any grounds for this suspicion.

“The parents, who as well as myself were informed by Camilla of the subject of these sup- Rh