'The azure gloom
Of an Italian night, where the deep skies assume
Hues which have words, and speak to ye of Heaven,
Floats o'er this vast and wondrous
monument,'—
and she stretched out her arm, with an impulsive gesture, as she spoke. I perceived a sudden recoil, at the instant, of her dilating form, and, before I could devise an explanation, heard the words, "You are my prisoner, madam," and discovered a gentleman standing in the deep shadow of the pillar, close at her side, busily endeavoring to disentangle the fringe of her shawl from the buttons of his coat.
I remembered, afterwards, having noticed in passing, sometime before, a shadowy figure standing with folded arms and upturned face, half lost in the deep shadow of a pillar, apparently quite unconscious of the vicinity of the chattering ephemera fluttering by his retreat. I at once surmised that Grace and I had approached from the other side, and inadvertently stationed ourselves near this
æsthetical devotee—so near that your cousin, in the excitement of her eloquence, had fastened a lasso upon the dress of the stranger.
"You are my prisoner, madam," he said, in French. The words were simple enough, not so apposite but that many an one might have uttered them under similar circumstances. Yet they were replete with meaning, conveyed by the subtle aid of intonation and of manner. The most chivalrous courtesy, the most exquisite refinement, were fully expressed in that brief sentence.
"I have no fears either for my purse, or my life," returned the quick-witted lady thus addressed, aiding in the required disentanglement.
"You need have none," rejoined the gentleman, "though the laws of chivalry entitle me to demand a goodly ransom for so fair a prize"—glancing politely towards me.
"Accept, at least, the poor guerdon of this token of my thanks," said the enthusiast of the moment, tendering a beautiful flower, which was opportunely loosened from her bosom by the slight derangement of her dress.
"It will be a treasured memento," answered the stranger, receiving the proffered gift with graceful respect, and, bowing with the most courtly deference, he walked rapidly away, as loth, by lingering one needless moment, to seem intrusive.