“Died when thou didst, and thou didst die the night we met.”
“What? I drank the vitriol?”
“To the last drop, and Elena died of grief when she heard of thy unhappy end. She and thou have been in my power for seven centuries.”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Tito.
“Listen,” replied Death, “and thou wilt know all that I have done in thy favor. Thou and Elena died on the day I said; Elena, destined on the Day of Judgment to ascend to the angels; and thou, meriting all the punishments of Hell. She, for her innocence and purity; thou, for having lived forgetful of God and entertaining vile ambitions. To-morrow the Day of Judgment commences, when three in the afternoon shall have struck at Rome.”
“Oh, my God! It is then the end of the world,” exclaimed Tito.
“It is time,” replied the formidable being. “Finally I may rest.”
“The end of the world!” muttered Tito, with indescribable fear.
“It is of no consequence to thee. Thou hast nothing to lose. So listen. Knowing that the Day of Judgment was approaching, I, who have always cared for thee, as I told thee the first time we met, and Elena, who loves thee as much in heaven as she did on earth, prayed to the Eternal that thy soul might be saved.”