CHAPTER XLV.
THE DESERTED HOUSE.
When Cagliostro arrived at the deserted house in the Rue St. Claude,with which our readers are already acquainted, it was getting dark, andbut few people were to be seen in the streets.
Cagliostro drew a key from his pocket, and applied it to the lock; butthe door was swollen with the damp, and stiff with age, and it requiredall his strength to open it. The courtyard was overgrown with moss, thesteps crumbling away; all looked desolate and deserted. He entered thehall, and lighted a lamp which he had brought with him. He felt astrange agitation as he approached the door which he had so oftenentered to visit Lorenza. A slight noise made his heart beat quickly; heturned, and saw an adder gliding down the staircase; it disappeared in ahole near the bottom.
He entered the room; it was empty, but in the grate still lay someashes, the remains of the furniture which had adorned it, and which hehad burned there. Among it several pieces of gold and silver stillsparkled. As he turned, he saw something glittering on the floor; hepicked it up. It was one of those silver arrows with which the Italianwomen were in the habit of confining their hair. He pressed it to hislips, and a tear stood in his eyes as he murmured, "Lorenza!" It was butfor a moment; then he opened the window and threw it out, saying tohimself, "Adieu! this last souvenir, which would soften me. This houseis about to be profaned--another woman will ascend the staircase, andperhaps even into this room, where Lorenza's last sigh still vibrates;but to serve my end the sacrifice shall be made. I must, however, havesome alterations made."
He then wrote on his tablets the following words: "To M. Lenoir, myarchitect,--Clean out the court and vestibule, restore the coach-houseand stable, and demolish the interior of the pavilion. To be done ineight days."
"Now, let us see," said he to himself, "if we can perfectly distinguishthe window of the countess. It is infallible," said he, after lookingout; "the women must see each other."
The next day fifty workmen had invaded the house and commenced theprojected alterations, which were completed within the given time. Someof the passers-by saw a large rat hung up by the tail.
Le collier de la reine. English Page 47