"I am a stranger," said he, "it is
true, and my offer may appear intrusive; but I see you are lonely and
helpless, and I cannot help venturing over the limits of mere
ceremony. Should you feel any scruple or doubt, however, say but a
word, and I will instantly retire."
There was a frankness, a kindness, and a modesty, mingled in Antonio's
deportment, that inspired instant confidence; and his simple scholar's
garb was a recommendation in the house of poverty. The females
consented to resign the sufferer to his care, as they would be the
better able to attend to him on the morrow. On retiring, the old
domestic was profuse in her benedictions; the daughter only looked her
thanks; but as they shone through the tears that filled her fine black
eyes, the student thought them a thousand times the most eloquent.
Here, then, he was, by a singular turn of chance, completely housed
within this mysterious mansion. When left to himself, and the bustle
of the scene was over, his heart throbbed as he looked round the
chamber in which he was sitting. It was the daughter's room, the
promised land toward which he had cast so many a longing gaze. The
furniture was old, and had probably belonged to the building in its
prosperous days; but every thing was arranged with propriety.
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