Pagina 478 de 788

She fell in a faint.-The Count sprang to her aid, amazed and

somewhat disconcerted by this scene.

"Panna Sophia," he said, "Pani Telimena, never shall this sword

be stained with the blood of an unarmed foe! Soplicas, you are my

prisoners. Thus did I in Italy, when beneath the crag that the

Sicilians call Birbante-Rocca I overcame a camp of brigands; the

armed I slew, those that laid down their weapons I captured and

had bound: they walked behind the steeds and adorned my glorious

triumph; then they were hanged at the foot of Etna."