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  • Nov. 1, 1877
  • Page 36
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The Masonic Magazine, Nov. 1, 1877: Page 36

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    Article Forgotten Stories. ← Page 2 of 7 →
Page 36

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Forgotten Stories.

a daughter ; and happier far would it have been for the souls of both , if she had never existed . No father eA'er loveel a daughter with more tenderness ; insomuch that it Avas not until Sigismunda had passed the age usually destined for the marriages of the Italian Princessesthat

, Tancred could prevail upon himself to part from her . She was , however , at length betrothed to the son of the Duke of Capua , Avho dying within a very short time afterwards , she returned , as the custom is , to her father ' s palace , a blooming AVICIOAV .

There are some old natives of Salerno AVIIO remember having seen her in their boyhood , and they relate , that her shape Avas exquisitely proportioned ; that she Avas rather taller than the ordinary run of Avomen , Avith a most pleasing roundness of figure ,

quite consistent with perfect elegance ; all they could say of her face AVUS , that they had never seen anything like it since throughout their lives ; and that altogether , her youth , 'her vivacity and wit , rendered her the gem , or the rose , of the south of Italy . When the days of her mourning were expired , her father introduced her publicly

in Ins court , which Ai'as one of the most splendid of the age , and took great pleasure in indul ging her in every sort of luxury ancl amusement that she had a fancy to , chiefly Avith a vieAV to prevent her from desiring a second marriage , ancl so to keep her near him for the remainder

of his life . But it is not the first time that love has baffled the plans of greater princes than Tancred ; and , in the jiresent instance , before that potent influence , all the nets Avhich Avere hung around the heart of Si gismunda , were ineffectual to bar the access

of the little Corsair God . Amongst the numerous retainers of the court , there Avas a youth called Guiscard , who , though of low birth and mean connexions , had , by means of the beauty of his person , his gentle aud polite manners , ancl Avell-knoAvn courage ,

been taken great notice of by Tancred , ancl at length raised from extreme poverty to be his constant attendant , in quality rather of companion than page . With this youth Sigismunda fell passionately in love , as ivas not much to be wondered at ; and he , from the first moment he had seen Sigismunda , had scarcely dismissed her image from his mind ; but knowing the

vast distinction of rank between himself ancl the Princess , it had never entered into his head that his loA'e could ever be ou"ht else but a fruitless romantic attachment Avhich he must conceal Avithin his heart from the eyes of all the Avorld . Tlms

affairs stood some little time ; each lovin » in secret , Avithout the consciousness of being loved in return , and each despairing of that Avhich despair alone rendered impossible . But it is the nature of all passion , more especially of love , to be

ahvays in motion , increasing or decreasing , ancl so it fell out ( and let not the gentle lover , Knight or Lady , blame the poor girl for her rashness ) that Sigismunda , becoming more ancl more enthusiastic in her devotion to Guiscard every time she saAV him , and perceiving that the dignity of her rank constrained her to make the

first advances , resolved at length to drop someAvhat of the reserve usual to females in these matters , ancl contrive , by means of a stratagem , to make knoAvn the condition of her heart to the young and amiable , but humble , object of her affection . To this end she wrote a lettercontaining minute

, instructions to Guiscard of the mode Avkicli he should adopt of procuring an interview with her on the following day , and , concealing it within a holloAV cane or tube , Avhich , in that country , is used for the of blowing a fireshe sportively

purpose , presented it to him , Avith these AVOKIS : "If you are Avise you Avill make use of tins cane to kindle a flame at home . " The youth took it , and reflecting within himself that Sigismunda Avould not have g iven

him such a present without some hidden meaning , he ivent to his OAVU house , and , finding upon examination that the cane Avas out through on one side , he opened it > and discoA'erecl the letter , and read it , and blessed his stars for his good fortune ,

considering himself , not Avithout some appearance of reason , as the happiest man living . The means of accomplishing the proposed plan of meeting now occup ied a " liis thoughts . N adjoining the royal palace there

OAA ' , was a grotto , excavated in the mountain ) which had been used in former days tot purposes of Avar ancl rapine , and into Avhic ' a scanty light descended through an apeiture at tho top , Avhich aperture , however , OAving to its having been for many y ealB

“The Masonic Magazine: 1877-11-01, Page 36” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 28 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01111877/page/36/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
Monthly Masonic Summary. Article 1
WORK OF THE CRAFT. Article 1
THE ORIGIN AND REFERENCES OF THE HERMESIAN SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY. Article 2
OBJECTS , ADVANTAGES, AND PLEASURES OF SCIENCE. Article 3
THE SHADOWS OF EVENING. Article 7
THE ADVENTURES OF DON PASQUALE. Article 8
THE OTHER SIDE. Article 11
THE WORK OF NATURE IN THE MONTHS. Article 11
CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS' SOCIETY. Article 16
CONTEMPORARY LETTERS ON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Article 17
SONNET. Article 18
LOST AND SAVED ; OR NELLIE POWERS, THE MISSIONARY'S DAUGHTER. Article 18
MAIMOUNE. Article 22
Reviews. Article 25
SOME ORIGINAL LETTERS. Article 28
DEAR HEART MINE. Article 35
Forgotten Stories. Article 35
HEE LITTLE SHOE. Article 41
NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE AND ART. Article 41
MY LORD THE KING; Article 44
LIGHT. Article 48
DOUBLE ACROSTIC. Article 48
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Forgotten Stories.

a daughter ; and happier far would it have been for the souls of both , if she had never existed . No father eA'er loveel a daughter with more tenderness ; insomuch that it Avas not until Sigismunda had passed the age usually destined for the marriages of the Italian Princessesthat

, Tancred could prevail upon himself to part from her . She was , however , at length betrothed to the son of the Duke of Capua , Avho dying within a very short time afterwards , she returned , as the custom is , to her father ' s palace , a blooming AVICIOAV .

There are some old natives of Salerno AVIIO remember having seen her in their boyhood , and they relate , that her shape Avas exquisitely proportioned ; that she Avas rather taller than the ordinary run of Avomen , Avith a most pleasing roundness of figure ,

quite consistent with perfect elegance ; all they could say of her face AVUS , that they had never seen anything like it since throughout their lives ; and that altogether , her youth , 'her vivacity and wit , rendered her the gem , or the rose , of the south of Italy . When the days of her mourning were expired , her father introduced her publicly

in Ins court , which Ai'as one of the most splendid of the age , and took great pleasure in indul ging her in every sort of luxury ancl amusement that she had a fancy to , chiefly Avith a vieAV to prevent her from desiring a second marriage , ancl so to keep her near him for the remainder

of his life . But it is not the first time that love has baffled the plans of greater princes than Tancred ; and , in the jiresent instance , before that potent influence , all the nets Avhich Avere hung around the heart of Si gismunda , were ineffectual to bar the access

of the little Corsair God . Amongst the numerous retainers of the court , there Avas a youth called Guiscard , who , though of low birth and mean connexions , had , by means of the beauty of his person , his gentle aud polite manners , ancl Avell-knoAvn courage ,

been taken great notice of by Tancred , ancl at length raised from extreme poverty to be his constant attendant , in quality rather of companion than page . With this youth Sigismunda fell passionately in love , as ivas not much to be wondered at ; and he , from the first moment he had seen Sigismunda , had scarcely dismissed her image from his mind ; but knowing the

vast distinction of rank between himself ancl the Princess , it had never entered into his head that his loA'e could ever be ou"ht else but a fruitless romantic attachment Avhich he must conceal Avithin his heart from the eyes of all the Avorld . Tlms

affairs stood some little time ; each lovin » in secret , Avithout the consciousness of being loved in return , and each despairing of that Avhich despair alone rendered impossible . But it is the nature of all passion , more especially of love , to be

ahvays in motion , increasing or decreasing , ancl so it fell out ( and let not the gentle lover , Knight or Lady , blame the poor girl for her rashness ) that Sigismunda , becoming more ancl more enthusiastic in her devotion to Guiscard every time she saAV him , and perceiving that the dignity of her rank constrained her to make the

first advances , resolved at length to drop someAvhat of the reserve usual to females in these matters , ancl contrive , by means of a stratagem , to make knoAvn the condition of her heart to the young and amiable , but humble , object of her affection . To this end she wrote a lettercontaining minute

, instructions to Guiscard of the mode Avkicli he should adopt of procuring an interview with her on the following day , and , concealing it within a holloAV cane or tube , Avhich , in that country , is used for the of blowing a fireshe sportively

purpose , presented it to him , Avith these AVOKIS : "If you are Avise you Avill make use of tins cane to kindle a flame at home . " The youth took it , and reflecting within himself that Sigismunda Avould not have g iven

him such a present without some hidden meaning , he ivent to his OAVU house , and , finding upon examination that the cane Avas out through on one side , he opened it > and discoA'erecl the letter , and read it , and blessed his stars for his good fortune ,

considering himself , not Avithout some appearance of reason , as the happiest man living . The means of accomplishing the proposed plan of meeting now occup ied a " liis thoughts . N adjoining the royal palace there

OAA ' , was a grotto , excavated in the mountain ) which had been used in former days tot purposes of Avar ancl rapine , and into Avhic ' a scanty light descended through an apeiture at tho top , Avhich aperture , however , OAving to its having been for many y ealB

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