"
"Thou dost not, then, deny the charge!" said the examiner, in evident
surprise.
"It is certain that, but for the fisherman, I should have been the
winner."
"And thou wished it, Jacopo?"
"Signore, greatly," returned the accused, with a show of emotion, that
had not hitherto escaped him. "I was a man condemned of his fellows, and
the oar had been my pride, from childhood to that hour."
Another movement of the third inquisitor betrayed equally his interest
and his surprise.
"Dost thou confess the crime?"
Jacopo smiled, but more in derision than with any other feeling.
"If the illustrious senators here present will unmask, I may answer that
question, haply, with greater confidence," he said.
"Thy request is bold and out of rule. None know the persons of the
patricians who preside over the destinies of the state. Dost thou
confess the crime?"
The entrance of an officer, in some haste, prevented a reply. The man
placed a written report in the hands of the inquisitor in red, and
withdrew. After a short pause, the guards were ordered to retire with
their prisoner.
"Great senators!" said Jacopo, advancing earnestly towards the table, as
if he would seize the moment to urge what he was about to say;--"Mercy!
grant me your authority to visit one in the prisons, beneath the
leads!--I have weighty reasons for the wish, and I pray you, as men and
fathers, to grant it!"
The interest of the two, who were consulting apart on the new
intelligence, prevented them from listening to what he urged.
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