I did so without delay, and
found her lying on a sofa, pale and trembling, evidently much
exhausted. She informed me that she had sent for me to place in my
hand a packet of important papers, which she wished me to keep for the
present, and, in the event of her death, to transmit it to her friends
in the United States. She then stated that she was married to Marquis
Ossoli, who was in command of a battery on the Pincian Hill,--that
being the highest and most exposed position in Rome, and directly in
the line of bombs from the French camp. It was not to be expected, she
said, that he could escape the dangers of another night, such as the
last; and therefore it was her intention to remain with him, and share
his fate. At the Ave Maria, she added, he would come for her, and they
would proceed together to his post. The packet which she placed in my
possession, contained, she said, the certificates of her marriage, and
of the birth and baptism of her child. After a few words more, I took
my departure, the hour she named having nearly arrived. At the
porter's lodge I met the Marquis Ossoli, and a few moments afterward I
saw them walking toward the Pincian Hill.
Happily, the cannonading was not renewed that night, and at dawn of
day she returned to her apartments, with her husband by her side.
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