human eye ever more rested upon the living form of the prisoner. The food
necessary for the preservation of life, and therefore, for the continuance
of punishment, was placed, and removed, by unseen hands; nor was the sound
of a human voice ever heard within these stone chambers. But to this, one
exception was provided: although it was the policy of the law, to punish
the living culprit thus severely, the church did not resign her claims to
the care of his soul; once accordingly, in every month, a holy tread was
heard along the secret passages, and an iron screen being thrown hack, the
confessor, a Franciscan friar, took his seat at a thick grating; behind
which nothing could be seen, though the confession of the prisoner might
pass to the ear of the holy man, and his counsel in return reach the ear,
or it might be, the heart, of the solitary criminal. The door by which the
prisoner first entered was never unbarred, until the hour when his coffin
was carried in and out.

The day now approached, when the visit of the confessor might be
expected, and I laid my plans accordingly, and executed them in the
following manner:

"Isabel," said I, as the slow tread announced the approach of the
confessor, "you must feign to be dead; spread the pallet opposite to the
grating, and lay yourself upon it."

I found some difficulty in prevailing upon Isabel to mock the king of
terrors; but, at length, I succeeded in persuading her,--by representing
that it was easier to counterfeit death than to meet it; and that to do
the one afforded the only chance of avoiding the other; and scarcely was
Isabel extended upon the floor, when the screen was heard to open upon
its harsh hinges, and the confessor to say, "erring daughter, approach."