the dark side of his fortune might be said to have hardly been
turned upon his gate as yet. The love of Florinda had ever sustained
him; her solemn promise to be his wife, her tender love and constant
affection-all these had rendered his hardships mere pastimes. But
now matters were to assume a different aspect; a new stumbling-block
was to appear in his path, and a most serious one, indeed.

Florinda had an uncle resident at Bologna, where he had lived some
three years previous to the opening of our story, filling some post
delegated to him by the government. This uncle, Signor Latrezzi, was
very fond of Florinda, or at least he had always appeared to be so;
and up to the time the Grand Duke had become her guardian, he had
himself assumed the care of his lovely young niece. Some openly
declared that he had done this from mercenary motives; but be that
as it may, the story will divulge his character. He had not left her
surrounded by the gayety and dissipation of the court of Florence
without some misgivings, lest some untoward circumstance might
befall her, or that she might become entangled in some alliance
contrary to her own interests and his desires.

In consequence of these promptings, he had earnestly impressed upon
Florinda at the time of his parting from her, on his way to Bologna,
to be wary and careful. The truth was, that her uncle had laid out a
plan for her future, and would have been very glad to have remained
by her side in order the more surely to carry it out, but he could
not decline the office to which he was now appointed, and thus he
was obliged to leave. He had long designed her hand for an equally
favorite nephew on his wife's side, and on this match had firmly
fixed his heart. Some said that this was because he desired so
earnestly to sustain the character, name and blood of the house of