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    Pellico looked round his dungeon , and discerned by the glimmering light which descended from a high loop-hole , the naked bench given him for a bed , and an enormous chain fixed in the wall ; he seated himself , took up the chain , measured its length , thinking it was , perhaps , after all , destined for him , even though

    durissimo was not in the sentence . The keeper returned at noon , bringing him a pitcher of water , and telling him that the next day he would bring him bread . * Thanks , my good man ; ' ' I am not good , ' was the reply . * The worse for you then , ' said Pellico . But under a harsh and dogged exterior , this individual , whose name was

    Schiller , concealed a heart full of kindness . Fortunately for Pellico , the air and the hardships of his dungeon soon brought on a crisis , which terminated more favourably for the future . He took a fever , and the surgeon of the prison peremptorily ordered that he should be removed to a higher story in the building , have better food , and a straw bed . Could he but have divided these increased

    comforts with Maroncelli ! The lot , however , was not greatly mitigated ; he was still in irons , and the food though something better was so scanty in quantity , that Schiller and some of the other guards repeatedly brought the prisoners fragments of bread at their own expense ; but Pellico declined , dreading the greater misery of discovery , and of knowing that these kind-hearted souls had

    been punished for his sake . They were under the strictest orders to preserve silence in the prison , yet sometimes they permitted a low song to issue from the solitary apartments , and one evening , Pellico heard a voice in the room next his own , murmuring an air , and soon after found himself accosted by the singer . They told each other their names , and exchanged a few words . The stranger was Antonio Oroboni , who henceforth becomes one of the most

    interesting personages mentioned in the narrative . By dint of constant practice and experiments , these adjoining fellow-sufferers learned to hold occasional communications , with little molestation from the guards . They learned so to modulate and direct their voices , and so to vary the tone on the approach of danger , as to escape observation , or , if their communications were perceived by

    Schiller and one or two others , they were winked at , provided some less indulgent did not overhear . In this manner they found mutual consolation . The past as concerned each was related , they discussed the deepest and highest themes . Oroboni was a Christian in heart and faith , and they spoke much of religious comforts . The esteem Pellico was led to feel for his new friend increased

    daily . He seemed to be the very soul of charity : he was perpetually turning his attention to the motives which should make men indulgent towards their enemies . Never did he mention an adversary , but Oroboni strove to mitigate his anger ; he seemed to have suffered deeply , but to pardon every one . Alas ! this noble spirit soon passed away . Successive fits of illness , on both sides , frequently prevented communication between the friends , but at No . 78 . 2 G

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    Silvio Pellico . 409

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1833, page 409, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2616/page/49/