town of Aquila which had been bequeathed to them conjointly by their mother.  The money was in a canvas bag, and the other half which belonged to himself he had left locked in his strong box at home, where, on searching for it, it was found.  As Ripa was known to be poor, and very much straitened by his endeavours to make good the sum he had lost, that he should add robbery to assassination was not to be wondered at.  On the contrary, it strengthened the conviction of his guilt, by supplying an additional motive for the crime.

The injuries having been severe, it was some time before Mendez recovered sufficiently to return home; and when he was well enough to move, instead of going to Forni, he discharged his servant Antonio Guerra, and went himself to Florence, where he remained several months.

All this time Giuseppe Ripa was in prison, condemned to die, but not executed; because after his trial and sentence, a letter had been received by the chief person in authority, warning him against shedding the blood of the innocent.  ‘Senor Mendez is mistaken,’ the letter said:  ’he did not see the assassin, who attacked him from behind, and Giuseppe Ripa is not guilty.’

This judge, whose name was Marino, appears to have been a just man, and to have felt some dissatisfaction with the evidence against Ripa; inasmuch as Mendez, who, when first questioned, had spoken confidently as to his identity, had since faltered when he came to give his evidence in public, and seemed unable to afford any positive testimony on the subject.  The presumption against the prisoner, without the evidence of the Spaniard, was considered by the other judges strong enough to convict him; but Marino had objected that since the attack was made by daylight—­for it was in the summer, and the evenings were quite light—­it seemed extraordinary that Mendez could give no more certain indications of his assailant.  Added to this, although every means had been used to obtain a confession—­such means as are permitted on the continent, but illegal in this country—­Giuseppe persisted in his innocence.  Moreover, as no money had been found about him, and Faustina Malfi was exceedingly desirous of recovering what had been lost, she exerted herself to obtain mercy to at least the extent that hopes of a commutation of his sentence should be held out to the prisoner, provided he would reveal where he had concealed the bagful of silver he had taken from her brother.  But in vain.  Ripa was either guiltless or obstinate, for nothing could be extracted from him but repeated declarations of his innocence.