ROMANTIC CASE OF PARRICIDE.

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If thou feelest any pity for me, who have sacrificed everythingfor thee,—if thou pitiest thy mother, brothers, and sisters,—take this! it is a potent poison (drawing a paper packetfrom his pocket); if thou hast not courage to anticipate thydeath by a few brief hours, I will leave thee with curses,rather than blessings, on thy head! but if thou takest this,my paternal benedictions will accompany thy spirit.” Theson sat motionless and calm during this address; then rising,wiped away the agonized sweat and tears from off hisfather’s face, took from his hand the poison, and shook itinto a glass of wine. With eyes full fixed upon his parent’scountenance, grasping his hand, he kissed it, then calmlydrank the potion, the venerable old man the while standingover his son, with patriarchal dignity and mien, conferredupon him his last blessing. In half an hour the son wasdead.

On the same day were known in the city of Acerenza thesentence, the dinner, the poison, and the death. The oldman, who had marched off to his home with head erect, andexcited by a kind of enthusiastic satisfaction, was arrested,accused of parricide, confessed all, was tried, and condemnedto death. The case being carried to the Court of Cassation,that final tribunal pended and perpended in painful uncer-tainty between law and feeling. Technical forms and pro-ceedings were endangered by impunity; but, on the otherhand, the public mind acquitted the distracted and heroicfather, who had ruined himself in protecting his offspring,and was only legally guilty of having saved him froma death equally certain and unavoidable, but far moreopprobrious to the sufferer and to the survivors. Thisinstance of stupendous paternal intrepidity affected allclasses who heard of it. In the dilemma the local and legalauthorities referred it to the king and his ministers. Thedecision was, to hush the matter up. The case was new,

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