Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 3, no. 18, November, 1851Harper, Various (magazine)
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 3, no. 18, November, 1851
Harper, Various (magazine)
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
In a few seconds a perfect mob was collected at Baldo's door, which they
broke open, and rushing in, beheld old Baldo stretched upon the ground,
his clothes literally saturated with blood, and a pistol lying close by
his side. The assassin, who never dreamt that the old man was still
alive, witnessed this spectacle with fiendish triumph, though loudly
lamenting the loss of him, whom he called the best friend on earth. But
it happened that the ball, though it struck against a part where a wound
would have been mortal, had come in contact with the sharp edge of a
bone, which turned it in another direction, and it was now safely lodged
between the skin and the spine. Baldo, who had fainted from fright and
loss of blood, now, to the amazement of all, recovered his senses, and
hearing the voice of his late assailant, slowly raised himself up, and
denounced him on the spot. Having done this, he fell back, and again
became unconscious. The wretch was immediately seized and handcuffed,
and safely borne away to the Austrian consulate, where he was placed in
confinement.
Doctors were now assembled from all parts of Cyprus, and all examined
the wound, and declared it fatal, expressing the greatest surprise that
the patient should have lingered so long. The blood being stanched, and
Baldo suffering from no real injury, but laboring under a sense of
approaching dissolution, begged that a confessor might be sent for. To
this confessor, he acknowledged, among other offenses, the commission of
one sin which weighed heavier than all the rest upon his guilty
conscience. It appeared that his niece, who was then married to a French
merchant at Larnaca, had been left at a very early age an orphan, and
had become his ward. She had, however, been well provided for by her
parents, and a large sum of money had been deposited in his hands,
which, after covering the expenses of her education and board, &c.,
would still leave a considerable surplus as a marriage portion. Now old
Baldo, never forgetting his thrift, had more than twice turned this
capital over before the date of the niece's marriage, but he had
retained the proceeds of his own, handing over the principal to the
bridegroom on the nuptial day. But on the approach of death, as it
seemed, he felt considerable qualms of conscience, and confessed his
unworthy stewardship, and indicated the spots where these savings were
concealed. The husband of the niece quickly dug them up, and came into
possession. Scarcely was this done, when Baldo recovered, and would
almost have forgiven the attempt upon his life, had it not involved such
serious results.
The Austrian was by the Turkish authorities handed over to his own
consulate, and was eventually removed to Trieste, but I believe, for
lack of sufficient testimony, escaped punishment. This affair, as it may
be imagined, created a great sensation in Cyprus, which was once the
scene of the memorable tragedy which terminated the life of Desdemona.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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