Two tedious hours I waited in extreme anxiety. At length the clock struck twelve; my heart beat responsive, and immediately the promised signal was made. I unbolted the door, and beheld two men masked and cloaked. They blindfolded me, and each taking an arm, led me along. Not a word passed. We traversed apartments, ascended, descended stairs; now went this way, now that; obliquely, circularly, angularly; till I began to imagine we were all the time in one spot. At length my conductors stopped. 'Unlock the postern gate,' whispered one, 'while I light a torch.' 'We are betrayed!' said the other, 'for this is the wrong key.' 'Then thou beest the traitor,' cried the first. 'Thou liest, dost lie, and art lying!' cried the second. 'Take that!' exclaimed the first. A groan followed, and the wretch tumbled to the ground. 'You have killed him!' cried I, sickening with horror. 'I have only hamstrung him, my Lady,' said the fellow. 'He will be lame while ever he lives; but by St. Cripplegate, that won't be long; for our captain has given him four ducats to murder himself in a month.' He then burst open the gate; a sudden current of wind met us, and we hurried forward with incredible speed, while moans and smothered shrieks were heard at either side. 'Gracious goodness, where are we?' cried I. 'In the cavern of death!' said my conductor; 'but never fear, Signora mia illustrissima, for the bravo Abellino is your povero devotissimo.' On a sudden innumerable footsteps sounded behind us. We ran swifter. 'Fire!' cried a ferocious accent, almost at my ear; and there came a discharge of arms. I stopped, unable to move, breathe, or speak. 'I am wounded all over, right and left, fore and aft, long ways and cross ways, Death and the Devil!' cried the bravo. 'Am I bleeding?' said I, feeling myself with my hands. 'No, blessed St. Fidget be praised!' answered he; 'and now all is safe, for the banditti have turned into the wrong passage.' He then stopped, and unlocked a door. 'Enter,' said he, 'and behold your mother!' He led me forward, tore the bandage from my eyes, and retiring, locked the door after him. Agitated by the terrors of my dangerous expedition, I felt additional horror in finding myself within a dismal cell, lighted with a lantern; where, at a small table, sat a woman suffering under a corpulency unparalleled in the memoirs of human monsters. Her dress was a patchwork of blankets and satins, and her gray tresses were like horses' tails. Hundreds of frogs leaped about the floor; a piece of mouldy bread, and a mug of water, lay on the table; some straw, strewn with dead snakes and sculls, occupied one corner, and the distant end of the cell was concealed behind a black curtain. I stood at the door, doubtful, and afraid to advance; while the prodigious prisoner sat examining me all over.