and drew from his pocket the object he had picked up, which was nothing
else than a Roman crown piece; but this crown unscrewed, and in a cavity
hollowed in its thickness enclosed a letter, which the man to whom it was
addressed began to read at the risk of being recognised, so great was his
haste to know what it contained.

We say at the risk of being recognised, for in his eagerness the
recipient of this nocturnal missive had thrown back the hood of his
cloak; and as his head was wholly within the luminous circle cast by the
lamp, it was easy to distinguish in the light the head of a handsome
young man of about five or six and twenty, dressed in a purple doublet
slashed at the shoulder and elbow to let the shirt come through, and
wearing on his head a cap of the same colour with a long black feather
falling to his shoulder. It is true that he did not stand there long;
for scarcely had he finished the letter, or rather the note, which he had
just received in so strange and mysterious a manner, when he replaced it
in its silver receptacle, and readjusting his cloak so as to hide all the
lower part of his face, resumed his walk with a rapid step, crossed Borgo
San Spirito, and took the street of the Longara, which he followed as far
as the church of Regina Coeli. When he arrived at this place, he gave
three rapid knocks on the door of a house of good appearance, which
immediately opened; then slowly mounting the stairs he entered a room
where two women were awaiting him with an impatience so unconcealed that
both as they saw him exclaimed together:

"Well, Francesco, what news?"

"Good news, my mother; good, my sister," replied the young man, kissing
the one and giving his hand to the other. "Our father has gained three
votes to-day, but he still needs six to have the majority."