Here he stopped to breathe. The duke and some of his attendants had followed him, and thus were in security for the present. They now consulted, what steps they should take to escape from this scene of disturbance: but their deliberations were considerably interrupted by the sight of volumes of fire rising from amidst the convent’s massy walls, by the noise of some heavy arch tumbling down in ruins, or by the mingled shrieks of the nuns and rioters, either suffocating in the press, perishing in the flames, or crushed beneath the weight of the falling mansion.

Lorenzo enquired, whither the wicket led? He was answered, to the garden of the Capuchins, and it was resolved to explore an outlet upon that side. Accordingly the duke raised the latch, and passed into the adjoining cemetery. The attendants followed without ceremony. Lorenzo, being the last, was also on the point of quitting the colonnade, when he saw the door of the sepulchre opened softly. Someone looked out, but on perceiving strangers uttered a loud shriek, started back again, and flew down the marble stairs.