Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine | Page 4

their fists clenched, their feet seeming to grasp the ground on
which they stood.
A loud flourish of trumpets gave the signal of the onset, and with
inconceivable impetuosity the two parties threw themselves on each
other. In spite, however, of the fury and violence of the shock, neither
side yielded an inch of ground. The bridge was completely filled with
men from end to end, and from side to side; there was no parapet or
barrier of any kind to prevent the combatants from pushing one another
into the canal; yet so equally balanced was the strength of the two
parties, that after nearly half an hour's struggle very few men had been
thrown from the bridge, and not the smallest advantage had been
obtained either by Castellani or Nicolotti. Those in the rear, who had as
yet done nothing but push the others forward, now came to the front,
and the combat was renewed with fresh vigour, but for a long time
without any result. Again and again were the combatants changed; but
it was past noon before Antonio, whose thoughts had been gradually
diverted from the incognita by the struggle that was going on,
perceived symptoms of weariness amongst those indefatigable athletes.
Here and there a knee was seen to bend, or a muscular form to sink,
under some well-directed blow, or before a sudden rush of the opposite
party. First one, then another of the combatants was hurled from the
bridge into the canal, an immersion that, dripping with perspiration as
they were, not unfrequently caused death or severe illness. Nevertheless
the fury of the fight seemed rather to increase than diminish. So long as
only a man here and there fell into the water, they were dragged out by

their friends; and the spectators even seemed to feel pity and sympathy
for the unfortunates, as they saw them carried along, some covered with
blood, others paralysed by the sudden cold, with faces pale as death and
limbs stiff and rigid. But as the fury and violence of the combatants
augmented, the bystanders forgot every other feeling in the excitement
of the fight, about the result of which they seemed as anxious as those
who were actively engaged in it. Even women might be seen
encouraging those who were driven back, and urging them once more
to the charge; applauding and cheering them on when they advanced,
and assailing those who hung back with vehement reproaches. The
uproar and shouting, shrieks and yells, exceeded any thing that could
be imagined. The partizans had got completely mixed together; and,
instead of the struggle being confined to the foremost ranks of the
contending parties, the whole bridge was now one coil of raging
combatants. Men fell into the canal by scores, but no one thought of
rendering them any assistance. Their places were immediately filled up,
and the fight lost none of its fury from their absence.
Evening was now approaching, and the combat was more violent than
it had yet been, or than it had for years been known to be, when
Antonio saw the cloaked and mysterious individuals who had already
attracted his attention, emerge from their lurking-places, and disappear
in different directions. Presently he thought he observed some of them
on the bridge mingling with the combatants, whose blind rage
prevented them from noticing the intrusion. Wherever they passed,
there did the fight augment in obstinacy and fury. Suddenly there was a
violent rush upon the bridge, a frightful outcry, and a clash of steel. At
the same moment the blades of several swords and daggers were seen
crossed and glittering upon the bridge, without its being possible for
any one to divine whence the weapons came. The spectators, seized
with a panic fear, fled in every direction, and sprang in crowds from the
quays to seek shelter under the awnings of the gondolas covering the
canal. In vain did the gondoliers resist the intrusion of the fugitives: all
considerations of rank and property were lost sight of in the terror of
the moment, and some of the boats sank under the weight of the
multitudes that poured into them. In their haste to get away, the
gondolas impeded each other, and became wedged together in the canal;
and amidst the screams of the ladies and angry exclamations of the men,

the gondoliers laid down their oars and began to dispute the precedence
with blows. Meanwhile the people on the roofs of the houses, believing
themselves in safety, espoused different sides, and threw stones and
bricks at each other, and at those standing below. In an incredibly short
time houses were entirely unroofed, and a perfect storm of tiles rained
upon the quays and streets. Those who had first fled, when they
attained what appeared a safe