The collision was fearful, and the struggle,
being between two creatures of so great size and strength, of the fiercest
kind. The roar resembled that of lions, effectually drowning the clamor of
human voices. Every tongue was mute, and each head was turned in the
direction of the combatants. The trembling girl recoiled with averted
face, while the young man stepped eagerly forward to protect her, for the
conflict was near the place they occupied; but powerful and active as was
his frame, he hesitated about mingling in an affray so ferocious. At this
critical moment, when it seemed that the furious brutes were on the point
of tearing each other in pieces, the crowd was pushed violently open, and
two men burst, side by side, out of the mass. One wore the black robes,
the conical, Asiatic-looking, tufted cap, and the white belt of an
Augustine monk, and the other had the attire of a man addicted to the
seas, without, however, being so decidedly maritime as to leave his
character a matter that was quite beyond dispute. The former was fair,
ruddy, with an oval, happy face, of which internal peace and good-will to
his fellows were the principal characteristics, while the latter had the
swarthy hue, bold lineaments, and glittering eye, of an Italian.
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