Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

18 ?—. IVAN THE “ Have they fire in them?” asked the Sorcerer. ‘“‘T have seen her but once in the day-time, but I have often gazed upon her in slumber.” “She is very accomplished, of course?” said the Sorcerer with a sneer. “ Highly so.” ‘“¢ And her person ?” “ Perfect as nature could form it.” “Her temper ?” “ Gentle and yielding as a lamb.” “Speak no more, Ivan!” the Sorcerer said, ‘Thou shalt have thy wish! Sheisthine! By my awful mystic power, I swear it! Mark me, you are mine, both body and soul!” “Tt am !’ was the fierce response. * And thou would’st see the mysteries of the past and future ?” “T would, and wédd !” “ Will? What mean ye, Ivan?” asked the Sorcerer, with a terrible scowl upon his countenance. ra ‘J mean this,” said Ivan, with an awful oath, and still dragging along his blindfolded and unconscious victim, “I mean that thou canst not prove thy power!” “Tyan, speak no more! Thou shalt this night behold that which, but for my mystic power, would strike thee dumb, and freeze thy very marrow !”” ‘Basil, I heed thee not ! Thon art old and in thy dotage !” Tyan replied, boldly, although, it must be confessed, that he secretly trembled at the Sorcerer’s solemn words. The Sorcerer looked at Ivan with a frown that seemed to overawe him. : ; Grasping that huge, dark villain suddenly by the wrist with a firm grip, he smiled with a mingled expression of scorn, derision, contempt, and pity. In a voice, which, without the slightest effort, seemed to possess a volume of sound equal to that of a dozen ordinary men, he said, in a hissing tone, “Worm! Think’st thon I direct my steps hither simply for the sake of proving to thee my potent power? Or think’st thou that any word of thine could stir up within me an feeling but profound contempt? Slaye! bound both hody ana soul! the Hyil One prompts me to crush thee to atoms ‘upon this very anal | But, no!” he added, in a calmer tone, { thou art not a fit subject for Basil’s great revenge! Know, that it is for purposes of my own, that I seek to deliver Laura Percy into thy blood-reddened hands! Thon shalt live, Ivan the Terrible! Thou shalt liye and prosper ; but thou shalt be an instrument for my own secret revenge! Her life, her honour, is within reach of my magic art, my power! Ha, ha!” he langhed, sardonically, “thou shalt see with thy own eyes that to-night which shall thrill thy hardened soul, villain’ as thou art!~ Come, slave, follow me !” Laura, all trembling, and Jessie, full of valour, waited until Basil and Ivan had gone some distance, and then stealthily | followed. They were now not far from the Abbey ruins, and could plainly see its majestic ivy-capped towers rising against the clouds, while broken columns and shattered walls told ofthe havoc of time, A breeze had now arisen, which drove heavy banks of clouds against the sky, shutting out from view almost every ray of moonlight. The moon’s rays, however, would now and then appear for a second, as if to show more clearly the wildness and desolate grandeur of the hill-encircled vale, with its rocky rivulet, dense woods, and gigantic wreck of former days, But darkness would ‘return again, the winds moaned, and sung, and screamed aloud, through the ivy-covered ruins, Old and lofty trees sighed, and shook, and waved their creaking branches, A fitful flash of lightning illumined all for an instant. Low heavy thunder peals rumbled afar off, and the earth trembled, while, as winds rose higher and higher, they seemed to awake the cries, and shouts, and plaints of departed spirits that flitted through the deserted cloisters or danced among the tombs ! Laura and the gipsy-maid soon reached the Abbey ruins, They entered through a large hole in the wall, which TERRIBLE. opened into a kind of passage, which led them into a spacinos hall, paved with large squares of black and white marble. Along one side of this an elegantly constructed staircase, also of marble, led to a series of galleries, from which they had a commanding view of a wide area beneath them, ‘‘ This must be the ruined chapel,” thought both. Such it was. All was still as death. Laura thought she heard whisperings in the darkness ’ below. The gipsy drew her dagger. At that moment they perceived in the dark wilderness of ruins below the faint glimmering of a light. It was Basil the Sorcerer ! He was alone, and muttered aloud as -he groped his way through the mass of fallen masonry and stones:— * Allis well, the night isfavourable. Ivan will proye an easy prey! How mournfully the wind sighs and moans to- night through the ruins! How awful and grand is this vast wreck with its massive towers ! Yet often has it been the scene of my triumphs. Often have I trampled on the spirits of the living, and communed with the dead !” ay ae He cautiously stepped forward, turning the light alternately on either side, and examining every recess as he advanced. ~ He trayersed the whole length of the chapel several times, and called aloud, “ Tyan, approach |” The sound of his own voice was the only answer as it echoed and re-echoed again and again. He held the light aloft, and itsrays falling athwart his face showed all the terrible lineaments of his ferocious and repul- sive countenance, = He advanced towards the altar, and waved his magic wand. | His lantern was extinguished on the instant. Low wailing voices were heard. = They seemed to issue from seyeral broken tombs. He waved his wand once more, and cried aloud, slowly and solemnly, in a voice that resounded through all the ruins, “Tvan! Ivan! Ivan !” “Who calls the Terrible?” answered a gruff voice from amid a pile of rubbish and ruins, = “‘T, thy master, calls thee, slave !_ Approach on the instant, | or perish !” “Twill go no farther !” growled Ivan, still eagerly dragging the youthful victim after him, whose limbs shook under him, while cold, clammy perspiration oozed from his brow. Ivan felt that he was compelled to witness some terrible ordeal, and his guilty soul shuddered as the trial approached. Basil the Sorcerer laughed scornfully and triumphantly aloud as he wavedhis wand in a circle, and shouted, ‘‘ Fiends and sprites of the depths below, appear !” On the instant yells and screams resounded, and high above her cries of triumph were heard the loud and angry oaths of van. He was seized by spirits and led bound hand and foot to where the Sorcerer stood and cast upon the ground. _Basil, wand in hand, described a circle round Ivan and his victim. From that moment the strong and herculean Ivan lay help- less and child-like. He could not move, He was now within the magic circle, and in the Sorcerer's power. Basil, meanwhile, irrespective of Ivan’s groans and curses completed his preparations. P Atasingle word of command several dark, dusky forms approached him, and gave him several vials containing a De Seats gs liquid. e poured it on the ground in four i four carne points of the compass, Ee acne tee While thus engaged he w i ; | Pa ry a gag as continually muttering strange He neuro powder over the four liquid spots. n the instant,each spot s different colours. i? | SE ae Doe aula Ere long the whole building was filled with a strange, un< earthly light, and an odour thr=7oyc7¥ P| B¥eYe) <atate) |)