Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 310: what you’re looking at

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

292 THE ABBESS OF THE CONVENT OF ST. CLAIRE. ‘* After all this Monsieur de Charny is a bandit,’’ he said to himself, ‘‘and I shall get out of it with a foreign trip.”’ Just then the great door of the abbey opened, and a marvelous spectacle was presented to the eyes of the cavaliers. The sanctuary of the abbey was lit up; banners floated around the altar, and incense smoked in the casso- lettes; the kneeling sisters were singing sacred hymns, and at the feet of the protecting cross were to be seen the kneeling fugitives. The Christ seemed to cover them with its mutilated arms, and the marble angels raised to heaven their hands joined in the attitude of prayer. At the mo- ment when the door revolved upon its hinges the abbess, preceded by the cross and banner, and followed by nuns in long files, turned toward the porch. The holy procession advanced slowly and stopped beside the great columns; the abbess crossed the threshold; the silver cross shone between her hands, and the banner of the order fioated above her forehead. When she had set foot outside the abbey, the songs died away. The archers had at first taken off their hats, but at sight of the cross, they hesi- tated; one of them dismounted, and throwing down his musket, knelt down upon the grass, another imitated him, then a third, then all, conquered by this costume of re- ligion. Monsieur de Pomereux was the first to uncover his forehead and leap from the saddle. Monsieur de Charny alone remained in the saddle, his head uncovered and his hand upon the guard of his sword. Between the abbess and he there were scarcely ten steps; beyond the sisters, in the light of the choir, he saw Belle-Rose and Suzanne; near them, Cornelius and Claudine; behind them, Déroute and Grippard. Monsieur de Charny urged forward his horse. The horse made three steps and stopped. The brilliant light of the chapel frightened it. The abbess ex- tended the cross toward Monsieur de Charny, and with the other hand she pointed out the fugitives. ‘‘This is the house of God,’’ said she, ‘‘and God protects those whom you seek. Enter now if you dare.”’ Monsieur de Charny recoiled slowly like a conquered tiger. When he was twenty step away, the abbess returned to the chapel, and the door closed with a sonorous noise. Then, pushing aside her vail, she showed to the fugitives the face of Genevieve de La Noue, Duchess de Chateaufort. =} (oy Hi (E(0) (E(0)