Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 360: what you’re looking at

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

ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. speaks, “This is a dreadful lonely place, Ellen! ' I am almost sorry that we have come hither !” At that moment I felt ashamed of the weakness to which I had been yielding; and assuming a cheerful tone, 1 exclaimed, “ But look, Beatrice! There, upon our left hand, as if at our feet, gleam the lights of Dover,—and a few minutes’ walk would bring us into its streets !” “True!” replied the Countess: “ but still we are far enough off to prevent our loudest cries from bringing succour to our aid in case——-Ah!”’ she ejaculated, thus suddenly iaterrupting herself: “there is some one!” I glanced in the direction which Beatrice had thus abruptly indicated; and there I beheld a human form, evidently enveloped in acloak. I had little doubt that it was the restless, conscienee- stricken wanderer, the Count of Carboni. Buta _ sensation bordering on superstitious terror seized upon me, when it struck me that the Count ap- peared to be walking along the very edge of the precipice itself. Beatrice and I had stopped short ; and we were gazing up the steep ascent on the extreme verge of which the object of our attention seemed to be slowly pursuing his way. Through the gloom of the evening his naturally tall form appeared to be taller still: it stood out in the blackness of bold relief against the dark back- ground of the sky. “Now for the ordeal which I so much dread,” faltered Beatrice in a trembling tone. * Remain you here, Ellen, while I hasten forward to aceost my husband. Ah!” and thus again did a sudden ejaculation burst forth from the lips of the Coun- tess. At the same momént I distinguished the cause of this ejaculation. Another human form had ap- peared upon the ridge of the height,—seeming as if it hac all in an instant sprung up from the earth itself—though it was doubtless its sudden emerging from a winding path in the vicinage which produced this startling idea. And that second form had thus in the twinkling of an eye revealed itself at the distance of but a few yards behind the spot where the Count himself was at the moment. We beheld the Count stop short and turn abruptly round as if he had been startled by hearing footsteps behind him —or else as if upon his ear had broken a voice inaudible to us at the distance whence we surveyed this scene, Beatrice and I still remained riveted as it were to that spot where in the first instance we had stopped short; and we both felt as if we were about to become the witnesses of some scene the anticipation of which exercised a superstitious awe upon our minds. We might be compared to those travellers amidst the Hartz mountains, who are suddenly startled and terrified by beholding the mirage-like reflection of the forms which, be- longing to the range of atmospherical phenomena, constitute the Spectres of the Brocken. * Look !” suddenly exclaimed Beatrice, while a ery of terror pealing from her lips, was echoed by @ similar one from mine own. _ And no wonder!—for all in a moment we be- held a horrible and frightful scene. That second form which had appeared upon the height, rushed suddenly at the Count of Carboni: ejaculations of rage, borne upon the wings of the wind, reached our ears; and, O heavens! how terrific 347 were our sensations! In the twinkling of an eye those two forms had closed as if in a deadly struggle upon the very verge of the clif—a struggle upon an eminence ebruptly closing on a precipice, at the foot of which, far below, was the beach of the sea! Words have no power to describe the glacial horror which seized upon me,—a horror whieh as fully smote my companion. But the hideous scene itself was as transient as a phantas- magorian show. There was the struggie — the closing of those two men in the deadly strife—and then, O horror! one was seen reeling back over the edge of the yawning abysm! And through the dusky air—through the gloom of that October evening—came the appalling cry of murder borne upon the eastern wind! It was the Count him- self who had thus been hurled over the precipice; and his last rending agonizing cry mingled in that eastern gale with the wild shrieks that rang from the lips of Beatrice and myself. The Countess sank upon her knees—-now shriek- ing no longer, but murmuring, “ My God! my God!” in accents of indescribable horror. As for myself, a dizziness seized upon my brain—a dims ness came over my vision—it quickly deepened into utter darkness: I felt as if stricken blind. My reason was reeling on its throne. Some mi- nutes must have elapsed before I began to recover from these awful sensations and influences; and then, as the darkness passed away from my vision, as though a veil of thiekest crape were withdrawn from before my eyes, [ flung my looks around to seo if I could anywhere discern the assassin. But no!—he was not to be seen. All objects which I beheld were stationary: there was no appearance of the murderer fleeing in terror through the con- genial gloom of the evening. ** Beatrice,” I exclaimed, in almost frenzied ac. cents, and my whole frame quivering with a con. yulsing horror, “this is terrible! This is appall- ing !” * Oh, then it is indeed a frichtful reality! is it not a dream ?”’—and Beatrice started up to her feet, as if suddenly galvanized. * Alas! alas! it is all too real!” I said; “and we have been the spectators of 2 most awful tra- eds !” * Awful! awful!’ murmured Beatrice, who now seemed as if she were on the point of relapsing into a dream-like sfate of consternation once more. * Arouse yourself, my dear friend!” I said, as my own self-possession was returning. “ We must give the alarm!—a tremendous crime has been committed in our view “ * And my wretched husband has met his death!” eried Beatrice: then, her voicd suddenly sinking into an awe-felt solemnity of tone, she added, * May God have mercy upon his soul !” “Amen!” I said with equal solemnity: and then there was a deep silence for a few moments —though in my eare still seemed to ring the last agonizing cries of the murdered Italian noble. * And who, think you, was his assassin ?” asked Beatrice, at length breaking silence. * Heaven alone knows!” I shudderingly ejacu- lated. “But it may be permitted to an earthly being to form a conjecture,” said Beatrice -sulemnly : then, after a few moments’ pause, she added, COUM $n Ghoook com