Agnes Vol. 2 — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. u anetr © - =e ween ed eee eee ee ate eee bet gas Plguere tine SD TT ma _ a / —_— and invigorating than if she throw herself with! ghost. Tien from beneath the folds of her par. all her clothes on upon the couch and so g.ept for iments she drew forth a small phiel; and she hours, She was indeed greatly cxhayased: her | poured two or three drops of its contents into the mind had becn harassed as much @her frame | tumbler. Whether it were that she fancied that was wearied; and thus mentally and physically she stood in need of repose. Confident that the suiic of apartments was secured against all dunger—or at lenst suspecting not the existence of any secret menns of accesa thereto—Ciprina yielded to the influence of slumber; aud in a few tinutes sleep weighed down her eyclids. she hed poured out too much and that the heve. rave might bicumo turbid with the effect of thosa few drops—or whethor it were to estimate that she had poured sufficient in proportion with the liquid that was previously in the glass—wo cannot precisely say. Certain however it was that tie Marchioness tovk up the tumbler an] was about It was about ono o’clock in the morning, when to hold it cluser to the hight, when at that moment the seerct door in the wainscot of the ante- | she caught sight of the eyes of Luerezia Borgia chamber opened upon its noiseless hinges; ond | looking duwn upon her from the canvass suspended tho Marchioness of Mirano appeared upon the | tv the wall Lucrezia di Mirano started with threshold. fer golden auburn hair was all float- | sudden horror aud effright; for little indeed had ing in wild disorder ovor her shoulders of snowy | she expected tu oucounter the portrait there! Sto whiteness; and there wos a sinister light in her | had not even recollected her urgent request of the blue eyes—a dead pallor upon her countenanco— | preceding uigut tlat Ciprina would remove that an ashy whiteness upon the lips, which wera not | portrait from the picture-gallery! Aud now gh:o however compressed, but were somewhat apart, | not only started, but acry rose up to the very thus indicating the suspenseful anxiety of her | edge of her lips--to the very tip of her tonguc,— miud lest sho should experience any interruption | and it was a murvel that she was enubled to ented in the work which she had in band. And botween | it baci, a3 it were, ero 16 poaled forth. Yet in thoze ashy lips gleamed those teeth the vivid | this she suceceded: fur all iu a mument sho felt a whiteneas of which, at other times so exquisite an | keen vivil senso of the predicament in which suc accessory to the lady’s beauty, now reudered her | was placed. countenance all the more ghastly in its expres-{| That start however was sufficient to arous? ° Cipring into coupletest wakefulness: sho opened her eyes— but she closed them again as qaick as tho lida themselves could twiable; for she si0n. Slowly did that secret door open; and Lucrezia Mirano, placing the lamp which she carried in a niche in the passage-wall, peeped cautiously into} beheld and recognised the daarevionceas! And tho ante-chamber. No one was there. A sccond ! lere, on Ciprina’s part, was an cvidence of solt- glance showed her that tho door leading into the | possession momentarily asserted, as great as al boudoir stood ajar. With noiseless steps she} which almost at the same instant enabled fio crossed the ante-chamber—she approached that} Marchioness to keep back the screhm which had dvuor-——she peeped info the adjuining apartaent— | risen to the very brim of her lips. and this was also unoccupied. fur several mi- Wotwithstanding thf immensity of the lmpres. nutes‘the Marehioness listened: all waa still inthe; sion mado upon the gnd of Lucrezia Mirano by chaubers that Jay beyond: no sound of a human] finding herself suienly confronted as it wero by vuico met her ears. She traversed the buuddir;; the portrait of yuucrezia Borgia, she quickly re- and now shu began very gently and cautiously to; covered her idbitade : and if was with a deep push open the dvugr (which had likewiso stogd ajar) | concentrated bitterness of soul thaé she mentally of the adjoining chamber. When it was opened | ejxculated, “ Ah! if 16 indeed be my destiny fo sufliciently wide enough for the Murchioness to | fellow that which was thine, O my prototype ! 16 look into that room, sho beheld Ciprina lying in| shall be accomplished ! Pemsh every other con- the bed, with her eyelids closed, and her respira-! sidcration than that of swoepipg all obstacles drum tion indicating that suo slept. A smile of fiendish | my path!” eatisfaction now appeared on the countenance of {| And while these tcrriblo and wild ideas were the Murchioness; her lips wavered four a moment | sweeping through Tucrnzia Muirano’a mind, she —il was because sho was murmuring to herself, | flusz a look upon Ciprina: but this young Inly “ liverything is favourable !” still seemed sleeping profoundly. Ilaving replaced But still sho remained standing for threo or| tho tumbler upon the table, the Marchioness poured four minutes at the duorway to assure herscif that | a fow drops from the pluial into the decanter of Ciprina slept, A lamp was burning upona table: | water which stood upon tho toilet-table ; and then and the Marcbioness kept her oyes riveted upon} she again glanced towards the couch to assuro licr- theft lady. Tho light of that lainp was shed | self that Ciprina slept, Still confident on this fully upon Ciprina’s countevance, which remained | point, the Marchioncas now peeped into the adja- placid and tranquil as is the case when one is| cent room ; aud there she beheld Ldygar 3 ireellio sleeping serenely, Her bosom was bare; one] stretched in the bod that was there; and she mur- beautiful hand lay upon the glowing bust; and} wured to herself, “ ZLée likewise is sleepiug pros tho arm being likewise baro, reveuled its exquisite | foundly !” modelling. The entire posture was that of the} At the samo moment Ciprina was saying (o her complete self-abandonment of slumber; and no} own self, “ It is not with the dagger the wretched doubt was left in the mind of the Murchioness but | murderess is now working !—it is with rubtio that Ciprina slept. poison! I will remain silent and tranquil, that I There was a tumbler half-filled with some re- | may the better fathom all her proceedings !” freshing beveraze on the table near Ciprina’s bed:} Being thus confident that no deed of violence end towards that table did the Marchioness di Mi-| was meditated immediately and ot once against runv now slowly advance, gliding noisclese a9 a! Edgar Marcellin, Ciprina was mot yery much AOC COMNMUG i@i SS (C@