The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

= St? os a Se ol > Cdl il THE BRONZE STATUE. uae claimed IIdirim, all his fears being ex- thus to minister to thine infernal inter- A eH cited on behalf of the young wife whom | ests ?” ee Marts Bit at | he loved so tenderly, and whose heart ‘« Call her not your child,’’-~said the omit id he knew would break were the demon’s| King of Darkness, in a stern tone; “ af | ba dread menace carried into execution. | least not in my presence. She is my i ‘+«¢ Spare the babe, I say,’”’ he repeated | child, and already is she named the Heh in atone of passionate appeal, “*and her| Daughter of Satan !” Si halt ¢ 4 name shall be Satanais !”’ | ‘66 And can nothing rescue her from | by ‘s+ Tt is well,” said the King of Dark- | thy power ’ are there no means Of pur- ness, his voice expressing the joy of an| chasing her redemption ! but must she 4 a alle infernal triumph; * perchance she will | | become, as she grows up 1n her beauty, oF ve some day prove an useful instrument in| the instrument of thy rage and hate | my hand,and pure ‘hase herown redemp /against the humana race ?’’ exclaimed tion by consigning the souls of many | [ldirim, accompanying these passionate victims to my power.” demands with bitter lamentations. —o ‘Bewildered and amazed, Ildirim fixed his eyes upon the countenance of Satan, in order to read, if possible, in those features so handsome and yet so terrible, the true meaning and purport | of the words which he had just uttered. | ‘+ Listen and understand,” proceeded | the King of Darkness, after enjoying | Iidirim’s uncertainty and cruel suspense for a few moments. *It shall be my care to endow Satanais—my child—with | a beauty so splendid in its dark glory, and so magnificent in its midnight lus- tre, that the world never shall have seen | the like ; so that when she grows up in the pride and pomp of her matchless | charms, the bravest and handsomest ca- | valiers will fall on their knees before her, | beseeching her to assign to them some perilous task or desperate enterprise, which they may undertake to prove their devotion, and in the hope that suc- cess will recommend them to her heart’s favor. Then will she tell them that an evil spirit has cast his spells around her, and that he who would win her hand must meet and conquer that denizen of hell in deadly combat. And as many knights,” continued Satan, fixing his burning eyes upon Ildirim, who listened in speechless horror to these explana- tions; ‘‘as many knights and gallant cavaliers will venture upon even a feat so terrible as this, in the hope of win- ning the hand of Satanais, and as the vanquished will become m2ne, both body and soul, the result. must be that the) charms of Satanais will prove the means ET TE ait | dare not refuse to respond to thy queries,” returned Satan, an awful gloom spreading over his countenance, ‘‘and the same supervatural influence which forces me thus to answer thee, compels me likewise to reveal myself in my weakness as I have already pro- claimed myself to thee in my strength. For He whose name I dare not men- tion, but who reigns above, hath decreed that no evil can exist without its cure; no bane without its antidote. ‘hus, although Satanais hath been doomed to my service and dedicated to my inter- ests by the consent of her own father ; yet may she be rescued and redeemed from all the consequences of the solemn compact.’’ ‘++¢And the means of thus rescuing her 7—the method of achieving her re- demption?”’ cried Ildirim the king, hope springing up in his breast; and as he put these questions with impassioned vehemence, he rose from his crouching position at Satan's feet and ventured to look searchingly and fixedly upon the countenance, which grew darker and more menacing than the blackest cloud that ever was laden with the thunder, the lightning, and the storm. ‘«¢ Mortal! [ am forced by an irre- sistible influence to answer thee,’’ ex- claimed Satan, his voice sounding loud and appalling to the ear; “but. since thou hast thus compelled me to expose my weakness, know that henceforth my hatred against thee and thine shall be implac able. Thou askest by what means Satanais may be rescued from the thraldom in which our compact places her with regard to myself !— | Years must pass ere the attempt at |such redemption can even be made; ae ee * ee Bi —— Fe ee ss ue a , - we . . never is man so reckless of his immor- tal soul as when woman's have fascinated him; and the eyes of Satanais shall be bright indeed !”’ of peopling my kingdom rapidly. par | bright eyes BH ii ‘** Oh! this is terrible—terrible !” ex-| for when she shall have grown up into PH Bla | claimed Ildirim, writhing in anguish at| the glory and splendor of. her charms, BY ig, 8 the feet of Satan. ‘Can naught appease | should it so happen that there be found Rises: thee, dread fiend? or must my innocent | a Christian knight who will espouse her Saber child be doomed even from its birth| cause through friendship and compas- comicbooks.com