The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 120: what you’re looking at

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

i18 THE BRONZE STATUE. —All these reflections drove my un-| thereby, had invaded the territory and happy mother almost to madness; heart-broken did she reach the Court of her father, the King of Georgia.— ‘There, at least, we found a home anda and|completely subjugated it. ’ Kara Ali was put to death, and Mansour became king. It was therefore against this monarch and his forces that Ildirim had refuge ; and messengers were expedi-| to contend; and for upwards of two ted to King Mansour’s capital to pro- pose a ransom for my captive father. During their absence Almeria endea- vored to buoy herself up with the hope that they would succeed: but it was with difficulty that she could sustain her courage, for misfortune had placed a death-wound in her heart: not that wound which kills at once, but the wound which destroys slowly as if a barbed arrow were rankling therein ! ‘After a long absence the messengers returned from Mansour’s Court, having succeeded in theic object. The ran- som had been accepted, my father was | released, and once more had he the satisfaction of embracing his wife and children. which time my mother’s health gradu- ally became more alarming, and Ildirim A year passed away, during | himself appeared heart-broken and a} prey to despair. ‘lhe King of Georgia, who loved his daughter tenderly and looked upon his son-in-law as an unfor- | tunate but not a guilty monarch, ima- gined that they were pining for the loss of their kingdom; and, without con- ’ sulting them upon the subject, but be- lieving that he should afford them the pleasure of a most agreeable surprise, he made vast military preparations, which were carried on with as much secrecy as expedition. Whenall were completed he mustered his immense army upon a plain mm the vicinity of Tefilis, the ‘Georgian capital; and tak- ing my father and mother forth to be- nold the mighty armament, he ex- claimed, ‘‘That force is thine, © Tidi- rim: place thyself at its head, and go | years hostilities continue, with did ' varying success, in that distracted coun. try. From an earthly paradise was it thus changed into a scene of desolation, ruled by a Moloch of blood and slaugh- ter. At length my father pletely defeated in a great battle; and conquerors. Wretched in mind and | exhausted in body, he returned to Tef- and reconquer thy dominions from an | insurgent people!” Then the anima- tion of yoy suffused itself over my fa-| |ther’s countenance; and Almeria, ob- serving the emotions of delight which he thus experienced, devoured her grief, wiped away her tears, and ex- erted herself to assume the appearance of participating in his pleasure. ‘To be brief, my father embraced flis, the bearer of the intelligence of hig own discomfiture; and soon afterwards he died of a broken heart. ‘I shall not attempt to describe my mother’s rending grief at the loss of him whom she had loved so terderly and so well. Gloria and myself were old enough to understrnd and appreciate if; and many were the tears which we shed when ouo widowed parent wept bitterly, bitterly over us. But the ex- tent of our misfortunes was not yet reached; for we were shortly to be- come wanderers on the face of the earth. ‘he King of Persia, Georgia's implacable enemy, hearing of the total destruction of the fine army which had marched forth from Tefflis under Tldi- rim, deemed it a fitiing opportunity to invade the territory of his neighboring foe. ‘Collecting all his remaining ‘forces, my royal grandfather marched against the Persians, but was completely rout- ed; and being ‘taken prisoner, he (was cruelly put to death. The conquerors pushed on to Tefflis, which ‘held out for some weeks against the besiegers, who, however, carried it at length ‘by storm, and a terrible massacre ensued. All the brothers and sisters of my mo- ther fell into the hands of the ferocious Persian Shah, who immolated the for- mer to his vengeance and kept the lat- ter for his harem: but the widowed, his wife and children and departed at! the head of that mighty army. But in the meantime the affairs of his own kingdom had grown so desperate, a civil war having taken place between the adherents of Kara Ali and the pa triotic party, that Mansour, profiting ; ’ desolate, and almost distracted Almeria was fortunate enough ‘to escape with Gloria and myself, attended only by one faithful domestic. ‘We came into Nurope—traversed the huge provinces of the Ottoman Em- pire—and at length reached Bohemir. Why my mother fixed upon this coun- try as her future abode, I am not able to inform you. It might have been b accident, or by some impulse which she herself could not understand, or else comicbooks.com ——, was com. | . ‘ae . ’ with the utmost difficulty did he sue-_| . . . . ' ceed in escaping from the power of his | |