The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 205: what you’re looking at

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

THE BRONZE STATUE. 203 thought struck her, ‘your excellency | piece of hair-brained folly of which I should apprehend that my presence iniam not altogether capable, rash and this panoply may entail danger upon | headstrong as | may have already ap- yourself by re yndering you an object of | peared. But soon after sunrise, Sir suspicion to the T'aborites, lead ing them | Knight, | shall join you in the imme- ’ to imagine, perhaps, that you were an diate vicinage of the southern gate of i accomplice in the deliverance of the} Prague.’ three noble prisoners | ‘And right glad shall lL be to welcome : ‘No danger of that kind do I dread,’ | you again,’ answered De Colmar, once interrupted De Colmar; ‘and even if|more taking the maiden’s gauntletted there were any chance of such a peril | hand shaking it with all the cordiality of arising, [ should not use it as an argu-|an affectionate friendship. ‘* Bat is ment to induce you to lay aside that ar- | there naught that I can do to serve thee mor tor which you enterti in, as it were, |in Prague, my gallant friend, during an affection, andin which you have al-|the hour or two that will intervene ere ready distinguished yourse yf SO nobly. ‘the commencement of the journey ¢ No, my dear young friend,’ exclaimed | Hast thou no message to send to rela- the knight, rising from the green sward, | tives or friends? are all thy prepara- ‘lam neither so.selfish nor so pusilla- tions for trave ‘ling C omple te 1d ! and hast nimous as to think of myself in this | thou a horse——’ matter. It was on your own account ‘Ah! in this Roeper’ may your excel- and solely in reference LO yourself, that | le SHC y serve lie, * exc laim eC d Ange sla, W ho i spoke; for although 1 am well aware | had intended to speak to De Colmar that you recoil not from peril, still there | upon a point which would otherwise es x. “= od 4 il -~ ad ¥. ee oe ee ee ee 4 * AX , off * ~ is a prudence which prompts even the | menace her with some degree of em- ie most valorous to adopt certain precau-|barrassment. ‘I have a fleet and trus- a tions when danger threatens, or at all | ty steed in Prague, it is true—but inas- ss events to avoid rushing on to meet that | much as prudence forbids me to enter | i danger half-way. Onthe other hand, ‘the city, and other circumstances pre- ‘ Fs, fam rejoiced to recognise in you, brave vent me from sending to claim the ani- youth, a steadiness of purpose and a|mal- ~~ strength of resolution which constitute| ‘Be not uneasy upon that score,’ in- even a stronger panoply than the bright |terrupted De Colmar. ‘I will under: armor which you prize so highly and | |take to mount you, brave boy, as well become so nobly Keep, then, thy chi- as if you had your own good steed, vilrous equipment, my gallant young whereof youare speaking, And now friend, and should it ple ase thee to ac- | farewell until we meet again according company me all the way to Vienna, in- | to the appointment alres dy arranged.’ stead of stopping short to retirnto thy| Sir Ernest de Colmar and Angela ac- own home, I can fairly promise that cordingly separated; and while the lat- never will the hand of the Duke of|ter remained in the wood, the former Austria have bestowed the honor of|struck once again into the high road, knighthood upona worthier candidate | followed by the youthtul page Ermach. than thou.’ | ‘Again and again must 1 thank your | excellency for all your generous senti- ments concerning me,’ said Angela.— | CHAPTER LL ‘But lonee more assure. you that sO soon as we shall arrive within sight of | THE MEETING AT THE SOUTHERN GATE. the towers of Altendorf Castle, must I | say farewell. ‘This will be on the third Ir was the hour of sunrise, and from day hence—and then, Sir Knight, shall | amidst the rapidly dispersing vapors of I tell you who I am, and whierdfore I' the early morn the towers, and church- have so obstinately persisted in keeping | es, and countless buildings of the Bohe- the vizor over my countenance.’ /mian capital stood forth to catch the ‘Be it as you will, brave youth,’ ex- | orient beams which gladdened the new- claimed De Colmar. ‘And now must] | born day. hasten towards Prague, for time is| ‘The solemn silence of that hour when wearing on ; ‘nature thus awoke to life and light ‘Into the city I shall not accompany |again, was soon broken by the bus your excellency,' ,, said Angela; ‘for to} hum of the insect world, and by the de- appear in the midst of the Taborite gar-|lictous melody of the groves, ere the rison, clad in this armor, were indeed a | sounds of human voices vibrated through 72. 4 — —— J y. ™ laa FS faa ee eT ee Pe ee ~ '. =o r - - 7 = =~ ‘ ° - ‘ i = «4 ~ — a ee ee - ny . - -~ ’ * owe comicbooks.com