The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 213: what you’re looking at

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

ow ~_— THE BRONZE STATUE. 21k racter all those fine qualities were unit- ed. And now, therefore—now did she enter upon the second and most inipor- tant phase in the progress of love’s srowth,—and she felt that the man whom she already looked upon as fault- less, had become deurer to her heart than perhaps would prove consistent with her happiness. And now she comprehended the feel- ing which had piqued her for a moment when, in the grove, immediately after the escape from the White Mansion and Hiamelen Castle, Sir Ernest de Col- mar had first told her that he was pledg- ed to conduct a certain lady and her at- tendants to Vienna: and now also she experienced that emotion of jealousy again, when she beheld the knight and Gloria conversing aside, and in a tone in- | audible to herself. ‘Through the bars of her vizor did her glances travel quickly from the counte- nance of the D: tughter of Glory to that of De Colmar, and thence back again | to. the radiant features of the former— and the natural quickness of woman's perception enabled her to read the se- cret of Gloria’s love. For when a maiden is herself a prey to the tender passion, her intelligence becomes in- spired with a marvellous keenness to discover the same sentiment in others: and thus was it that scarcely had Ange- la’s mental eyes been open to the truth —the important but at first pleasing | truth—thut her heart was no longer her own, when she was startled by the con- viction that Gloria’s affections were de- voted to the same object! But was this passion on the part of the Daughter of Glory reciprocated by Sir Ernest de Colmar? For a moment —a moment which seemed a perfect age, so full of whirling, conflicting, va- ried feelings was it—Angela Wildon fancied that Gloria was indeed beloved in return; and the thought flashed to her soul that she would devise an ex cuse as speedily as possible to separate herself from a party to which her pre- sence could only be a cause of embar- rassment and restraint. But scarcely had this idea sprung up in her brain, when she suddenly received a new and far different impression relative to the feelings wherewith De Colmar regard- ed the Daughter of Glory, for wheresa tho radiant being fixed her eyes, so brimful of passion and so overflowing with a love as jealous as it was intense, upon the countenance of the knight, nevertheless he gave not back that fer- | vent look, but he grew pensive anda deep sigh escaped his heart! All these little circumstances,—of a nature so trivial to an indifferent observ- er, but endowed with so vast and elo- quent an interest for the heart that loves,— were duly observed by Angela Wildon; and inasmuch as Love is a teacher which enables the soul to ac- quire a larger experience ina single mo- ment than it could possibly gain in a whole year through the medium of any other passion or sentiment,—so it was that Angela was suddenly led. to make linportant deductions from circum- stances that a few days, or even a few hours before would have been entirely overlooked, or else regarded as the ve- riest trifles hat Gloria loved De Colmar,—and that she was jealous, even to be vexed at the encomiastic language to which ha had given utterance respecting An- gela herself, but. that the knight recip- rocated not the passion of the Daughter of Glory, these were convictions which had now taken a firm root in the mind of the forest-maiden. But then came the questions—wherefore was De Col- /mar pensive ? wherefore did he sigh so profoundly? did he love, although it was not Gloria? And unable even to conjecture , re- sponse to these queries, inasmuch ag she was totally ignorant of everything that regarded the knight and Satanais, a a 2 ‘ an Pe ~~ an. Se ee , ++ * < « * i te &.” Ty ise : 1 _ wy afe - ‘oo ioe * org te — a - 7. * 3a ‘4. o's - Poh, Ss See ae —— & | save that there was such a being as the | latter,— Angela sighed also as she rode along the road on the right hand. of the Diabetes of Glory. But although her | bosom heaved to that deep respiration, yet the steel cuirass undulated not,— /and the murmuring of the sigh was | drowned in the depths of the helmet i its barred aventayle. Thus the ' ee wet, hone ee a emotion of the charming forest-maiden passed unobserved alike “by the Daugh- ter of Glory and Sir Ernest de Colmar, both of whom were very far from sus- pecting who it really was that thus stu- |diously maintained so rigid a secrecy in | reference to person and to name! | Along the wide and even road the ca- valcade proceeded; Hamelen Castle was left far behind, and through the ad- |Jacent meadows the Moldau was seen | to wind its silver way. | The long silence which had been ob- | | | served by the foremost of the proces- sion at length srew awkward and em- barrassing ; and Sir Ernest de Colmar, suddenly arousing himself from a deep ' reverie, turned towards Glori: l, Saying, comicbooks.com