The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 216: what you’re looking at

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

‘ ~ = aA. @ , , —- 2a pe ee | ture 214 THE BRONZE STATUE. oy the unexpected turn which the dis-|the magnificent Gloria to the retired, course thus suddenly took, that utterly unable to make any reply to the} ' . he1 werrior who was thus speaking to of her own self. t * Yes,’ continued celving not the had given and _armor to vibrate she stood leaning -oaken table in the her aventayle closed over | nance which was now suffused with } burning blushes, and her bosom heaving and falling beneath the polished cuirass | with all the rapidity attendant upon an excitement suddenly awakened ; ‘yes, I have indeed been much struck by the | distinctive beauties as well as the indi- vidual characters of Satanais, Gloria, and Angela. absorbing in the heart’s most potent passion, “and for all the Heep intoxica- De Colmar, sudden which had caused from head to heel against the middle of the room: her | Fr tion of a voluptuous abandonment—tor | question, he sprang from his seat to all that tenderness which is most melt-| ing and which is calculated to bathe the soul in a fount of blissful | tanais is the houri to charm away her adorer’s existence thus! But for the ardent worshipper of thst love which produces'a delirium of the brain, daz- zles the sense, and ravishes the feel- ings—for the heart which can the incessant excitement of a bewilder- ing passion, and for the eyes that can ever look upon a perfect blaze of celes- tial loveliness—Gloria is the fitting ob- ject for such a love as this.’ The knight paused, and a profound silence reigned i in the room for upwards of a minute. ‘You have not completed your de- scription,’ said Angela at length, scarce- ly daring to trust her tongue with a re- mark which in one sense seemed to shock her natural delicacy and purity of soul, but which in another appeared divested of all impropriety, not only because the knight had himself asso- ciated her name with those of Gloria and Satanais, but also because she was speaking in her assumed masculine character. ‘No, I have not completed my de- seription,’ exclaimed De Colmar, who spoke not immediately, but seemed to weigh with deliberation the remark which had been made. ‘Bec ‘ause,’ he continued, in a measured tone, ‘it is difficult to comprehend the precise na- of those feelings which must ani- mate the man who turns from the con- templation of the splendid Satanais and she was per- start which she as MaSSIVE that counte- ar wae ee languor—Sa- | gering forward a few paces, she would ‘have fallen had not the knight's . . | For all that 3 is profoundly | nett modest, and bashful Angela Wildon, And yet, as the memory recals each feature and each charm of that forest- maiden, it: is impossible to close the eyes to the fact that she possesses a beauty calculated to make a more per- manent Impression upon the heart—or rather to entwine itself by degrees around the heart and thus secure it beyond all possibility of release. In word, my dear young friend,’ added De Colmar, ‘since we are thus talking confidentially upon a topic which, I con- | fess, is somewhat new to me—n: imely, the topic of love—I will frankly admit | that had I never seen Satanais, ] feel : ae love that beauteous, artless maid- 1, Angela Wildon, with all the purest ‘ ‘votion and fp most holy affection— sut, heavens! what ails you, my friend!’ | And as De Colmar thus: suddenly in- terrupted himself with an ejaculatory catch Angela in his arms; for a sudden faintness had come over her, and stag- s abrupt exclamation and prompt movement in- stantaneously recalled her to herself. Then, recovering her self-possession and therewith her streneth also, she endure | Se said in a tremulous tone and in broken sentences, ‘It is nothing—a passing in- disposition—but it is gone ‘Ah! a light breaks in upon me!’ ejaculated De Colmar, with a strange abruptness and an almost wild excite- ment. *And, Oh! pardon me, then, if I have said aught to offend you , * What mean ‘you? Oh? what do you mean?’ demanded Angela, now feeling convinced that she had betr ayed herself, and that he had conjectured who she really was. ‘Again [ beseech your pardon, my dear friend,’ cried De Colmar, ‘if I have give utterance to a word that was alculated to offend you; but I have read your secret ‘My secret”? murmured our heroine, trembling from head to foot, and grasp- ing the table to sustain herself—for she staggered more beneath the influence of her own over-wrought feelings than | under the weight of her panoply. ‘My secret!’ she repeated, with impassioned vehemence. ‘Yes, your secret, noble-hearted youth,’ returned De Colmar; for your words, your manner, everything has betrayed it ————— ———s comicbooks.com