The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

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Were those words In any way |} associated with he beautiful statue which roof, - ihe had seen at Altendorf Castle ?—and if gratings each of which had dropped like a a SS a —_—_ - i ~~ a caneeteienteieeemiaed et ~~ —— a .. me -. .. > ah ——— ape => - Foe 4 ——— *- And as if to enhance the horror of his | — ee a. c. - “? i S Poel ; * ree ee ~~ ~~ - oo em owe +.4,s .. 2k - = - al _——- ~ Ss se se Tas quay etme = a > bs a ll +. : ° - . eo > ~ a o - ~ ~- - -~ —< - - ~ a, ae 2 - ee li om on Seale os o~ — - =—@ «2 2 = — == ~~ —— — — — — — .- r. . —plile a_i or . _— nim ethene Mile et Og tee _— a <a — — = a +9 -——- ee ee ee alll <~ Pre | ae ” J ~ ‘i > - : lit = —- — — _— = . > ee — -~* -« -~ ~— 2 - = - . : - _ = ‘e~ . = . we : e z ? -- S eer _ “~~ Fr 4" - es ~~ a = : bed > P= » ~ ‘ 5 ay , —_ . = : - * tA - —* ? an. - : -_ ; — ea -- - — ex Re = & “—/* a ~ ~~ = a —— > - eee ee » a tae r ae” -* ~ ee ee ge = +o - 7 . * *” - a re ee eee thoughts, the Carthusian priest exclaimed | ina joud sonorous tone, which coming from the deep darkness appeared like the voice of doom,— Another victim for the Bronze Statue and the Virgin's Kiss” Then a door opened fur down the passage, and clanged again with violence immedia- tely afterwards; and, when the echoes had died away, a profound and death-)like si- lence, as well as a stupendous darkness, prevailed in the subterranean. CHAPTER XV. MYSTERY UPON MYSTERY. We have before stated that Sir Ernest de Colmar was brave as man could be; but when he found himself thus suddenly and treacherously inveigled into a snare— and when those ominous words rang in his startled ears—a cold tremor seized upon him, and an icy perspiration broke forth upon bis noble brow. For although he entertained not the slightest idea of what could be meant by a victim to the Bronze Statue—mucli less what was signified by the Virgin's Kiss,— he had nevertheless heard those phrases proclaimed ona former occasion, and under circumstances which proved that they ex- pressed something ineffibly terrible. He remembered how horrified and how rending was the shriek which the mysterious words had evoked from Gloria’s lips in the church: and he recollected how full of anguish and poignant alarm did her bosom seem when he questioned her in the grove relative to the meaning of the darkly sig- nificant sentence. And now, too, as Fa- ther Cyprian’s voice still rang his ears, it struck him that it was the same sonorous tone which had menaced Gloria with the Bame doom ; and for the first time did the conviction spring up in his soul that it was the Caribusian himse!f of whom he had caught a glimpse amongst the tombs, and who had thundered forth the words which wrung the scream from Gloria’s lips. That it was also this identical ecclesiastic whom he had struck down in the darkness and from whose arms he had rescued the beau- teous girl, likewise seemed probable to our hero: but upon this point there was nothing certain. And that menaced doom which had been proclaimed to Gloria in his hearing and which was now so mysteriously announced ) rrr — so, did the connexion proceed farther still and extend to the frightful machinery which he had beheld at the same place ? Oh! there was some tremendous mystery involved in the words— The Bronze Statue and the Virgin's Kiss: but what the signi- fication should be, was a question defying ali possible conjecture ! Such were the thotghts which swept through the mind of Sir Ernest de Colmar within the first few minutes after he found himself a prisoner in the dark subterra- nean. Holding his arms across his breast, he leant against the rough wall and began to reflect calmly and courageously on his position. But the certainty that he was a captive in the vault of some splendid man- sion the name and situation of which were alike unknown to him,—and that he was me- naced with a doom the nature of which was no doubt horrible, but completely undefined, —these were the para*nount ideas whereon he had to fix his attention. All else was involved in the deepest mystery and the most ominous gloom. But ‘whatever were the fate in store for him, the Knight resolved to meet it with firmness ; or rather, he knew that he should do so without coming to any determination at all upon the subject: for his was a phy- sical bravery based’ upon the strongest moral coutage; and it was as impossible for human power to dim the light of the glo- rious su as to reduce. the magnanimous soul of Sir Ernest de Colmar to the grovel- ling condition of cowardice. Profound was the silence which conti- nued in the subterranean. That the ec- Ciesiastic had quitted the vault by the door which clanged at the further extremity almost immediately after the consuinma- tion of his treacherous deed, was tolerably certain. But how long would his absence last?—and during the interval was there no possibility of eseape ? Sur Ernest de Colmar tried the gratings with his hands, They were formed “of massive iron bars; and on each side they fitted into grooves inthe wall. By the aid of the cross-bars he climbed up one of thems; and he found as he had previously suspected, that it had descended from an Opening in the vaulted roof, the highest portion of which was about seven feet ‘rom the paved floor. So firmly fixed wag each grating that the Knight’s strong hand could not even shake them; and when he essxyed to pus one of them up, the at- tempt was as vain and useless as if he had comicbooks.com