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impressed him, that, when he raised his eyes, he almost expected to meet
other eyes, fixed upon his own, and he quitted his seat and looked
behind the chair, before he felt perfectly convinced, that no person was
there.
Thus closed the hour.
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol IV
CHAPTER VII
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber;
Thou hast no figures, nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men;
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound.
-- SHAKESPEARE
The Count, who had slept little during the night, rose early, and,
anxious to speak with Ludovico, went to the north apartment; but, the
outer door having been fastened, on the preceding night, he was obliged
to knock loudly for admittance. Neither the knocking, or his voice was
heard; but, considering the distance of this door from the bed-room, and
that Ludovico, wearied with watching, had probably fallen into a deep
sleep, the Count was not surprised on receiving no answer, and, leaving
the door, he went down to walk in his grounds.
It was a gray autumnal morning. The sun, rising over Provence,
gave only a feeble light, as his rays struggled through the vapours that
ascended from the sea, and floated heavily over the wood-tops, which
were now varied with many a mellow tint of autumn. The storm was
passed, but the waves were yet violently agitated, and their course was
traced by long lines of foam, while not a breeze fluttered in the sails of
the vessels, near the shore, that were weighing anchor to depart. The still
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol IV
gloom of the hour was pleasing to the Count, and he pursued his way
through the woods, sunk in deep thought.
Emily also rose at an early hour, and took her customary walk
along the brow of the promontory, that overhung the Mediterranean. Her
mind was now not occupied with the occurrences of the chateau, and
Valancourt was the subject of her mournful thoughts; whom she had not
yet taught herself to consider with indifference, though her judgment
constantly reproached her for the affection, that lingered in her heart,
after her esteem for him was departed. Remembrance frequently gave
her his parting look and the tones of his voice, when he had bade her a
last farewel; and, some accidental associations now recalling these
circumstances to her fancy, with peculiar energy, she shed bitter tears to
the recollection.
Having reached the watch-tower, she seated herself on the broken
steps, and, in melancholy dejection, watched the waves, half hid in
vapour, as they came rolling towards the shore, and threw up their light
spray round the rocks below. Their hollow murmur and the obscuring
mists, that came in wreaths up the cliffs, gave a solemnity to the scene,
which was in harmony with the temper of her mind, and she sat, given
up to the remembrance of past times, till this became too painful, and
she abruptly quitted the place. On passing the little gate of the watch-
tower, she observed letters, engraved on the stone postern, which she
paused to examine, and, though they appeared to have been rudely cut
with a pen-knife, the characters were familiar to her; at length,
recognizing the hand-writing of Valancourt, she read, with trembling
anxiety the following lines, entitled
SHIPWRECK
 Til solemn midnight! On this lonely steep,
Beneath this watch-tow'r's desolated wall,
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol IV
Where mystic shapes the wonderer appall,
I rest; and view below the desert deep,
As through tempestuous clouds the moon's cold light
Gleams on the wave. Viewless, the winds of night
With loud mysterious force the billows sweep,
And sullen roar the surges, far below.
In the still pauses of the gust I hear
The voice of spirits, rising sweet and slow,
And oft among the clouds their forms appear.
But hark! what shriek of death comes in the gale,
And in the distant ray what glimmering sail
Bends to the storm? -- Now sinks the note of fear!
Ah! wretched mariners! -- no more shall day
Unclose his cheering eye to light ye on your way!
From these lines it appeared, that Valancourt had visited the tower;
that he had probably been here on the preceding night, for it was such an
one as they described, and that he had left the building very lately, since
it had not long been light, and without light it was impossible these
letters could have been cut. It was thus even probable, that he might be
yet in the gardens.
As these reflections passed rapidly over the mind of Emily, they
called up a variety of contending emotions, that almost overcame her
spirits; but her first impulse was to avoid him, and, immediately leaving
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol IV
the tower, she returned, with hasty steps, towards the chateau. As she
passed along, she remembered the music she had lately heard near the
tower, with the figure, which had appeared, and, in this moment of
agitation, she was inclined to believe, that she had then heard and seen
Valancourt; but other recollections soon convinced her of her error.
On turning into a thicker part of the woods, she perceived a person,
walking slowly in the gloom at some little distance, and, her mind
engaged by the idea of him, she started and paused, imagining this to be
Valancourt. The person advanced with quicker steps, and, before she
could recover recollection enough to avoid him, he spoke, and she then
knew the voice of the Count, who expressed some surprise, on finding
her walking at so early an hour, and made a feeble effort to rally her on
her love of solitude. But he soon perceived this to be more a subject of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]