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short interval, since the arrival of the servant, who had been sent forward
from Venice; and this, in some measure, may account for the air of
extreme desolation, that everywhere appeared.
The servant, who came to light Montoni, bowed in silence, and the
muscles of his countenance relaxed with no symptom of joy. -- Montoni
noticed the salutation by a slight motion of his hand, and passed on,
while his lady, following, and looking round with a degree of surprise
and discontent, which she seemed fearful of expressing, and Emily,
surveying the extent and grandeur of the hall in timid wonder,
approached a marble stair-case. The arches here opened to a lofty vault,
from the centre of which hung a tripod lamp, which a servant was hastily
lighting; and the rich fret-work of the roof, a corridor, leading into
several upper apartments, and a painted window, stretching nearly from
the pavement to the ceiling of the hall, became gradually visible.
Having crossed the foot of the stair-case, and passed through an
ante-room, they entered a spacious apartment, whose walls, wainscoted
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with black larch-wood, the growth of the neighbouring mountains, were
scarcely distinguishable from darkness itself.  Bring more light, said
Montoni, as he entered. The servant, setting down his lamp, was
withdrawing to obey him, when Madame Montoni observing, that the
evening air of this mountainous region was cold, and that she should like
a fire, Montoni ordered that wood might be brought.
While he paced the room with thoughtful steps, and Madame
Montoni sat silently on a couch, at the upper end of it, waiting till the
servant returned, Emily was observing the singular solemnity and
desolation of the apartment, viewed, as it now was, by the glimmer of
the single lamp, placed near a large Venetian mirror, that duskily
reflected the scene, with the tall figure of Montoni passing slowly along,
his arms folded, and his countenance shaded by the plume, that waved in
his hat.
From the contemplation of this scene, Emily's mind proceeded to
the apprehension of what she might suffer in it, till the remembrance of
Valancourt, far, far distant! came to her heart, and softened it into
sorrow. A heavy sigh escaped her: but, trying to conceal her tears, she
walked away to one of the high windows, that opened upon the
ramparts, below which, spread the woods she had passed in her approach
to the castle.
But the night-shade sat deeply on the mountains beyond, and their
indented outline alone could be faintly traced on the horizon, where a
red streak yet glimmered in the west. The valley between was sunk in
darkness.
The scene within, upon which Emily turned on the opening of the
door, was scarcely less gloomy. The old servant, who had received them
at the gates, now entered, bending under a load of pine-branches, while
two of Montoni's Venetian servants followed with lights.
 Your excellenza is welcome to the castle, said the old man, as he
raised himself from the hearth, where he had laid the wood:  it has been
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a lonely place a long while; but you will excuse it, Signor, knowing we
had but short notice. It is near two years, come next feast of St. Mark,
since your excellenza was within these walls.
 You have a good memory, old Carlo, said Montoni:  it is there-
about; and how hast thou contrived to live so long?
 A-well-a-day, sir, with much ado; the cold winds, that blow
through the castle in winter, are almost too much for me; and I thought
sometimes of asking your excellenza to let me leave the mountains, and
go down into the lowlands. But I don't know how it is -- I am loth to quit
these old walls I have lived in so long.
 Well, how have you gone on in the castle, since I left it? said
Montoni.
 Why much as usual, Signor, only it wants a good deal of
repairing. There is the north tower -- some of the battlements have
tumbled down, and had liked one day to have knocked my poor wife
(God rest her soul!) on the head. Your excellenza must know --
 Well, but the repairs, interrupted Montoni.
 Aye, the repairs, said Carlo:  a part of the roof of the great hall
has fallen in, and all the winds from the mountains rushed through it last
winter, and whistled through the whole castle so, that there was no
keeping one's self warm, be where one would. There, my wife and I used
to sit shivering over a great fire in one corner of the little hall, ready to
die with cold, and --
 But there are no more repairs wanted, said Montoni, impatiently.
 O Lord! Your excellenza, yes -- the wall of the rampart has
tumbled down in three places; then, the stairs, that lead to the west
gallery, have been a long time so bad, that it is dangerous to go up them;
and the passage leading to the great oak chamber, that overhangs the
north rampart -- one night last winter I ventured to go there by myself,
and your excellenza --
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol II
 Well, well, enough of this, said Montoni, with quickness:  I will
talk more with thee to-morrow.
The fire was now lighted; Carlo swept the hearth, placed chairs,
wiped the dust from a large marble table that stood near it, and then left
the room.
Montoni and his family drew round the fire. Madame Montoni
made several attempts at conversation, but his sullen answers repulsed
her, while Emily sat endeavouring to acquire courage enough to speak to
him. At length, in a tremulous voice, she said,  May I ask, sir, the
motive of this sudden journey? -- After a long pause, she recovered
sufficient courage to repeat the question.
 It does not suit me to answer enquiries, said Montoni,  nor does
it become you to make them; time may unfold them all: but I desire I
may be no further harassed, and I recommend it to you to retire to your
chamber, and to endeavour to adopt a more rational conduct, than that of
yielding to fancies, and to a sensibility, which, to call it by the gentlest
name, is only a weakness.
Emily rose to withdraw.  Good night, madam, said she to her
aunt, with an assumed composure, that could not disguise her emotion.
 Good night, my dear, said Madame Montoni, in a tone of
kindness, which her niece had never before heard from her; and the
unexpected endearment brought tears to Emily's eyes. She curtsied to
Montoni, and was retiring;  But you do not know the way to your
chamber, said her aunt. Montoni called the servant, who waited in the
ante-room, and bade him send Madame Montoni's woman, with whom,
in a few minutes, Emily withdrew.
 Do you know which is my room? said she to Annette, as they
crossed the hall.
 Yes, I believe I do, ma'amselle; but this is such a strange rambling
place! I have been lost in it already: they call it the double chamber, over
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THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO Vol II
the south rampart, and I went up this great stair-case to it. My lady's
room is at the other end of the castle.
Emily ascended the marble staircase, and came to the corridor, as
they passed through which, Annette resumed her chat --  What a wild
lonely place this is, ma'am! I shall be quite frightened to live in it. How
often, and often have I wished myself in France again! I little thought,
when I came with my lady to see the world, that I should ever be shut up
in such a place as this, or I would never have left my own country! This
way, ma'amselle, down this turning. I can almost believe in giants again,
and such like, for this is just like one of their castles; and, some night or
other, I suppose I shall see fairies too, hopping about in that great old
hall, that looks more like a church, with its huge pillars, than any thing
else.
 Yes, said Emily, smiling, and glad to escape from more serious
thought,  if we come to the corridor, about midnight, and look down into
the hall, we shall certainly see it illuminated with a thousand lamps, and
the fairies tripping in gay circles to the sound of delicious music; for it is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]