The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

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The made himself so agreeable that Sir Ernest | young nobleman had however gone too far became greatly prepossessed in his favor.— | to retract, even if he were thus inclined & few more goblets of wine were drunk ;| and wishing his guest a good night’s repose, and thus another hour was whiled away as he departed to his own chamber, if it were only a few minutes, | It was now midnight ; and Lord Rodolph, | rising from his seat, proposed to conduct his guest to the apartment prepared for his) accommodation. A page was summoned; | and the boy, bearing a lamp in his hand, | led the way through a complete labyrinth | of corridors, the nobleman and the knight} Wouen thas left alone, Sir Ernest de Col- following and conversing as they thus! mar was about to lay aside his apparel and walked together. | seek the slumber which he so much need- At length they reached the end of aj|ed after his long journey; but it suddenly passage, where Hubert stood onthe thresh- | struck him, as he glanced around, that the old of a massive door, which was Open.— | apartment wore a most sombre, gloomy, and He also carried a lamp, the light of which antiquated aspect, in spite of the varied fell upon his countenance, rendering it al-| arrangements which we have already men- most ghastly in its ashy paleness; and he tioned, and which were intended to give it threw a rapid but beseeching glance upon | an air of comfort. At the same instant he Rodolph, as if to implore him to alter his remembered that the room must be situated mind even yet. The young nobleman, | at a very considerable distance from that portion of the building in which he had entreaty ; but, dismissing the page, bade passed the evening with Lord Rodolph ; the steward proceed with the light. and several appearances which now met The party now entered a little ante-cham- | his eyes, served to convince him that the ber, or vestibule; and on the farther side | chamber had long been disused, and had Hubert flung-_open a door. ‘They then | undergone certain hasty improvements for passed into a small room, the atmosphere | the present occasion. ~ of which was laden with perfume that ex- For the wails were hung with tapestry, haled from Turkish pastiles burning in a | which in many places was in perfect rags: silver censer; and Rodolph instantly com- | the floor had rotted jn several parts, and prehended that this had been done by Hu-| gave way to the tread of the feet :—the bert to neutralize the damp and disagreea- ceiling, although it had been well swept, ble odor which necessarily prevailed in &/| was discolored with the damp and broken place so long shut up and uninhabited — | In at one of the corners ; and the furniture, The furniture in this room was massive and | though heavy and massive, was ticketty at of a very antique fashion ; but it had been | the joints and worm-eaten almost to utter hastily dusted and cleansed, and cushions | decay. from another apartment had been substitu- gz W ondering that he should have been con- ted for the old ones which had rotted on the '§igned to such an apartment, the srandeur seats of the chairs. - ' . . | of the saloon where he had supped with lraversing this ante-chamber, Hubert led Rodolph having given promise of corres. the way into a spacious apartment, which ponding comfort and accommodation in the. CHAPTER If. THE MYSTERIES OF ALTENDORF CASTLE. comicbooks.com