The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 178: what you’re looking at

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

Be yiist: 176 THE BRONZE STATUE. hy Angela Wildon will ever follow him,|river, that caverned passage with its eH as the saviour of her life.’ silent stream led off into utter darkness. Aattiee Having thus spoken—and without And never did boatmen or pleasure- 8H waiting to see if the landlord had any-/| party, when proceeding down the Mol- thing farther to say, or to inform him dau, pass that gloomy arch-way with- whither she was going and when she|out a perceptible shudder and a low Hb RRY Be should return—the forest-maiden sped whispering amongst themselves; for in ibieetisny | 16 rapidly away. the time of the Bohemian kings, rumor fetal RP BL It was now nine o’clock in the even- | was wont to tell how political ‘offenders ea, 8 ing; but the beautiful August sky was | and personages who became obnoxious ay heii a clear and star-lit, and the moon was/to those monarchs, were secretly mur- B Are a rising in her silent majesty. dered in the dungeons of the castle, Peenae aa) 12 Towards the bridge did Angela Wil- | and how their corpses were as secretly | Raa te 4 don hasten; and, descending the steps | borne forth at night in a boat, by means meant thd leading to the,pier at which several| of that dark caaal, and buried in the er t boats were moored, she accosted an old | deep, silent river ! | 4 man who was left in charge of the lit-| Nor less did rumor declare that BPN tle vessels. At first he bluntly refused | strange sights were often seen and un- Ba ie sib her demand to hire a boat for a few | earthly noises heard on that part of the Ba 43118 hours; and he even looked ,upon her | Molde which washed the precipitate BD wae a with a degree of suspicion that began | castle-walls, and likewise under the Bei tds tee A to alarm her. But. when she produced |caverned arch that spanned the little es a couple of pieces of gold, the et running beneath the mighty eh, manic influence of the glittering metal | fortalice. ey | instantly became visible in the soften-| But, nothing daunted by these re- Het ) ing of the lines on his weather-beaten | ports to which she was no stranger, Bhat countenance; and, as he thrust the coin} Angela Wildon heroically guided her ee into a greasy pouch which hung to his | boat into that canal of ominous reputa- mei. | belt, he muttered something to the ef- | tion; and, lighting her lamp, which she a hing fect that ‘ people must not be particular | placed at the head of the little vessel, | in those hard times how they earned a | she commended herself to the care of trifle for their subsistence.’ * heaven as the current bore her rapidly Loosening the smallest, lightest, and | onward beneath the vaulted roof. most manageable of his vessels, he handed the forest-maiden into the boat, | | and gave her instructions how to use Pea 4 the oars. For this kindness she thanked CHAPTER ALY. i him, and then requested he would lend eae 2th, her a lamp, with the means of procur- THE HEROINE. | ) ing a light should she have occasion to use it. To this demand the old man A SUPERNAL courage and a heroic F hastened so accede ; for he fancied that | spirit of enterprise animated the beau- 29 he saw in the adventure some love in-|teous maiden as she thus committed OM: Be trigue which required mystery and cir- | the frail bark that bore her to the deep cumspection. Thus, in the course of a| and silent stream, which flowed in the | few minutes, Angela was accommoda-|caverned passage. ted with all she needed for the daring} Standing up in the boat, she guided PAE A | enterprise which she had in view ; and, | it with the oar in such a manner that ited pushing the boat away from the pier | she kept it clear of the rugged walls; Bod she allowed it to float along with the|but when she had thus been wafted re stream. ie fifty yards, the current flowed Pa) Malik In the course of a quarter of anhour} round a huge projecting buttress with et Py! ae the maiden arrived opposite the frown- | such force. that the light vessel was ie as ing towers and massive walls of the | whirled about in a way which threaten- 4 Goma Castle of Prague ; and, urging the little | ed to swamp it. ‘lhe oar was, how-_ | ems) 4) 1h, bark close in against the side of the ever, used by Angela with such skill ee Ris fortress, she speedily reached the/| and promptitude, that she succeeded in AAR arched entrance to a narrow canal | saving her boat from wreck and herself a 4 branching off from the river and run-/|from a watery grave; and stern-fore- ey ee. ning beneath the immense accumula-!/ most the bark.now floated on, until it en ass ite | tion of edifices piled above. ran with some degree of violence Bip cate From the beauteous moonlight that | against a large boat moored at the bot- i VAT | now played upon the bosom of the!tomof a flight of stone steps. a) Ee comicbooks.com