The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 179: what you’re looking at

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

THE BRONZE STATUE. 177 These stairs, rising abruptly from the | water, closed the caverned passage, | and ascending up an opening, the sum-_ mit of which was involved in total dark- | ness; and that large boat which was | moored in this spot, was doubtless the | one wherein the victims of royal ty-| ranny, in the time of the Bohemian | kings, were borne forth to be swathed | in the winding-sheet of the Moldau. | Having made her own boat fast to an | iron ring which was attached to the | wall, Angela took the lamp in one hand, | and, shading it carefully with the other, she began to mount the steps. The| height, as already intimated, was con- siderable, and the stairs gradually grew narrower towards the top. At length Angela reached a grating which was) fastened by a bolt inside: but by thrust- ing her arm through the bars, she was | enabled, after repeated efforts, to draw | it back. For it was rusted in its set- | ting, as if it had not been disturbed for | some time. | The grating, too, creaked upon its | hinges as the intrepid young yah | ee pushed it open, and, passing on, she entered a long, low, and narrow pas-_| sage. ‘I'he silence of the tomb pre- vailed therein—a silence which her aerial tread did not break; and the lamp appeared to burn so feebly that it rather served to show the stupendous) darkness which lay before and behind | in all its intense blackness, than to il-| lumine the place. At the end of this; corridor there was another grating, | which Angela opened in the same man- | ner and with equal difficulty as the former; and then, as she proceeded | slowly and cautiously once more, she held the lamp high up so as to obtain | the utmost benefit from its light. But now she started wildly; an in- voluntary ejaculation of terror burst from her lips, and her features became | bloodless as those of a corpse; for it appeared as if she had suddenly entered | a place filled with armedmen. Never- theless, a profound stillness, interrupted only for an instant by that ery of fear, reigned around her; and it struck the maiden that she was either in an ar- mory or a place of statues. Butscarce- ly had this idea sprung up in her mind, | when it yielded to new terrors; for| the objects which she beheld seemed suddenly to move, though none quitted its station. | Wildly dic Angela cast her eyes) around; Here a plume appeared to. wave; there a helmetted head to bow; ' A ae gg a ea te —— here an arm to beckon menacingly, and there aspeartoshake towards her. Then all was still again—al] motionless, and a feeling of relief came upon the maid- /en; but scarcely had she experienced the change when eyery object seemed to move again, plumes to wave, steel- bound heads to bow, arms to beckon, and spears to shake! ‘I'he blood turned to ice in Angela’s veins—ice too fell upon her heart, and a second cry of terror had just risen to her lips, when, like an inspiration, did the thought flash to her brain that the appearance of motion was given to the armed objects by the swaying and toss- ing of the flame of the lamp as quick | gusts of wind swept through the room. Ihe truth of this suspicion was speedily tested by holding the lamp in another position ; and Angela, now smiling at her terrors, proceeded to inspect the place the features of which had for upwards of a minute produced so startling an ef- fect upon her. It was, as she had already for an in- stant, suspected, an armory; and suits of panoply were disposed around in up- right positions and warrior-like attitudes —the delusion that they were living men thus appareled cap-a-pie being heightened by the circumstance that all the visors were closed. ‘There were tall and massive suits of black iron ar- mor, studded with sable nails, and the plumage of the helmets being of the same funereal dye: there also were bright steel fabrics, with red, blue, or green feathers drooping over the polish- ed burgonets: and Angela likewise be- held two or three suits of clumsy mail contrasting singularly with other pano- plies of chain or link material, such as worn by the crusaders. A few minutes’ rapid survey of these objects were sufficient to render her fully acquainted with their nature; and she was about to continue her way into a passage opening from this armory, | when her attention was arrested by a small and comparatively delicate suit of. steel armor standing upon a pedestal in was one corner. And a charming panoply it was, bril-— liant as if it had only just emanated from the forge of the armorer—bright and graceful in appearance, and well suited either for a gentle page or an Amazo- nian warrior. ‘I‘he plumage above the helmet was of a bright crimson ; and to the belt was suspended a long thin sword, the blade of which must have been elastic and of admirable temper if comicbooks.com oe oS | eee Pie ot De. Jo > t ee i * SS) — = - “ea « ages - — . ap oe os a —— s = ~ 2%. - . . = > led : , 4