The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 244: what you’re looking at

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

—™ ~*? he? > A (dex & ~ ee ae YT a J J | aa “ - vT ww > = * = Ne 2 ~ 242 THE nee: Satanais. st me in re- sorbed In id coun- ‘T mean that T love and I believe that thou lov turn,’ exclaimed De Colmar, the contémplation of that sland tenance, which was not averted from the ardor of his looks, nor druwn back love thee, my beauteous one, and it was because | f ved the e 80 1 nderly and 5O well, that the KE my of Mankind was enabled to conquer me in the ng tee But tell me, Satanais—tell pes > he cried, his clance and manner alike denoting a sud- den uneasiness: ‘tell me how it is Sra you are enabled to visit me here this night, and how I can thus receive thee without infringing those condition, the violation of which, meseems, must either consign thee back to the thrall of Satau. or else place me in his power beyond all possibility of redemption ?’ ‘Do you not remember, Ernest,’ ask- ed the lady, whose. countenance was now so near his own that her fragrant breath fanned his cheek, and her glossy tresses touched his dark brown hair,— ‘do you not remember, Ernest, that the tnemora ible nL oht ot your comi bat with Satan, when I visited you in your chamber at the inn, I exp! ained that my presence then and there was permitted by a power superior to the one which the result of that conflict had made the arbiter of your destiny? .And do you On now require to be told that the will of | heaven dominates over the mandates of | hell, and that the breath of the Almighty can in a moment destroy all the stupen- dous fabrics of infamy, oppression, or injustice, whic h Satan may ployed whole centuries to build up ?— Surely, then, this omnipotent power can overrule that evil influence whic h the Enemy of Mankind may impart to your destiny ; and if it should seem rood to heaven that one or e!l of the conditions imposed upon you by Satan, should be broken, then will you assure ydly be pro- tected and evuarded against any danger- ous consequences. For w here the fin- ger of Providence is apparent, there Sa- tan dures not interfere; and evenif the strongest chains which hell’s power ever forged were cast around your limbs, they would fall away like scorched threads beneath the siance of the Al- mighty. Hence, therefore, my beloved Ernest, may’st thou comprehend how “ is that instead of bei ing torced to retrac: my way to the far-off land of my birth, I am permitted on certain terms to en- joy the freedom of my own will; and hence also is i! that two of the four con- BRONZE | be /again, my Ernest, fond ardor of her caresses speedily dis- have em-. STATUE. | ditions imposed upon thee by Satan are already counte racted by a superior in- | fluence. ‘And which are these two condi- ‘’ asked De Colmar, almost ag bewildered by the mysterious re as he wis intoxicated by the and im pas: sioned looks of intie ing who Sate by the side 1lons much languas beauty the the rom: , ae ! Of h >COUCT, ‘‘Lhe two conditions»which no longer pind thee, and from which thou art ef. tectually released,’ answered Satanais, ‘are those which bound thee to conduct Gloria to Vienna, and forbade thee from beholding me ag ‘ Heaven be tha nke | for removing the latter injunction!’ exclaimed De €ol- mar, in a tone of enthusiasm mingled with a certain amount of superstitious awe; for, in order that nothing might wanting to invest Satanais with as profound a romantic mystery and as wild an interest as possible, it became » 9 i ’ ‘a Lie evident to our hero that she received secret inspirations from heaven, even as she was late ly the child and the doomed instrument of hell. ‘Yes, | am permitted to behold thee . she murmured, the sipatang the superstitious fe eling which had sprung up for a moment in De Col- mar’s mind. ‘But you mentioned that it was only on certain terms that you are relieved ‘from the influence of that mysterious and preterhuman destiny which at first appeared to be urging thee towards thy native orient clime ' Yr ‘Such is indeed the truth.’ was the lady’s response to that question on the part of the knight; ‘but those terms— those conditions are already fulfilled,’ she added, in atone of mingled joy and triumph; ‘and not many minutes have elapsed since I received the assurance thereof.’ ‘'Then thou art now emancipated al- together from any influence which is displeasing to thee?’ exclaimed De Colmar, in a tone of the most fervid ap mr ‘Yes, so long asI enjoy thy love,’ was the murmuring response,’ accom- panied by look which inundated the warrior’s sil with a flood of ecstatic feeling; then, after a long pause, dur- ing which their eyes appeared to blend rarm and delicious their spirits in a y transfvsion, Satanais observed, ‘Oh! existence and it is evident that your mine have become wondrously inter- comicbooks.com