Beautiful Rienzi; or, The secret vendetta — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

BEAUTIFUL RIENZL 155 one of the statues within that drawing-room; does that look like mere accident?” ‘‘ My dear child, you perfectly astonish me! You seem to have plunged into the midst of conspiracies.” I told him the different causes of my alarm. ‘You are not alarmed without cause apparently,” he said, when I had finished; ‘‘ still there may be some misap- prehension. Perhaps the surly dog meant nothing; per- haps Mrs. Haller, who really seems a most respectable woman, was silent on the subject of Mrs. Ringwood from other causes than those your terrors suggest. ‘his matter can be quickly sifted.” He went back for his hat and let himself out to the gar- den, with the determination of at once confronting the gardener. Disconsolately I drooped over the little gate, my face buried in my hands. This haunting terror had come back to me like Faust’s Evil One, and was dragging me into hor- rors from which my fainting heart crawled loathingly. All the brightness of Silverlea was hateful to me; that dread face, with the passionate eyes for blood seemed lurking under every tree; it danced before me with mocking sneers on the pale, curled lips, and a voiceless whisper rushed like a molten stream of lead into my brain which chanted: “My oath is fulfilled !” A hand rested on my shoulder; I cowered down with a shriek of agony, and my excited brain almost turned. ‘‘ My dear child, are you afraid of me?” It was my father, back again; grave enough by this time, but gazing pitifully down at me, and evidtntly amazed at my agitation. ‘“‘ Be more calm, Ivanilla,” he said raising me and ten- derly pressing me ‘to his bosom; ‘‘ there is really no cause for such mortal terror; we may “have enemies, but Heaven has saved us hitherto; ‘ask Him to save us still, my daugh- ter.” «You are back very soon, papa.” ‘¢ He has gone to the village to get something mended at the blacksmith’s, Mrs. Haller tells me. Dear, I don’t think we are authorized in molesting the housekeeper; she is a very conscientious person, and 1 am sure would not wrong She has given me to understand that Morecombe warned her not to speak of Mrs. Ringwood, because the lady CORNUCG OOO S (©)