 This is LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sheila Morton in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The Mysteries of Udolfo by Anne Radcliffe. Volume 3, Chapter 6, Section A. Might we but hear the folded flocks penned in their waddled coats, or sound of pastoral reed with otent stops, or whistle from the lodge or village-cock count the night watches to his feathery dames, to be some solace yet, some little cheering in this close dungeon of enumerous boughs. Milton. In the morning Emily was relieved from her fierce frenette who came at an early hour. Here were fine-duins in the castle last night, Mamzell, said she as soon as she entered the room. Fine-duins indeed, was you not frightened Mamzell at not seeing me? I was alarmed, both on your account and on my own, replied Emily, what detained you? I—I said so. I told him so, but it would not do. It was not my fault indeed, Mamzell, for I could not get out. That rogue Ludovico locked me up again. Locked you up? said Emily with displeasure. Why do you permit Ludovico to lock you up? Holy Saints! exclaimed Annette, how can I help it? If he will lock the door, Mamzell, and take away the key, how am I to get out, unless I jump through the window? But that I should not mind so much of the casements here were not all so high. One could hardly scramble up to them on the inside, and one should break one's neck, I suppose, going down on the outside. But you know I dare say, Mam, what a hurly-burly the castle was in last night. You must have heard some of the uproar. What, were they disputing then? said Emily. No, Mamzell, not fighting, but almost as good, for I believe there was not one of the Seniors sober, and what is more, not one of those fine ladies sober either. I thought when I saw them first that all those fine silks and fine veils, why, Mamzell, their veils were worked with silver, and fine trimmings boated no good. I guessed what they were. Good God! exclaimed Emily, what will become of me? I, Mam, Ludovico said much the same thing of me. Good God! said he, Annette, what is to become of you, if you were to go running about the castle among all these drunken Seniors? Oh, says I, for that matter I only want to go to my young lady's chamber, and I have only to go, you know, along the vaulted passage, and across the great harle, and up the marble staircase, and along the north gallery, and through the west wing of the castle, and I am in the corridor in a minute. Are you so, says he, and what is to become of you, if you meet any of those noble Cavaliers in the way? Well, says I, if you think there is danger, then go with me, and guard me. I am never afraid when you are by. What, says he, when I am scarcely recovered of one wound, shall I put myself in the way of getting another? For if any of the Cavaliers meet you, they will follow fighting with me directly. No, no, says he, I will cut the way shorter than through the vaulted passage, and up the marble staircase, and along the north gallery, and through the west wing of the castle. For you shall stay here, Annette, you shall not go out of this room tonight. So, with that, I says. Well, well, said Emily impatiently, and anxious to inquire on another subject. So, he locked you up? Yes, he did indeed, Momzel, notwithstanding all I could say to the contrary, and Caterina, and I, and he stayed there all night. And in a few minutes, after I was not so vexed, for there came Signor Virizzi, roaring along the passage like a mad bull, and he mistook Ludovico's hall for old Carlos. So he tried to burst open the door, and called out for more wine, for that he had drunk all the flasks dry, and was dying of thirst. So, we were all as still as night, that he might suppose there was nobody in the room, but the Signor was as cunning as the best of us, and kept calling out at the door, Come forth, my ancient hero, said he, here is no enemy at the gate that you need hide yourself. Come forth, my valorous Signor steward. Just then, old Carlos opened his door, and he came with a flask in his hand, for as soon as the Signor saw him, he was as tame as could be, and followed him away as naturally as a dog does a butcher with a piece of meat in his basket. All this I saw through the keyhole. Well, Annette, said Ludovico jeeringly, shall I let you out now? Oh, no, says I, I would not! I have some questions to ask you on another subject, interrupted Emily, quite wearied by this story. Do you know whether there are any prisoners in the castle, and whether they are confined at this end of the edifice? I was not in the way, Momzel, replied Annette, when the first party came in from the mountains, and the last party has not come back yet, so I don't know whether there are any prisoners, but it is expected back to night, or to-morrow, and I shall know then, perhaps. Emily inquired if she had ever heard the servants talk of prisoners. Ah, Momzel, said Annette, archly, now I daresay you are thinking of Monsieur Valencourt, and that he may have come among the armies, which they say are come from our country, to fight against this state, and that he has met with some of our people and is taking captive. Oh, Lord, how glad I should be if it was so! Would you indeed be glad, said Emily, in a tone of mournful reproach? To be sure I should, Mam, replied Annette, and would not you be glad, too, to see Signor Valencourt? I don't know any chevelier I like better. I have a very great regard for the Signor, truly. Your regard for him cannot be doubted, said Emily, since you wish to see him a prisoner. Why, no, Mamzel, not a prisoner either, but one must be glad to see him, you know, and it was only the other night I dreamt, I dreamt I saw him drive into the castle yard, all in a coach and six, and dressed out with a laced coat and a sword, like a lord as he is. Emily could not forbear smiling at Annette's ideas of Valencourt and repeated her inquiry whether she had heard the servant's talk of prisoners. No, Mamzel, replied she, never, and lately they have done nothing but talk of the apparition that has been walking about of a night on the ramparts, and that frightened the sentinels into fits. It came among them like a flash of fire, they say, and they all fell down in a row till they came to themselves again, and then it was gone and nothing to be seen but the old castle walls, so they helped one another up again as fast as they could. You would not believe, Mamzel, though I showed you the very canon where it used to appear. And are you indeed so simple, Annette? said Emily, smiling at this curious exaggeration of the circumstances she had witnessed as to credit these stories. Credit them, Mamzel, why all the world could not persuade me out of them. Roberto and Sebastian and half a dozen more of them went into fits. To be sure there was no occasion for that, I said myself, there was no need of that. For, says I, when the enemy comes, what a pretty figure they will cut if they are to fall down in fits all of a row. The enemy won't be so civil perhaps as to walk off, like the ghost, and leave them to help one another up, but will fall too, cutting and slashing till he makes them all rise up dead men. No, no, says I, there is reason in all things, though I might have fallen down in a fit. That was no rule for them, because it is no business of mine to look gruff and fight battles. Emily endeavored to correct the superstitious weakness of Annette, though she could not entirely subdue her own, to which the latter only replied, Nay, Mamzel, you will believe nothing. You are almost as bad as the Signor himself, who was in a great passion when they told of what had happened and swore that the first man who repeated such nonsense should be thrown into the dungeon under the east turret. This was a hard punishment too for only talking nonsense, as he called it, but I daresay he had other reasons for calling it so than you have, Mam. Emily looked displeased and made no reply, as she mused upon the recollected appearance, which had lately so much alarmed her, and considered the circumstances of the figure having stationed itself opposite to her casement. She was for a moment inclined to believe it was Valancourt whom she had seen. Yet, if it was he, why did he not speak to her when he had the opportunity of doing so, and if he was a prisoner in the castle, and he could be here in no other character, how could he obtain the means of walking abroad on the rampart? Thus she was utterly unable to decide whether the musician and the form she'd observed were the same, or if they were whether this was Valancourt. She, however, desired that Annette would endeavor to learn whether any prisoners were in the castle and also their names. Oh, dear Mom Zell, said Annette, I forget to tell you what you bade me ask about the ladies, as they call themselves, who are lately come to Udolfo. Why, that Senor Livona that the Senor brought to see my late lady at Venice is his mistress now, and was little better than, I daresay. And Ludovico says, But pray be secret, ma'am, that his Excellenza introduced her only to impose upon the world that had begun to make free with her character. So when people saw my lady notice her, they thought what they had heard must be scandal. The other two are the mistresses of Senor Virizzi and Senor Virtulini, and Senor Montoni invited them all to the castle. And so yesterday he gave a great entertainment, and there they were, all drinking Tuscany wine and all sorts, and laughing and singing till they made the castle ring again. But I thought they were dismal sounds so soon after my poor lady's death too, and they brought to my mind what she would have thought if she had heard them. But she cannot hear them now, poor soul, said I. Emily turned away to conceal her emotion and then desired Annette to go and make inquiry concerning the prisoners that might be in the castle, but conjured her to do it with caution and on no account to mention her name, or that of Montseur Valencourt. Now I think of it, Mamzelle, said Annette. I do believe there are prisoners, for I overheard one of the Senor's men yesterday in the servants' hall talking something about ransoms and saying what a fine thing it was for his Excellency to catch up men, and they were as good booty as any other because of the ransoms. And the other man was grumbling and saying it was fine enough for the Senor, but none so fine for his soldiers, and he said to me, we don't go shares there. This information heightened Emily's impatience to know more, and Annette immediately departed on her inquiry. The late resolution of Emily to resign her estates to Montoni now gave way to new considerations. The possibility that Valencourt was near her revived her fortitude and she determined to brave the threatened vengeance, at least till she could be assured whether he was really in the castle. She was in this temper of mind when she received a message from Montoni requiring her attendance in the cedar parlor which she obeyed with trembling and on her way thither endeavored to animate her fortitude with the idea of Valencourt. Montoni was alone. I sent for you, said he, to give you another opportunity of retracting your late mistaken assertions concerning the Langdok estates. I will condescend to advise where I may command. If you are really deluded by an opinion that you have any right in these estates, at least do not persist in the error. An error which you may perceive too late has been fatal to you. Dare my resentment no further but sign the papers. If I have no right in these estates, sir, said Emily, of what service can it be to you that I should sign any papers concerning them? If the lands are yours by law, you certainly may possess them without my interference or my consent. I will have no more argument, said Montoni with a look that made her tremble. What had I but trouble to expect when I condescended to reason with a baby? But I will be trifled with no longer. Let the recollection of your aunt's sufferings in consequence of her folly and obstinacy teach you a lesson. Sign the papers. Emily's resolution was for a moment odd. She shrunk at the recollections he revived and from the vengeance he threatened. But then the image of Valancourt, who so long had loved her and who was now perhaps so near her, came to her heart, and together with the strong feelings of indignation with which she had always, from her infancy regarded an act of injustice, inspired her with a noble, though imprudent, courage. Sign the papers, said Montoni more impatiently than before. Never, sir, replied Emily. That request would have proved to me the injustice of your claim had I even been ignorant of my right. Montoni turned pale with anger, while his quivering lip and lurking eye made her almost repent the boldness of her speech. Then all my vengeance falls upon you, he exclaimed with an horrible oath, and think not it shall be delayed. Neither the estates in Langduck or Gaskony shall be yours. You have dared to question my right, now dare to question my power. I have a punishment which you think not of. It is terrible. This night, this very night, this night repeated another voice. Montoni paused and turned half-round, but seeming to recollect himself, he proceeded in a lower tone. You have lately seen one terrible example of obstinacy and folly, yet this it appears has not been sufficient to detour you. I would tell you of others, I could make you tremble at the bare recital. He was interrupted by a groan which seemed to rise from underneath the chamber they were in, and as he threw a glance round it, impatience and rage flashed from his eyes, yet something like a shade of fear passed over his countenance. Emily sat down in a chair near the door, for the various emotions she had suffered now almost overcame her. But Montoni paused scarcely an instant in commanding his features, resumed his discourse in a lower yet sterner voice. I say I could give you other instances of my power and of my character, which it seems you do not understand or you would not defy me. I could tell you that when once my resolution is taken, but I am talking to a baby, let me however repeat that terrible as are the examples I could recite, the recital could not now benefit you, for though your repentance would put an immediate end to opposition, it would not now appease my indignation. I will have vengeance as well as justice. Another groan filled the pause which Montoni made. Leave the room instantly, said he, seeming not to notice this strange occurrence. Without power to implore his pity, she rose to go but found that she could not support herself. Awe and terror overcame her and she sunk again into the chair. Quit my presence, cried Montoni, this affectation of fear ill becomes the heroine who has just dared to brave my indignation. Did you hear nothing, senor? said Emily, trembling and still unable to leave the room. I heard my own voice, rejoined Montoni sternly. And nothing else, said Emily, speaking with difficulty. There again, do you hear nothing now? Obey my order, repeated Montoni, and for these fools' tricks I will soon discover by whom they are practised. Emily again rose and exerted herself to the utmost to leave the room while Montoni followed her, but instead of calling aloud to his servants to search the chamber, as he had formerly done on a similar occurrence, passed to the ramparts. As in her way to the corridor she rested for a moment at an open casement, Emily saw a party of Montoni's troops winding down a distant mountain whom she noticed no further than as they brought to her mind the wretched prisoners they were perhaps bringing to the castle. At length, having reached her apartment, she threw herself upon the couch, overcome with the new horrors of her situation. Her thoughts lost in tumult and perplexity she could neither repent of or approve her late conduct. She could only remember that she was in the power of a man who had no principle of action but his will, and the astonishment and terrors of superstition which had for a moment so strongly assailed her, now yielded to those of reason. End of Volume 3, Chapter 6, Section A. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sheila Morton in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The Mysteries of Udolfo by Anne Radcliffe. Volume 3, Chapter 6, Section B. Emily was at length roused from the reverie which engaged her by confusion of distant voices and a clattering of hoofs that seemed to come on the wind from the courts. A sudden hope that some good was approaching seized her mind till she remembered the troops she had observed from the casement and concluded this to be the party which Annette had said were expected at Udolfo. Soon after she heard voices faintly from the halls and the noise of horses' feet sunk away in the wind. Silence ensued. Emily listened anxiously for Annette's step in the corridor but a pause of total stillness continued till again the castle seemed to be all tumult and confusion. She heard the echoes of many footsteps passing to and fro in the halls and avenues below and then busy tongues were loud on the rampart. Having hurried to her casement she perceived Montoni with some of his officers leaning on the walls and pointing from them while several soldiers were employed at the further end of the rampart about some cannon and she continued to observe them careless of the passing time. Annette at length appeared but brought no intelligence of Valancourt. For Mamzelle, said she, all the people pretend to know nothing about any prisoners but here is a fine piece of business. The rest of the party are just arrived, ma'am. They came scampering in as if they would have broken their necks. One scarcely knew whether the man or his horse would get within the gate first and they have brought word and such news. They have brought word that a party of the enemy as they call them are coming towards the castle so we shall have all the officers of justice, I suppose, besieging it. All those terrible looking fellows one used to see at Venice. Thank God! exclaimed Emily fervently there is yet a hope left for me then. What mean you Mamzelle? You wish to fall into the hands of those sad looking men? Why, I used to shudder as I passed them and should have guessed what they were if Ludovico had not told me. We cannot be in worse hands than at present, replied Emily unguardedly, but what reason have you to suppose these are officers of justice? Why, our people, Mam, are all in such a fright and a fuss and I don't know anything but the fear of justice that could make them so. I used to think nothing on earth could fluster them unless indeed it was a ghost or so, but now some of them are for hiding down in the vaults under the castle. But you must not tell the senior this Mamzelle and I overheard two of them talking. Holy mother, what makes you look so sad Mamzelle? You don't hear what I say. Yes, I do, Annette, pray, proceed. Well, Mamzelle, all the castle is in such hurly burly some of the men are loading the cannon and some are examining the great gates and the walls all round and are hammering and patching up just as if all those repairs had never been made that were so long about. But what is to become of me and you, Mamzelle, and Ludovico? Oh, when I hear the sound of the cannon I shall die with fright. If I could but catch the great gate open for one minute I would be even with it for shutting me within these walls so long. It should never see me again. Emily caught the latter words of Annette. Oh, if you could find it open but for one moment she exclaimed, my peace might yet be saved. The heavy groan she uttered in the wildness of her look terrified Annette still more than her words who entreated Emily to explain the meaning of them to whom it suddenly occurred that Ludovico might be of some service if there should be a possibility of escape and who repeated the substance of what had passed between Montoni and herself but conjured her to mention this to no person except to Ludovico. It may perhaps be in his power, she added, to effect our escape. Go to him, Annette. Tell him what I have to apprehend and what I have already suffered but entreat him to be secret and to lose no time in attempting to release us. If he is willing to undertake this he shall be amply rewarded. I cannot speak with him myself for we might be observed and then effectual care would be taken to prevent our flight. But be quick Annette and above all be discreet. I will await your return in this apartment. The girl, whose honest heart had been much affected by the recital was now as eager to obey as Emily was to employ her and she immediately quitted the room. Emily's surprise increased as she reflected upon Annette's intelligence. Alas! said she, what can the officers of justice do against an armed castle? These cannot be such. Upon further consideration, however, she concluded that Montoni's bands having plundered the country round, the inhabitants had taken arms and were coming with the officers of police and a party of soldiers to force their way into the castle. But they know not, thought she, its strength or the armed numbers within it. Alas! except for flight I have nothing to hope. Montoni, though not precisely what Emily apprehended him to be, a captain of Banditi, had employed his troops in enterprises not less daring or less atrocious than such a character would have undertaken. They had not only pillaged whenever opportunity offered the helpless traveller but had attacked and plundered the villas which, being situated among the solitary recesses of the mountains, were totally unprepared for resistance. In these expeditions the commanders of the party did not appear and the men, partly disguised, had sometimes been mistaken for common robbers and at others for bands of the foreign enemy who, at that period, invaded the country. But though they had already pillaged several mansions and brought home considerable treasures they had ventured to approach only one castle in the attack of which they were assisted by other troops of their own order. From this, however, they were vigorously repulsed and pursued by some of the foreign enemy who were in league with the besieged. Montoni's troops fled precipitately toward Udolfo but were so closely tracked over the mountains that when they reached one of the heights in the neighbourhood of the castle and looked back upon the road they perceived the enemy winding among the cliffs below and at not more than a league distant. Upon this discovery they hastened forward with increased speed to prepare Montoni for the enemy and it was their arrival which had thrown the castle into such confusion and tumult. As Emily awaited anxiously some information from below she now saw from her casements a body of troops pour over the neighbouring heights and though Annette had been gone a very short time and had a difficult and dangerous business to accomplish her impatience for intelligence became painful she listened opened her door and often went out upon the corridor to meet her at length she heard a footstep approach her chamber and on opening the door saw not Annette but old Carlo new fears rushed upon her mind he said he came from the senior who had ordered him to inform her that she must be ready to depart from Udolfo immediately for that the castle was about to be besieged and that the mules were preparing to convey her with her guides to a place of safety of safety exclaimed Emily thoughtlessly has then the senior so much consideration for me? Carlo looked upon the ground and made no reply a thousand opposite emotions agitated Emily successively as she listened to old Carlo those of joy, grief, distrust and apprehension appeared and vanished from her mind with the quickness of lightning it seemed impossible that Monctoni could take this measure merely for her preservation and so very strange was his sending her from the castle at all that she could attribute it only to the design of carrying into execution the new scheme of vengeance with which he had menaced her in the next instant it appeared so desirable to quit the castle under any circumstances that she could not but rejoice in the prospect believing that change must be for the better till she remembered the probability of Valancourt being detained in it when sorrow and regret usurped her mind and she wished much more fervently than she had yet done that it might not be his voice which she had heard Carlo having reminded her that she had no time to lose for that the enemy were within side of the castle Emily entreated him to inform her whether she was to go and after some hesitation he said he had received no orders to tell but on her repeating the question replied that he believed she was to be carried into Tuscany to Tuscany exclaimed Emily and why thither Carlo answered that he knew nothing further than that she was to be lodged in a cottage on the borders of Tuscany at the feet of the Apennines not a day's journey distant said he Emily now dismissed him and with trembling hands prepared the small package that she meant to take with her while she was employed about which Annette returned oh Mamzel said she nothing can be done Ludovico says the new porter is more watchful even than Barnadine was and we might as well throw ourselves in the way of a dragon as in his Ludovico is almost as broken hearted as you are ma'am on my account he says and I am sure I shall never live to hear the cannon fire twice she now began to weep but revived upon hearing of what had just occurred and entreated Emily to take her with her that I will do most willingly reply to Emily if senior Montoni permits it to which Annette made no reply but ran out of the room and immediately sought Montoni who was on the terrace surrounded by his officers where she began her petition he sharply made her go into the castle and absolutely refused her request Annette however not only pleaded for herself but for Ludovico and Montoni had ordered some of his men to take her from his presence before she would retire in an agony of disappointment she returned to Emily who foreboded little good towards herself from this refusal to Annette and who soon after received a summons to repair to the great court where the mules with her guides were in waiting Emily here tried in vain to soothe the weeping Annette who persisted in saying that she should never see her dear young lady again a fear which her mistress secretly thought too well justified but which she endeavored to restrain in composure she bade this affectionate servant farewell Annette however followed to the courts which were now thronged with people busy in preparation for the enemy and having seen her mount her mule and depart with her attendants through the portal turned into the castle and wept again Emily meanwhile as she looked back upon the gloomy courts of the castle no longer silent as when she had first entered them but resounding with the noise of preparation for their defense the mules crowded with soldiers and workmen hurrying to and fro and when she passed once more under the huge portculus which had formally struck her with terror and dismay and looking round saw no walls to confine her steps felt in spite of anticipation the sudden joy of a prisoner who unexpectedly finds himself at liberty this emotion would not suffer her now to look impartially on the dangers that awaited her without on mountains infested by hostile parties a very opportunity for plunder and on a journey commended under the guidance of men whose countenances certainly did not speak favorably of their dispositions in the present moments she could only rejoice that she was liberated from those walls which she had entered with such dismal forebodings and remembering the superstitious presentiment which had then seized her she could now smile at the impression it had made upon her mind as she gazed with these emotions the turrets of the castle rising high over the woods among which she wound the stranger whom she believed to be confined there returned to her remembrance an anxiety and apprehension lest he should be valencourt again passed like a cloud upon her joy she recollected every circumstance concerning this unknown person since the night when she had first heard him play the song of her native province circumstances which she had so often recollected and compared before without extracting from them anything like conviction and which still only prompted her to believe that valencourt was a prisoner at udolfo it was possible however that the men who were her conductors might afford her information on this subject but fearing to question them immediately lest they should be unwilling to discover any circumstance to her in the presence of each other she watched for an opportunity of speaking with them separately soon after a trumpet echoed faintly from a distance the guide stopped and looked toward the quarter whence it came but the thick woods which surrounded them excluded all view of the country beyond one of the men rode on to the point of an eminence that afforded a more extensive prospect to observe how near the enemy whose trumpet he guessed this to be were advanced the other meanwhile remained with Emily and to him she put some questions concerning the stranger at udolfo ugo for this was his name said that there were several prisoners in the castle but he neither recollected their persons or the precise time of their arrival and could therefore give her no information there was a surliness in his manner as he spoke that made it probable he would not have satisfied her inquiries even if he could have done so having asked him what prisoners had been taken about the time as nearly as she could remember when she had first heard the music all that week said ugo i was out with a party upon the mountains and knew of what was doing at the castle we had enough upon our hands we had warm work of it Bertrand the other man being now returned Emily inquired no further and when he had related to his companion what he had seen they traveled on in deep silence while Emily often caught between the opening woods partial glimpses of the castle above the west towers whose battlements were now crowded with archers and the ramparts below where soldiers were seen hurrying along were busy upon the walls preparing the cannon having emerged from the woods they wound along the valley in an opposite direction to that from whence the enemy were approaching Emily now had a full view of Adolfo with its grey walls towers and terraces high overtopping the precipices and the dark woods and glittering partially with the arms of the condottieri as the sun's rays streaming through an autumnal cloud glanced upon a part of the edifice whose remaining features stood in darkened majesty she continued to gaze through her tears upon walls that perhaps can find Valancourt and which now as the cloud floated away were lighted up with sudden splendor and then as suddenly were shrouded in gloom while the passing gleam fell on the wood tops below and heightened the first tints of autumn that had begun to steel upon the foliage the winding mountains at length shut Adolfo from her view and she turned with mournful reluctance to other objects the melancholy sighing of the wind among the pines that waved high over the steeps and the distant thunder of a torrent assisted her musings and conspired with the wild scenery around to diffuse over her mind emotions solemn yet not unpleasing but which were soon interrupted by the distant roar of canon echoing among the mountains the sounds rolled along the wind and were repeated in faint and fainter reverberation till they sunk in sullen murmurs this was a signal that the enemy had reached the castle and fear for Valancourt again tormented Emily she turned her anxious eyes towards that part of the country where the edifice stood but the intervening heights concealed it from her view still however she saw the tall head of a mountain which immediately fronted her late chamber and on this she fixed her gaze as if it could have told her of all that was passing in the scene it overlooked the guides twice reminded her that and that they had far to go before she could turn from this interesting object and even when she again moved onward she often sent a look back till only its blue point brightening in a gleam of sunshine appeared peeping over other mountains the sound of the canon affected Ugo as the blast of the trumpet does the warhorse it called forth all the fire of his nature he was impatient to be in the midst of the fight and uttered frequent operations against Montoni for having sent him to a distance the feelings of his comrades seemed to be very opposite and adapted rather to the cruelties then to the dangers of war Emily asked frequent questions concerning the place of her destination but could only learn that she was going to a cottage in Tuscany and whenever she mentioned the subject she fancied she perceived in the countenances of these men an expression of malice and cunning that alarmed her it was afternoon when they had left the castle during several hours they traveled through regions of profound solitude where no bleat of sheep or bark of watchdog broke the silence and they were now too far off to hear even the faint thunder of the canon towards evening they wound down precipices black with forests of cypress, pine and cedar into a glen so savage and secluded that if solitude ever had local habitation this might have been her place of dearest residence to Emily it appeared a spot exactly suited for the retreat of Bandidi and in her imagination she already saw them lurking under the brow of some projecting rock once their shadows lengthened by the setting sun stretched across the road and warned the traveller of his danger she shuddered at the idea and looking at her conductors to observe whether they were armed thought she saw in them the Bandidi she dreaded it was in this glen that they proposed to a light four said Ugo night will come on presently and then the wolves will make it dangerous to stop this was a new subject of alarm to Emily but inferior to what she suffered from the thought of being left in these wilds at midnight with two such men as her present conductors dark and dreadful hints of what might be Montoni's purpose in sending her hither came to her mind she endeavored to dissuade the men from stopping and inquired with anxiety how far they had yet to go many leagues yet replied Bertrand as for you, senora you may do as you please about eating but for us we will make a hearty supper while we can we shall have need of it, I warn, before we finish our journey the sun's going down a pace let us alight under that rock yonder his comrade assented and turning the mules out of the road they advanced towards a cliff overhung with cedars Emily following in trembling silence they lifted her from her mule and having seated themselves on the grass at the foot of the rocks drew some homely fare from a wallet of which Emily tried to eat a little the better to disguise her apprehensions the sun was now sunk behind the high mountains in the west upon which a purple haze began to spread and the gloom of twilight to draw over the surrounding objects to the lull and sullen murmur of the breeze passing among the woods she no longer listened with any degree of pleasure for it conspired with the wildness of the scene and the evening hour to depress her spirits End of Volume 3 Chapter 6 Section B This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sheila Morton in Jefferson City, Tennessee The Mysteries of Udolfo by Ann Radcliffe Volume 3 Chapter 6 Section C Suspense had so much increased Emily's anxiety as to the prisoner at Udolfo that finding it impracticable to speak along with Bertrand on that subject she renewed her questions in the presence of Ugo but he either was or pretended to be entirely ignorant concerning the stranger When he had dismissed the question he talked with Ugo on some subject led to the mention of Señor Orsino and of the affair that had banished him from Venice respecting which Emily had ventured to ask a few questions Ugo appeared to be well acquainted with the circumstances of that tragical event and related some minute particulars that both shocked and surprised her for it appeared very extraordinary how such particulars could be known to any but to persons present when the assassination was committed He was of rank said Bertrand or the state would not have troubled itself to acquire after his assassins The Señor has been lucky hitherto this is not the first affair of the kind he has had upon his hands and to be sure when a gentleman has no other way of getting redress why he must take this I said Ugo and why is not this as good as another this is the way to have justice done at once without more ado if you go to the law you must stay till the judges please for the cause at last why the best way then is to make sure of your right while you can and execute justice yourself yes yes rejoin Bertrand if you wait till justice is done you may stay long enough why if I want a friend of mine properly served how am I to get my revenge 10 to 1 they will tell me he is in the right and I am in the wrong or if a fellow has got possession of property which I think got to be mine perhaps before the law will give it me and then after all the judge may say the estate is his what is to be done then why the case is plain enough I must take it at last Emily's horror at this conversation was heightened by a suspicion that the latter part of it was pointed against herself and that these men had been commissioned by Montoni to execute a similar kind of justice in his cause but I was speaking of Señor Orsino resumed Bertrand he is one of those who love to do justice at once I remember about 10 years ago the Señor had a quarrel with a cavallero of Milan the story was told me then and it is still fresh in my head they quarreled about a lady that the Señor liked and she was perversing after prefer the gentlemen of Milan and even carried her whim so far as to marry him this provoked the Señor as well it might for he had tried to talk reason to her a long while and used to send people to serenade her under her window of a night and used to make verses about her and would swear she was the handsomest lady in Milan but all would not do nothing would bring her to reason and as I said she went so far at last as to marry this other cavallero this made the Señor wrath with a vengeance he resolved to be even with her though and he watched his opportunity and did not wait long for soon after the marriage they set out for Padua nothing doubting I warrant of what was preparing for them the cavallero thought to be sure he was to be called to no account but was to go off triumphant but he was soon made to know another sort of story what then the lady had promised to have Señor Orsino said Ugo promised no replied Bertrand you liked him as I heard but the contrary for she used to say from the first she never meant to have him and this was what provoked the Señor so and with good reason for who likes to be told that he is disagreeable and this was saying as good it was enough to tell him this she'd need not have gone and married another what she married then on purpose to plague the Señor said Ugo I don't know as for that replied Bertrand indeed she had had a regard for the other gentleman a great while but that is nothing to the purpose she should not have married him and then the Señor would not have been so much provoked she might have expected what was to follow it was not to be supposed he would bear her ill usage tamely and she might thank herself for what happened but as I said they set out for Padua she and her husband and the road lay over some barren mountains like these this suited the Señor's purpose well he watched the time of their departure and sent his men after them with directions what to do they kept their distance till they saw their opportunity and this did not happen till the second day's journey when the gentleman having sent his servants forward to the next town maybe to have horses in readiness the Señor's men quickened their pace and overtook the carriage in a hollow between two mountains where the woods prevented the servants from seeing what passed though they were then not far off when we came up we fired our trombone but missed Emily turned pale at these words and then hoped she had mistaken them while Bertrand proceeded the gentleman fired again but he was soon made to a light and it was as he turned to call his people that he was struck it was the most dexterous feat you ever saw he was struck in the back with three stilettos at once he fell and was dispatched in a minute but the lady escaped for the servants and heard the firing and came up before she could be taken care of Bertrand said the Señor when his men returned Bertrand exclaimed Emily pale with horror on whom not a syllable of this narrative had been lost Bertrand did I say rejoined the man with some confusion no Giovanni but I forgot where I was Bertrand said the Señor Bertrand again said Emily in a faltering voice why do you repeat that name Bertrand swore what signifies it he proceeded what the man was called Bertrand or Giovanni or Roberto it's all one for that you have put me out twice with that question Bertrand or Giovanni or what you will Bertrand said the Señor if your comrades had done their duty as well as you I should not have lost the lady and be happy with this he gave him a purse of gold and little enough too considering the service he had done him I said little enough Emily now breathed with difficulty and could scarcely support herself when first she saw these men their appearance and their connection with Montoni had been sufficient to impress her with distressed but now when one of them had betrayed himself to be a murderer and she saw herself at the approach of night under his guidance among wild and solitary mountains and going she scarcely knew wither the most agonizing terror seized her which was less supportable from the necessity she found herself under of concealing all symptoms of it from her companions reflecting on the character and the menaces of Montoni it appeared not improbable that he had delivered her to them for the purpose of having her murdered and of thus securing to himself further opposition or delay the estates for which he had so long and so desperately contended yet if this was his design there appeared no necessity for sending her to such a distance from the castle for if any dread of discovery had made him unwilling to perpetrate the deed there a much nearer place might have sufficed for the purpose of concealment these considerations however did not immediately occur to Emily with whom so many circumstances conspired to rouse terror that she had no power to oppose it or to inquire coolly into its grounds and if she had done so still there were many appearances which would too well have justified her most terrible apprehensions she did not now dare to speak to her conductors at the sound of whose voices she trembled and when now and then she stole a glance at them their countenances seen imperfectly through the gloom of evening served to confirm her fears the sun had now been set some time heavy clouds whose lower skirts were tinged with sulfurous crimson lingered in the west and threw a reddish tint upon the pine forests which sent forth a solemn sound as the breeze rolled over them the hollow moan struck upon Emily's heart and served to render more gloomy and terrific every object around her the mountains shaded in twilight the gleaming torrent hoarsely roaring the black forests and the deep glen broken into rocky recesses high overshadowed by Cyprus and Sycamore and winding into long obscurity to this glen Emily as she sent forth her anxious eye thought there was no end no hamlet or even cottage was seen and still no distant bark of watchdog or even faint far off hulu came on the wind in a tremulous voice she now ventured to remind the guides that it was growing late and to ask again how far they had to go but they were too much occupied by their own discourse and to her question which she forbore to repeat lest it should provoke a surly answer having however soon after finished their supper the men collected the fragments into their wallet and proceeded along this winding glen in gloomy silence while Emily again mused upon her own situation and concerning the motives of Montoni for involving her in it that it was for some evil purpose towards herself she had no doubt and it seemed that if he did not intend to destroy her with a view immediately seizing her estates he meant to reserve her a wiling concealment for some more terrible design for one that might equally gratify his avarice and still more his deep revenge at this moment remembering Signor Brocchio and his behavior in the corridor a few proceeding knights the latter supposition horrible as it was strengthened in her belief yet why remove her from the castle where deeds of darkness had she feared been often executed with secrecy from chambers perhaps with many a foul and midnight murder stained the dread of what she might be going to encounter was now so excessive that it sometimes threatened her senses and often as she went she thought of her late father and of all he would have suffered could he have foreseen the strange and dreadful events of her future life and how anxiously he would have avoided that fatal confidence which committed his daughter to the care of a woman so weak as was Madame Montoni so romantic and improbable indeed did her present situation appear to Emily herself particularly when she compared it with the repose and beauty of her early days that there were moments when she could almost have believed herself the victim of frightful visions glaring upon a disordered fancy restrained by the presence of her guides from expressing her terrors their acuteness was at length lost in gloomy despair the dreadful view of what might await her hereafter rendered her almost indifferent to the surrounding dangers she now looked with little emotion on the wild dingles and the gloomy road and mountains whose outlines were only distinguishable through the dusk objects which but lately had affected her spirits so much as to awaken horrid views of the future and to tinge these with their own gloom it was now so nearly dark that the travelers who proceeded only by the slowest pace could scarcely discern their way the clouds which seemed charged with thunder passed slowly along the heavens showing at intervals the trembling stars while the groves of Cyprus and Sycamore that overhung the rocks waved high in the breeze as it swept over the Glen and then rushed among the distant woods Emily shivered as it passed where is the torch said Ugo it grows dark not so dark yet but we may find our way and his best not like the torch before we can help for it may betray us if any straggling party of the enemy is abroad Ugo muttered something which Emily did not understand and they proceeded in darkness while she almost wished that the enemy might discover them for from change there was something to hope since she could scarcely imagine any situation more dreadful than her present one as they moved slowly along her attention was surprised by a thin tapering flame that appeared by fits at the point of the pike which Bertrand carried resembling what she had observed on the lance of the sentinel the night Madame Montoni died and which he had said was an omen the event immediately following it appeared to justify the assertion and a superstitious impression had remained on Emily's mind which the present appearance confirmed she thought it was an omen of her own fate and watched it successively vanish and return in gloomy silence which was at length interrupted by Bertrand let us light the torch said he and get under shelter of the woods a storm is coming on look at my lance he held it forth with the flame tapering at its point I said Ugo you are not one of those that believe in omens we have left cowards at the castle who would turn pale at such a sight I've often seen it before a thunderstorm it is an omen of that and one is coming now sure enough the clouds flash fast already Emily was relieved by this conversation from some of the terrors of superstition but those of reason increased as waiting while Ugo searched for a flint to strike fire she watched the pale lightning gleam over the woods they were about to enter and illumined the harsh countenances of her companions Ugo could not find a flint and Bertrand became impatient for the thunder sounded hollowly at a distance and the lightning was more frequent sometimes it revealed the nearer recesses of the woods or displaying some opening in their summits illumined the ground beneath with partial splendor the thick foliage of the trees preserving the surrounding scene in deep shadow at length Ugo found a flint and the torch was lighted the men then dismounted and having assisted Emily led the mules towards the woods that skirted the glen on the left overbroken ground frequently interrupted with brushwood and wild plants which she was often obliged to make a circuit to avoid she could not approach these woods without experiencing keener sense of her danger their deep silence except when the wind swept among their branches and impenetrable glooms shown partially by the sudden flash and then by the red glare of the torch which served only to make darkness visible were circumstances that contributed to renew all her most terrible apprehensions she thought too that at this moment the countenances of her conductors displayed more than their usual fierceness mingled with a kind of lurking exultation which they seemed endeavouring to disguise to her affrighted fancy it occurred that they were leading her into these woods to complete the will of Montoni by her murder the hoared suggestion called a groan from her heart which surprised her companions who turned round quickly towards her and she demanded why they let her thither beseeching them to continue their way along the open glen which she represented to be less dangerous than the woods in a thunderstorm no no said Bertrand we know best where the danger lies see how the clouds open over our heads besides we can glide undercover of the woods with less hazard of being seen should any of the enemy be wandering this way by holy saint peter and all the rest of them I have as stout a heart as the best as many a poor devil could tell if he were alive again but what can we do against numbers what are you whining about said Ugo contemptuously who fears numbers let them come though they were as many as this in yours castle could hold I would show the naves what fighting is for you I would lay you quietly in a dry ditch where you might peep out and see me put the rogues to flight who talks of fear Bertrand replied with an horrible oath that he did not like such suggesting and a violent altercation ensued which was at length silenced by the thunder whose deep volley was heard afar rolling onward till it burst over their heads in sounds that seemed to shake the earth to its center the ruffians paused and looked upon each other between the bowls of the trees the blue lightning flashed and quivered along the ground while as emily looked under the boughs the mountains beyond frequently appeared to be clothed in livid flame at this moment perhaps she felt less fear of the storm than did either of her companions for other terrors occupied hermont the men now rested under an enormous chestnut tree and fixed their pikes in the ground at some distance on the iron points of which emily repeatedly observed the lightning play and then glide down them into the earth I would we were well in the seniors castle said Bertrand I know not why you should send us on this business hark how it rattles above there I could almost find in my heart to turn my chest and pray Ugo has got a rosary no replied Ugo I leave it to cowards like V to carry rosaries I carry a sword as much good it may do the in fighting against the storm said Bertrand another peel which was reverberated in tremendous echoes among the mountains silenced them for a moment as it rolled away Ugo proposed going on we are only losing time here said he for the thick boughs of the woods will shelter us as well as this chestnut tree they again led the mules forward between the bowls of the trees and over pathless grass that concealed their high knotted roots the rising wind was now heard contending with the thunder as it rushed furiously among the branches above and brightened the red flame of the torch which threw a stronger light forward among the woods and showed their gloomy recesses to be suitable resorts for the wolves of which Ugo had formerly spoken at length the strength of the wind seemed to drive the storm before it for the thunder rolled away into distance and was only faintly heard after traveling through the woods for nearly an hour during which the elements seem to have returned to repose the travelers gradually ascending from the Glen found themselves upon the open brow of a mountain with a wide valley extending in misty moonlight at their feet and above the blue sky trembling through the few thin clouds that lingered after the storm and were sinking slowly to the verge of the horizon Emily's spirits now that she had quitted the woods began to revive for she considered that if these men had received in order to destroy her they would probably have executed their barbarous purpose in the solitary wild from whence they had just emerged where the deed would have been shrouded from every human eye reassured by this reflection and by the quiet demeanor of her guides Emily as they proceeded silently in a kind of sheep track that wound along the skirts of the woods which ascended on the right could not survey the sleeping beauty of the veil to which they were declining without a momentary sensation of pleasure it seemed varied with woods pastures and sloping grounds and was screened to the north and the east by an amphitheater of the Apennines whose outline on the horizon seemed to varied and elegant forms to the west and the south the landscape extended indistinctly into the lowlands of Tuscany there is the sea yonder said Bertrand as if he had known that Emily was examining the twilight view yonder in the west though we cannot see it Emily already perceived a change in the climate from that of the wild and mountainous tracks she had left and as she continued descending the air became perfumed by the breath of a thousand nameless flowers among the grass called forth by the late rain so soothingly beautiful was the scene around her and so strikingly contrasted to the gloomy grandeur of those to which she had long been confined and to the manners of the people who moved among them that she could almost have fancied herself again at Lavali and wondering why Montoni had sent her hither could scarcely believe that he had selected so enchanting a spot for any cruel it was however probably not the spot but the persons who happened to inhabit it and to whose care he could safely commit the execution of his plans whatever they might be that had determined his choice she now ventured again to inquire whether they were near the place of their destination and was answered by Ugo that they had not far to go only to the wood of chestnuts in the valley yonder said he there by the brook that sparkles with the moon I wish I was once at rest there with a flask of good wine and a slice of Tuscany bacon Emily's spirits revived when she heard that the journey was so nearly concluded and saw the wood of chestnuts in an open part of the veil on the margin of the stream in a short time they reached the entrance of the wood and perceived between the twinkling leaves a light streaming from a distant cottage window that proceeded along the edge of the brook to where the trees excluded the moonbeams but a long line of light from the cottage above was seen on its dark, tremulous surface Bertrand now stepped on first and Emily heard him knock and call loudly at the door as she reached at the small uppercasement where the light appeared was unclosed by a man who having inquired what they wanted immediately descended let them into a neat rustic cot and called up his wife to set refreshments before the travelers this man conversed rather apart with Bertrand Emily anxiously surveyed him he was a tall but not robust peasant of a sallow complexion and had a shrewd and cunning eye his countenance was not of a character to win the ready confidence of youth and there was nothing in his manner that might conciliate a stranger Ugo called impatiently for supper and in atone as if he knew his authority here to be unquestionable I expected you an hour ago said the peasant for I have had seen your Montoni's letter these three hours and I and my wife had given you up and gone to bed how did you fare in the storm ill enough replied Ugo ill enough and we are like to fare ill enough here too unless you will make more haste get us more wine and let us see what you have to eat the peasant placed before them all that his cottage afforded ham, wine, figs grapes of such size and flavor as Emily had seldom tasted after taking refreshment she was shown by the peasant's wife to her little bed chamber where she asked some questions concerning Montoni to which the woman whose name was Dorina gave reserved answers pretending ignorance of his exilence's intention in sending Emily hither but acknowledging that her husband had been apprised of the circumstance perceiving that she could obtain no intelligence concerning her destination Emily dismissed Dorina and retired to repose but all the busy scenes of her past and the anticipated ones of the future came to her anxious mind and conspired with a sense of her new situation to banish sleep The Mysteries of Adolfo by Anne Radcliffe Volume 3 Chapter 7 was not around but images of rest sleep-soothing groves and quiet lawns between and flowery beds that slumberous influence kept from puppy's breathed and banks of pleasant green where never yet was creeping-creature seen meantime a numbered glittering streamlets played and held everywhere their water sheen that as they bickered through the sunny glade though restless still themselves though restless still themselves a lulling murmur made Thompson When Emily in the morning opened her casement she was surprised to observe the beauties that surrounded it the cottage was nearly emboured in the woods which were chiefly of chestnut intermixed with some cypress, larch and sycamore beneath the dark and spreading branches appeared to the north and to the east the woody appennines rising a majestic ampy theatre not black with pines as she had been accustomed to see them but their loftiest summits crowned with anteant forests of chestnut, oak and oriental plain now animated with the rich tints of autumn and which swept downward to the valley uninterruptedly except where some bold rocky promontory looked out from among the foliage and caught the passing gleam vineyards stretched along the feet of the mountains where the elegant fillers of the Tuscan nobility frequently adorned the scene and overlooked slopes clothed with grows of oil, mulberry, orange and lemon the plain to which these declined was coloured with the riches of cultivation whose mingle hues were mellowed into harmony by an Italian sun vines, their purple clusters blushing between the russet foliage hunging luxuriant festoons from the branches of standard fig and cherry trees while pastures of Vidur such as Emily had seldom seen in Italy enriched the banks of a stream that after descending from the mountains wound along the landscape which it reflected to a bay of the sea there far in the west the waters fading into the sky assumed a tint of the faintest purple and the line of separation between them was, now and then discernable only by the progress of a sail brightened with the sunbeam along the horizon the cottage which was shaded by the woods from the intense rays of the sun and was open only to his evening light was covered entirely with vines, fig trees and jasmine whose flowers surpassed in size and fragrance only that Emily had seen these and ripening clusters of grape hung round to little casement the turf that grew under the woods was inlaid with a variety of wild flowers and perfumed herbs and on the opposite margin of the stream whose current diffused freshness between the shades rose a grove of lemon and orange trees this, though nearly opposite to Emily's window did not interrupt her prospect but rather heightened by its dark fadure the effect of the perspective and to her this spot was a bower of sweets whose charms communicated imperceptibly to her mind somewhat of their own serenity she was soon summoned to breakfast by a peasant's daughter, a girl about seventeen of a pleasant countenance which Emily was glad to observe seemed animated with the pure affections of nature though the others that surrounded her expressed more or less the worst qualities cruelty, ferocity, cunning and duplicity of the latter style of countenance especially were those of the peasant and his wife Medellina spoke little but what she said was in a soft voice and with a near of modesty and complacency that interested Emily who breakfasted at a separate table with Dorina while Ergo and Bertrand were taking a repast of Tuscany bacon and wine with their host near the cottage door when they'd finished which Ergo rising hastily, inquired for his mule and Emily learned that he was to return to Adolfo while Bertrand remained at the cottage a circumstance which, though it did not surprise distressed her when Ergo was departed Emily proposed to walk in the neighbouring woods but on being told that she must not quit the cottage without having Bertrand for her attendant she withdrew to her own room there as her eyes settled on the towering of penines she recollected the terrific scenery they had exhibited and the horrors she had suffered on the preceding night particularly at the moment when Bertrand had betrayed himself to be an assassin and these remembrances awakened a train of images which since he abstracted her from consideration of her own situation she pursued for some time and then arranged in the following lines pleased to have discovered any innocent means by which she could begarl an hour of misfortune the pilgrim slow o'er the apennine with bleeding feet a patient pilgrim wound his lonely way to deck the lady of Loretto's seat with all the little wealth his zeal could pay from mountaintop's coal-dyed the evening ray and stretched in twilight's that the veil below and now the last, last purple streaks of day along the melancholy west fade slow high o'er his head the restless pines complain as on their summit rolls the breeze of night beneath the horse-stream chies the rocks in vain the pilgrim pauses on the dizzy height then to the veil his cautious step he pressed for there a hermit's cross was dimly seen questing the rock and there his limbs might rest sheared in the good man's cave by faggot sheen on leafy beds nor garl his sleep molest unhappy Luke he trusts a treacherous clue behind the cliff the lurking robber stood no friendly moon his giant shadow threw a forge the road to save the pilgrim's blood on as he went to Vesper him he sang the hymn that nightly soothed him to repose fierce on his harmless prey the ruffian sprang the pilgrim bleeds to death his eyelids close yet his meek spirit knew no vengeful care but dying for his murdered breath a sainted prayer preferring the solitude of her room to the company of the persons below stairs Emily dined above and Madalina was suffered to attend her from whose simple conversations she learned that the peasant and his wife were old inhabitants of this cottage which had been purchased for them by Mattoni in reward of some service rendered him many years before by Marco to whom Carlo the steward at the castle was nearly related so many years ago Senora added Madalina that I know nothing about it but my father did the Senora great good for my mother has often said to him this cottage was the least he ought to have had to the mention of this circumstance Emily listened with a painful interest since it appeared to give a frightful colour to the character of Marco whose service thus rewarded by Montoni she could scarcely doubt have been criminal and if so had too much reason to believe that she had been committed into his hands for some desperate purpose did you ever hear how many years it is said Emily who was considering of Senora Laurentina's disappearance from Adolfo since your father performed the services you spoke of it was a little before he came to live at the cottage Senora replied Madalina and that is about eighteen years ago this was near the period when Senora Laurentini had been said to disappear and it occurred to Emily that Marco had assisted in that mysterious affair and perhaps had been employed in a murder this horrible suggestion fixed her in such profound reverie that Madalina quitted the room unperceived by her and she remained unconscious of all around her for a considerable time tears at length came to her relief after indulging which her spirits became calmer she ceased to tremble at a view of evils that might never arrive and had sufficient resolution to endeavour to withdraw her thoughts from the contemplation of her own interests remembering the few books which even in the hurry of her departure from Adolfo she had put into her little package she sat down with one of them at her pleasant casement whence her eyes often wandered from the page to the landscape whose beauty gradually soothed her mind into gentle melancholy here she remained alone till evening and saw the sun descend the western sky through all his palm of light and shadow upon the mountains and gleam upon the distant ocean and the stealing sails as his sun commits the waves then at the musing hour of twilight her softened thoughts returned to Valencor she again recollected every circumstance connected with the midnight music and all that might assist her conjecture concerning his imprisonment at the castle and, becoming confirmed in the supposition that it was his voice she had heard there she looked back to the gloomy abode with emotions of grief and momentary regret refreshed by the cool and fragrant air and her spirit soothed to a state of gentle melancholy a stilly murmur of the brook below and of the woods around she lingered at a casement long after the sun had set watching the valley sink in into obscurity till only the grand outline of the surrounding mountains shadowed upon the horizon remained visible but a clear moonlight that succeeded gave to the landscape what time gives to the scenes of past life when it softens all their harsher features and throws over the whole the mellowing shade of distant contemplation the scenes of Lavallee in the early mourn of her life when she was protected and beloved by parents equally loved appeared in Emily's memory tenderly beautiful like the prospect before her and awakened mournful comparisons unwilling to encounter the coarse behaviour of the peasant's wife she remained suppolous in her room while she whipped again over her forlorn and perilous situation a review of which entirely overcame the small remains of her fortitude and, reducing her to temporary despondence she wished to be released from the heavy load of life that had so long oppressed her and prayed to heaven to take her in its mercy to her parents wearied with weeping, she at length lay down in her mattress and sunk to sleep but was soon awakened by knocking at her chamber door and, starting up in terror, she heard a voice calling her the image of Bertrand with a stiletto in his hand appeared to alarm her fancy and she neither opened the door or answered but listened in profound silence till, the voice repeating her name in the same low tone she demanded who called it it is I, Senora replied the voice which she now distinguished to be Medellina's pray open the door, don't be frightened, it is I and what brings you here so late, Medellina said Emily, as she let her in hush, Senora, for heaven's sake hush if we are overheard, I shall never be forgiven my father and mother and Bertrand are all gone to bed continued Medellina as she gently shut the door and crept forward and I have brought you some supper for you had none you know, Senora, below stairs here are some grapes and figs and half a cup of wine Emily thanked her but expressed apprehension lest this kindness should draw upon her the resentment of Dorina when she perceived the fruit was gone take it back there for Medellina added Emily I shall suffer much less from the want of it than I should do if this act of good nature was to subject you to your mother's displeasure oh, Senora, there is no danger of that replied Medellina my mother cannot miss the fruit for I saved it from my own supper you will make me very unhappy if you refuse to take it, Senora Emily was so much affected by this instance of the good girl's generosity that she remained for some time unable to reply and Medellina watched her in silence till, mistaken the cause of her emotion, she said do not weep so, Senora my mother, to be sure, is a little cross sometimes but then it is soon over so don't take it so much to heart she often scolds me too but then I have learned to bear it and when she is done if I can but still out into the woods and play upon my staccato I forget it all directly Emily, smiling through her tears told Medellina that she was a good girl and then accepted her offer she wished anxiously to know whether Bertrand and Norena had spoken of Montoni or of his designs concerning herself in the presence of Medellina but disdained attempt the innocent girl to a conduct so mean as that of betraying the private conversations of her parents when she was departing Emily requested that she would come to her room as often as she dared without offending her mother and Medellina, after promising that she would do so stole softly back again to her own chamber thus several days passed during which Emily remained in her own room Medellina attending her only at her repast whose gentle countenance and manners soothed her more than any circumstance she had known for many months of her pleasant embellished chamber she now became fond and began to experience in it those feelings of security which we naturally attached to home in this interval also her mind, having been understood by any new circumstance of disgust or alarm recovered its tone sufficiently to permit her the enjoyment of her books among which she found some unfinished sketches of landscapes several blank sheets of paper several blank sheets of paper with her drawing instruments and she was thus unable to amuse herself with selecting some of the lovely features of the prospect the toe-window commanded and combining them in scenes to which her tasteful fancy gave a last grace in these little sketches she generally placed interest in groups in these little sketches she generally placed interest in groups characteristic of the scenery the animated and often contrived to tell with perspicuity some simple and affecting story when, as a tear fell over the pictured griefs which her imagination drew she would forget for a moment her real sufferings thus innocently she beguiled the heavy hours of misfortune and with meek patience awaited the events of futurity a beautiful evening that had succeeded to a sultry day at length induced Emily to walk though she knew that Bertrand must attend her and with Maddalena for a companion she left the cottage followed by Bertrand who allowed her to choose her own way the owl was cool and silent and she could not look upon the country around her without delight how lovely too appeared the brilliant blue that coloured all the upper region of the air and thence fading downward was lost in the saffron glow of the horizon nor lesser were the varied shades and warm colouring of the apennines as the evening sun through slanting rays a thought their broken surface Emily followed the course of the stream under the shades that over hung its grassy margin as it banks the pastures were animated with herds of cattle of a beautiful cream colour and beyond were groves of lemon and orange with fruit glowing on the branches frequent almost as the leaves which partially concealed it she pursued her way towards the sea which reflected the warm glow of sunset while the cliffs that rose over its edge were tinted with the last rays the valley was terminated on the right by lofty promontory whose summit, impending over the waves was crowned with a ruined tower now serving for the purpose of a beacon whose shattered battlements and the extended wings of some sea-fowl that circled near it were still illumined by the upward beams of the sun though its disk was now sunk beneath the horizon while the lower part of the ruin the cliff on which it stood and the wave at its foot were shaded with the first tints of twilight having reached this headland Emily gazed with solemn pleasure on the cliffs that extended on either hand along the sequestered shores some crowned with groves of pine and others exhibiting only barren precipices of greyish marble except where the crags were tufted with myrtle and other aromatic shrubs the sea slept in perfect calm its waves dying in murmurs on the shores flowed with the gentlest undulation while its clear surface reflected in softened beauty the vermal tints of the west Emily, as she looked upon the ocean thought of France and of past times and she wished, oh how ardently and vainly wished that its waves would bear her to a distant native home ah, that vessel, said she that vessel which collides along so stately with its tall sails reflected in the water-ears perhaps bound for France happy, happy bark she continued to gaze upon it with warm emotion till the grey of twilight obscured the distance and veiled it from her view the melancholy sound of the waves at her feet assisted the tenderness that occasioned her tears and this was the only sound that broke upon the hour till, having followed the windings of the beach for some time a chorus of voices passed her on the air she paused for a moment, wishing to hear more yet fearing to be seen and, for the first time looked back to Bertrand as a protector who was following at a short distance in company with some other person reassured by the circumstance she advanced toward the sounds which seemed to arise from behind a high promontory that projected a thwart to the beach there was now a sudden pause in the music and one female voice was heard to sing in a kind of chant Emily quickened her steps and, winding round the rock saw, within the sweeping bay beyond which was hung with woods from the borders of the beach to the very summit of the cliffs two groups of peasants one seated beneath the shades and the other standing on the edge of the sea round the girl who was singing and who held in her hand a chaplet of flowers which she seemed about to drop into the waves Emily, listing with surprise and attention distinguished the following invocation delivered in the pure and elegant tongue of Tuscany and accompanied by a few pastoral instruments to a sea nymph who loves to float on the green wave when Neptune sleeps beneath the moonlight hour lulled by the music's melancholy power of nymph, a rise from out thy pearly cave for Hesper beams amid the twilight shade and soon shall Cynthia tremble over the tide gleam on these cliffs that bound the ocean's pride and lonely silence or the air pervade then let thy tender voice at distance swell and steal along this solitary shore sink on the breeze till dying herd no more thou wakeest the sudden magic of thy shell while the long coast in echo sweet replies thy soothing strains the pensive heart beguile and bid the visions of thy future smile o'er nymph from out thy pearly cave arise chorus, arise semi-chorus, arise the last words being repeated by the surrounding group the garland of flowers was thrown into the waves and the chorus, sinking gradually into a chant died away in silence what can this mean, Maddalena? said Emily, awakened from this pleasing trance into which the music had lulled her this is the eye of a festival senora replied Maddalena and the peasants then amused themselves with all kinds of sports but they talked of a sea-nymph said Emily how come these good people to think of a sea-nymph? oh senora rejoined Maddalena mistaken the reason of Emily's surprise nobody believes in such things but our old songs tell of them and when we are at our sports we sometimes sing to them and throw garlands into the sea Emily had been taught to venerate Florence as the seat of literature and of the fine arts but that its taste for classic story should descend to the peasants of the country occasioned her both surprise and admiration the Arcadian air of the girls next attracted her attention their dress was of a very short, full petticoat of light green with the bodice of white silk the sleeves loose and tied up at the shoulders with ribbons and bunches of flowers their hair, falling in ringlets on their necks was also ornamented with flowers and with a small straw hat which, set rather backward and on one side of the head gave an expression of gaiety and smartness to the whole figure when the song had concluded several of these girls approached Emily and, inviting her to sit down among them offered her and Medellina whom they knew grapes and figs Emily accepted their courtesy much pleased with the gentleness and grace of their manners which appeared to be perfectly natural to them and when Bertrand soon after approached and was hastily drawing her away a peasant, holding up a flask, invited him to drink a temptation which Bertrand was seldom very valiant in resisting let the young lady join in the dance, my friend said the peasant, while we empty this flask they are going to begin directly strike up my lads, strike up your tambourines and merry flutes they sounded gaily and the younger peasants formed themselves into a circle which Emily would readily have joined had her spirits been in unison with their mirth Medellina, however, tripped it lightly and Emily, as she looked on the happy group lost the sense of her misfortunes in that of a benevolent pleasure but the pence of melancholy of her mind returned as she sat rather apart from the company listening to the mellow music which the breeze softened as it bore it away and watching the mellow moon stealing its tremulous light over the ways and on the woody summits of the cliffs that twound along these tusk and shores meanwhile Bertrand was so well pleased with this first flask that he very willingly commenced the attack on a second and it was late before Emily, not without some apprehension returned to the cottage after this evening she frequently walked with Medellina but was never unattended by Bertrand and her mind became by degrees as tranquil as the circumstances of a situation would permit the quiet in which she was suffered to live encouraged her to hope that she was not sent hither with an evil design and had it not appeared probable that Valencourt was at this time an inhabitant of Udolfo she would have wished to remain at the cottage till an opportunity should offer of returning to a native country but concerning Montoni's motive for sending her into Tuscany she was more than ever perplexed nor could she believe that any consideration for her safety had influenced him on this occasion she had been some time at the cottage before she recollected that in the hurry of leaving Udolfo she had forgotten the papers committed to her by her late aunt relative to the Languedoc estates but though this remembrance occasioned her much uneasiness she had some hope that in the obscure place where they were deposited they would escape the detection of Montoni End of Chapter 7 Volume 3 This is a LibriVax recording all LibriVax recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVax.org Recording by Andrew Drinkwater in Madison, Wisconsin January 5th, 2008 The Mysteries of Udolfo by Ann Radcliffe Volume 3, Chapter 8, Part 1 My tongue half but a heavier tail to say I play the torture by small and small to lengthen out the worst that must be spoken Richard II We now return for a moment to Venice where Count Morano was suffering under an accumulation of misfortunes Soon after his arrival in that city he had been arrested by an order of the Senate and without knowing of what he was suspected was conveyed to a place of confinement wither the most strenuous enquiries of his friends had been unable to trace him Who the enemy was that had occasioned him this calamity he had not been able to guess unless indeed it was Monteny on whom his suspicions rested and not only with much apparent probability but with justice In the affair of the poisoned cup Monteny had suspected Morano but being unable to obtain the degree of proof which was necessary to convict him of a guilty intention he had recourse to means of other revenge than he could hope to obtain by prosecution He employed a person in whom he believed he might confide to drop a letter of accusation into denunzier secret or lion's mouth which are fixed in a gallery of the doge's palace as receptacles for anonymous information concerning persons who may be disaffected towards the state As on these occasions the accuser is not confronted with the accused a man may falsely impeach his enemy and accomplish an unjust revenge without fear of punishment or detection that Monteny should have recourse to these diabolical means of ruining a person whom he suspected of having attempted his life is not in the least surprising In the letter which he had employed as the instrument of his revenge he accused Morano of designs against the state which he attempted to prove with all the plausible simplicity of which he was master and the senate with whom suspicion was, at that time almost equal to a proof, arrested the count in consequence of this accusation and without even hinting to him his crime threw him into one of those secret prisons which were the terror of the Venetians and in which persons often languished and sometimes died without being discovered by their friends Morano had incurred the personal resentment of many members of the state his habits of life had rendered him obnoxious to some and his ambition and the bold rival ship which he discovered on several public occasions to others and it was not to be expected that mercy would soften the rigor of a law which was to be dispensed from the hands of his enemies Monteny, meantime, was beset by dangers of another kind his castle was besieged by troops who seemed willing to dare everything and to suffer patiently any hardships in pursuit of victory the strength of the fortress, however, withstood their attack and this, with the vigorous defense of the garrison and the scarcity of provision on these wild mountains soon compelled the assailants to raise the siege when Udolfo was once more left to the quiet possession of Monteny he dispatched Ugo into Tuscany for Emily whom he had sent from considerations of her personal safety to a place of greater security than a castle which was, at that time, liable to be overrun by his enemies Tranquility being once more restored to Udolfo he was impatient to secure her again under his roof and had commissioned Ugo to assist Bertrand in guarding her back to the castle thus compelled to return, Emily bade the kind Maddalena farewell with regret, and after about a fortnight's stay in Tuscany where she had experienced an interval of quiet which was absolutely necessary to sustain her long harassed spirits began once more to ascend the Epanene from whose heights she gave a long and sorrowful look into the beautiful country that extended at their feet and to the distant Mediterranean whose waves she had so often wished would bear her back to France the distress she felt on her return towards the place of her former sufferings was, however, softened by a conjecture that Valencor was there and she found some degree of comfort in the thought of being near him notwithstanding the consideration that he was probably a prisoner it was noon when she had left the cottage and the evening was closed long before she came within the neighborhood of Udolfo there was a moon, but it shone only at intervals for the night was cloudy and, lighted by the torch which Ugo carried the travelers paced silently along Emily musing on her situation and Bertrand and Ugo anticipating the comforts of a flask of wine and a good fire for they had perceived for some time the difference between the warm climate of the lowlands of Tuscany and the nipping air of these upper regions Emily was, at length, roused from her reverie by the far-off sound of the castle clock to which she listened not without some degree of awe as it rolled away on the breeze another and another note succeeded and died in sullen murmur among the mountains to her more full imagination it seemed a knell measuring out some fateful period for her I, there is the old clock, said Bertrand there he is still the cannon have not silenced him no, answered Ugo he crowed as loud as the best of them in the midst of it all there he was, roaring out in the hottest fire I have seen this many a day I said that some of them would have had a hit at the old fellow but he escaped, and the tower too the road winding round the base of a mountain they now came within view of the castle which was shewn in the perspective of the valley by a gleam of moonshine and then vanished in shade while even a transient view of it had awakened the poignancy of Emily's feelings its massy and gloomy walls gave her terrible ideas of imprisonment and suffering yet as she advanced some degree of hope mingled with her terror for though this was certainly the residence of Montenie it was possibly also that of Valencor and she could not approach a place where he might be without experiencing somewhat of the joy of hope they continued to wind along the valley and soon after she saw again the old walls and moonlit towers rising over the woods the strong rays enabled her also to perceive the ravages which the siege had made with the broken walls and shattered battlements for they were now at the foot of the steep on which Udalfo stood massy fragments had rolled down among the woods through which the travelers now began to ascend and there mingled with the loose earth and pieces of rock they had brought with them the woods too had suffered much from the batteries above for here the enemy had endeavored to screen themselves from the fire of the ramparts many noble trees were leveled with the ground and others to a wide extent were entirely stripped of their upper branches we had better dismount said Ugo and lead the mules up the hill or we shall get into some of the holes which the balls have left here are plenty of them give me the torch continued Ugo after they had dismounted and take care you don't stumble over anything that lies in your way for the ground is not yet cleared of the enemy how? exclaimed Emily are any of the enemy here then? nay I don't know for that now he replied but when I came away I saw one or two of them lying under the trees as they proceeded the torch threw a gloomy light upon the ground and far among the recesses of the woods and Emily feared to look forward lest some object of horror should meet her eye the path was often strewn with broken heads of arrows and the shattered remains of armor such as at that period mingled with the lighter dress of the soldiers bring the light hither said Bertrand I have stumbled over something that rattles loud enough Ugo holding up the torch they perceived a steel breastplate on the ground which Bertrand raised and they saw that it was pierced through and that the lining was entirely covered with blood but upon Emily's earnest entreaties that they would proceed Bertrand uttering some joke upon the unfortunate person to whom it had belonged threw it hard upon the ground and they passed on at every step she took Emily feared to see some vestige of death coming soon after to an opening in the woods Bertrand stopped to survey the ground which was encumbered with massy trunks and branches of the trees that had so lately adorned it and seemed to have been a spot particularly fatal to the beseechers for it was evident from the destruction of the trees that here the hottest fire of the garrison had been directed as Ugo held again forth the torch steel glittered between the fallen trees the ground beneath was covered with broken arms and with the torn vestments of soldiers whose mangled forms Emily almost expected to see and she again entreated her companions to proceed who were however too intent in their examination to regard her and she turned her eyes from this desolated scene to the castle above where she observed lights gliding along the ramparts presently the castle clock struck 12 and then a trumpet sounded of which Emily inquired the occasion oh they are only changing watch replied Ugo I do not remember this trumpet said Emily it is a new custom it is only an old one revived lady we always use it in time of war we have sounded it at midnight ever since the place was besieged Hark! said Emily as the trumpet sounded again and in the next moment she heard a faint clash of arms and then the watchword passed along the terrace above and was answered from the distant part of the castle after which all was again still she complained of cold and begged to go on presently lady said Bertrand turning over some broken arms with the pike he usually carried what have we here Hark! cried Emily what noise was that what noise was it said Ugo starting up and listening hush! repeated Emily it surely came from the ramparts above and on looking up they perceived a light moving along the walls while in the next instant the breeze swelling the voice sounded louder than before who goes yonder cried a sentinel of the castle speak or it will be worse for you Bertrand uttered a shout of joy ha! my brave comrade is it you said he and he blew a shrill whistle which signal was answered by another from the soldier on watch and the party then passing forward soon after emerge from the woods upon the broken road that led immediately to the castle gates and Emily saw with renewed terror the whole of that stupendous structure alas said she to herself I am going again into my prison here has been warm work by Saint Marco cried Bertrand waving a torch over the ground the balls have torn up the earth here with a vengeance I replied Ugo they were fired from that redoubt yonder and rare execution they did the enemy made a furious attack upon the great gates but they might have guessed they never could carry it there for besides the cannon from the walls the archers on the two round towers showered down upon them at such a rate that by Holy Peter there is no standing it I never saw a better sight in my life I laughed till my sides ached to see how the maves scampered Bertrand my good fellow thou shouldst have been among them I warned thou wouldst have won the race ha! you are at your old tricks again said Bertrand in a surly tone is well for thee thou art so near the castle thou knowest I've killed my man before now Ugo replied only by a laugh and then gave some further account of the siege to which as Emily listened she was struck by the strong contrast of the present scene with that which had so lately been acted here a mingled uproar of cannons, drums, and trumpets the groans of the conquered and the shouts of the conquerors were now sunk into a silence so profound that it seemed as if death had triumphed alike over the vanquished and the victor the shattered condition of one of the towers of the great gates by no means confirmed the valiant account just given by Ugo of the scampering party who it was evident had not only made a stand but had done much mischief before they took to flight for this tower appeared as far as Emily could judge by the dim moonlight that fell upon it it be laid open and the battlements were nearly demolished while she gazed a light glimmered through one of the lower loopholes and disappeared but in the next moment she perceived through the broken wall a soldier with a lamp ascending the narrow staircase that wound within the tower and remembering that it was the same she had passed up on the night when Barnardine had deluded her with the promise of seeing Madame Montenie fancy gave her somewhat of the terror she had then suffered she was now very near the gates over which the soldier having opened the door of the portal chamber the lamp he carried gave her a dusky view on that terrible apartment and she almost sunk under the recollected horrors of that moment when she had drawn aside the curtain and discovered the object it was meant to conceal perhaps said she to herself is now used for a similar purpose perhaps that should your goals at this dead hour to watch over the corpse of his friend the little remains of her fortitude now gave way to the united force of remembered and anticipated horrors for the melancholy fate of Madame Montenie appeared to foretell her own she considered that though the long duck estates if she relinks with them might satisfy Montenie's avarice they might not appease his vengeance which was seldom pacified but by a terrible sacrifice and she thought that were she to resign them the fear of justice might urge him either to detain her a prisoner or to take away her life they were now arrived at the gates where Bertrand observing the light glimmered through a small casement of the portal chamber called aloud and the soldier looking out demanded who was there here I have brought you a prisoner so open the gate and let us in tell me first who it is that demands entrance replied the soldier what my old comrade cried Ugo don't you know me not know Ugo I have brought home a prisoner here bound hand and foot a fellow who has been drinking Tuscany wine while we here have been fighting you will not rest till you meet with your match said Bertrand so only ah my comrade is it you said the soldier I'll be with you presently Emily presently heard his steps to standing the stairs within and then the heavy chain fall and the bolts on draw of the small posturing door which he opened to admit the party he held the lamp low to shoe the step at the gate and she found herself once more beneath the gloomy arch and heard the door close that seemed to shut her from the world forever in the next moment she was in the first court of the castle where she surveyed the spacious and solitary area with a kind of calm despair while the dead hour of the night the gothic gloom of the surrounding buildings and the hollow and imperfect echoes which they returned as Ugo and the soldier conversed together assisted to increase the melancholy for boatings of her heart passing on to the second court a distant sound broke feebly on the silence and gradually swelling louder as they advanced Emily distinguished voices of revelry and laughter but they were to her far other than sounds of joy why have you got some Tuscany wine among you here said Bertrand if one may judge by the uproar that is going forward Ugo has taken a larger share of that than of fighting I'll be sworn who is carousing at this late hour his Excellenza and the Seniors or by the soldier it is a sign you are a stranger at the castle or you would not need to ask the question they are brave spirits that do without sleep they generally pass the night in good cheer would that we who keep the watch had a little of it it is cold work and ramparts so many hours of the night if one has no good liquor to warm one's heart courage my lad courage ought to warm your heart said Ugo courage replied the soldier sharply with a menacing ear which Ugo perceiving prevented his saying more by returning to the subject of the carousel this is a new custom said he when I left the castle I used to sit up counseling I and for that matter carousing too replied the soldier but since the siege they have done nothing but make merry and if I was a I would settle accounts with myself for all the hard fighting the same way end of volume 3