After travelling for some hours, they quitted the
main road, and turned into a narrow winding dell, overshadowed by high
trees, which almost excluded the light. The gloom of the place
inspired terrific images. Julia trembled as she entered; and her
emotion was heightened, when she perceived at some distance, through
the long perspective of the trees, a large ruinous mansion. The gloom
of the surrounding shades partly concealed it from her view; but, as
she drew near, each forlorn and decaying feature of the fabric was
gradually disclosed, and struck upon her heart a horror such as she
had never before experienced. The broken battlements, enwreathed with
ivy, proclaimed the fallen grandeur of the place, while the shattered
vacant window-frames exhibited its desolation, and the high grass that
overgrew the threshold seemed to say how long it was since mortal foot
had entered. The place appeared fit only for the purposes of violence
and destruction: and the unfortunate captives, when they stopped at
its gates, felt the full force of its horrors.
They were taken from their horses, and conveyed to an interior part of
the building, which, if it had once been a chamber, no longer deserved
the name. Here the guard said they were directed to detain them till
the arrival of their lord, who had appointed this the place of
rendezvous. He was expected to meet them in a few hours, and these
were hours of indescribable torture to Julia and madame. From the
furious passions of the duke, exasperated by frequent disappointment,
Julia had every evil to apprehend; and the loneliness of the spot he
had chosen, enabled him to perpetrate any designs, however violent.
For the first time, she repented that she had left her father's house.
Madame wept over her, but comfort she had none to give. The day
closed--the duke did not appear, and the fate of Julia yet hung in
perilous uncertainty. At length, from a window of the apartment she
was in, she distinguished a glimmering of torches among the trees, and
presently after the clattering of hoofs convinced her the duke was
approaching. Her heart sunk at the sound; and throwing her arms round
madame's neck, she resigned herself to despair. She was soon roused by
some men, who came to announce the arrival of their lord. In a few
moments the place, which had lately been so silent, echoed with
tumult; and a sudden blaze of light illumining the fabric, served to
exhibit more forcibly its striking horrors. Julia ran to the window;
and, in a sort of court below, perceived a group of men dismounting
from their horses.