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.




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