The Mysteries of Udolpho

At length, worn out with anxiety, she determined to call loudly for

assistance from her casement, and was advancing to it, when, whether the

terror of her mind gave her ideal sounds, or that real ones did come,

she thought footsteps were ascending the private stair-case; and,

expecting to see its door unclose, she forgot all other cause of alarm,

and retreated towards the corridor. Here she endeavoured to make her

escape, but, on opening the door, was very near falling over a person,

who lay on the floor without. She screamed, and would have passed, but

her trembling frame refused to support her; and the moment, in which she

leaned against the wall of the gallery, allowed her leisure to observe

the figure before her, and to recognise the features of Annette. Fear

instantly yielded to surprise. She spoke in vain to the poor girl, who

remained senseless on the floor, and then, losing all consciousness of

her own weakness, hurried to her assistance.

When Annette recovered, she was helped by Emily into the chamber, but

was still unable to speak, and looked round her, as if her eyes followed

some person in the room. Emily tried to sooth her disturbed spirits, and

forbore, at present, to ask her any questions; but the faculty of speech

was never long with-held from Annette, and she explained, in broken

sentences, and in her tedious way, the occasion of her disorder. She

affirmed, and with a solemnity of conviction, that almost staggered

the incredulity of Emily, that she had seen an apparition, as she was

passing to her bedroom, through the corridor.

'I had heard strange stories of that chamber before,' said Annette:

'but as it was so near yours, ma'amselle, I would not tell them to you,

because they would frighten you. The servants had told me, often and

often, that it was haunted, and that was the reason why it was shut up:

nay, for that matter, why the whole string of these rooms, here, are

shut up. I quaked whenever I went by, and I must say, I did sometimes

think I heard odd noises within it. But, as I said, as I was passing

along the corridor, and not thinking a word about the matter, or even

of the strange voice that the Signors heard the other night, all of a

sudden comes a great light, and, looking behind me, there was a tall

figure, (I saw it as plainly, ma'amselle, as I see you at this moment),

a tall figure gliding along (Oh! I cannot describe how!) into the room,

that is always shut up, and nobody has the key of it but the Signor, and

the door shut directly.'