The Mysteries of Udolpho

When she withdrew to prepare for dinner, she dressed herself with even

more simplicity than usual, that she might escape observation--a policy,

which did not avail her, for, as she re-passed to her aunt's apartment,

she was met by Montoni, who censured what he called her prudish

appearance, and insisted, that she should wear the most splendid dress

she had, even that, which had been prepared for her intended nuptials

with Count Morano, and which, it now appeared, her aunt had carefully

brought with her from Venice. This was made, not in the Venetian, but,

in the Neapolitan fashion, so as to set off the shape and figure, to the

utmost advantage. In it, her beautiful chestnut tresses were negligently

bound up in pearls, and suffered to fall back again on her neck. The

simplicity of a better taste, than Madame Montoni's, was conspicuous in

this dress, splendid as it was, and Emily's unaffected beauty never had

appeared more captivatingly. She had now only to hope, that Montoni's

order was prompted, not by any extraordinary design, but by an

ostentation of displaying his family, richly attired, to the eyes

of strangers; yet nothing less than his absolute command could have

prevailed with her to wear a dress, that had been designed for such an

offensive purpose, much less to have worn it on this occasion. As she

descended to dinner, the emotion of her mind threw a faint blush over

her countenance, and heightened its interesting expression; for timidity

had made her linger in her apartment, till the utmost moment, and,

when she entered the hall, in which a kind of state dinner was spread,

Montoni and his guests were already seated at the table. She was then

going to place herself by her aunt; but Montoni waved his hand, and two

of the cavaliers rose, and seated her between them.

The eldest of these was a tall man, with strong Italian features, an

aquiline nose, and dark penetrating eyes, that flashed with fire, when

his mind was agitated, and, even in its state of rest, retained somewhat

of the wildness of the passions. His visage was long and narrow, and his

complexion of a sickly yellow.

The other, who appeared to be about forty, had features of a different

cast, yet Italian, and his look was slow, subtle and penetrating; his

eyes, of a dark grey, were small, and hollow; his complexion was a

sun-burnt brown, and the contour of his face, though inclined to oval,

was irregular and ill-formed.

Eight other guests sat round the table, who were all dressed in an

uniform, and had all an expression, more or less, of wild fierceness,

of subtle design, or of licentious passions. As Emily timidly surveyed

them, she remembered the scene of the preceding morning, and again

almost fancied herself surrounded by banditti; then, looking back to

the tranquillity of her early life, she felt scarcely less astonishment,

than grief, at her present situation. The scene, in which they sat,

assisted the illusion; it was an antient hall, gloomy from the style

of its architecture, from its great extent, and because almost the only

light it received was from one large gothic window, and from a pair of

folding doors, which, being open, admitted likewise a view of the west

rampart, with the wild mountains of the Apennine beyond.