The Mysteries of Udolpho

'Alas! unhappy!' said the abbess, 'and ill-informed of our holy

religion!' Emily listened to Agnes, in silent awe, while she still

examined the miniature, and became confirmed in her opinion of its

strong resemblance to the portrait at Udolpho. 'This face is familiar to

me,' said she, wishing to lead the nun to an explanation, yet fearing to

discover too abruptly her knowledge of Udolpho.

'You are mistaken,' replied Agnes, 'you certainly never saw that picture

before.' 'No,' replied Emily, 'but I have seen one extremely like it.'

'Impossible,' said Agnes, who may now be called the Lady Laurentini.

'It was in the castle of Udolpho,' continued Emily, looking stedfastly

at her. 'Of Udolpho!' exclaimed Laurentini, 'of Udolpho in Italy!' 'The same,'

replied Emily. 'You know me then,' said Laurentini, 'and you are the daughter of the

Marchioness.' Emily was somewhat surprised at this abrupt assertion. 'I

am the daughter of the late Mons. St. Aubert,' said she; 'and the lady

you name is an utter stranger to me.' 'At least you believe so,' rejoined Laurentini.

Emily asked what reasons there could be to believe otherwise.

'The family likeness, that you bear her,' said the nun. 'The

Marchioness, it is known, was attached to a gentleman of Gascony, at the

time when she accepted the hand of the Marquis, by the command of her

father. Ill-fated, unhappy woman!'

Emily, remembering the extreme emotion which St. Aubert had betrayed on

the mention of the Marchioness, would now have suffered something more

than surprise, had her confidence in his integrity been less; as it

was, she could not, for a moment, believe what the words of Laurentini

insinuated; yet she still felt strongly interested, concerning them, and

begged, that she would explain them further.

'Do not urge me on that subject,' said the nun, 'it is to me a terrible

one! Would that I could blot it from my memory!' She sighed deeply,

and, after the pause of a moment, asked Emily, by what means she had

discovered her name? 'By your portrait in the castle of Udolpho, to which this miniature

bears a striking resemblance,' replied Emily. '

You have been at Udolpho then!' said the nun, with great emotion.

'Alas! what scenes does the mention of it revive in my fancy--scenes of

happiness--of suffering--and of horror!'

At this moment, the terrible spectacle, which Emily had witnessed in a

chamber of that castle, occurred to her, and she shuddered, while she

looked upon the nun--and recollected her late words--that 'years of

prayer and penitence could not wash out the foulness of murder.' She

was now compelled to attribute these to another cause, than that of

delirium. With a degree of horror, that almost deprived her of sense,

she now believed she looked upon a murderer; all the recollected

behaviour of Laurentini seemed to confirm the supposition, yet Emily was

still lost in a labyrinth of perplexities, and, not knowing how to ask

the questions, which might lead to truth, she could only hint them in

broken sentences.