This worthy Nobleman had never formed a matrimonial connexion, owing to his having experienced a severe disappointment in the early part of his life, which directed him, as the most effectual way of subduing it, into the service of his country.
New avocations now retarded the journey of Enrico for a few days; but more than ever anxious to behold the charming object of his affections, whose fair form too frequently obtruded itself into his thoughts, as well as to learn the cause of her silence, as soon as suitable arrangements were made respecting pecuniary affairs, he proceeded on his journey.
The tender melancholy which pervaded the heart of our hero, was not unmixed with pleasing sensations, when he considered himself as advancing towards that mansion, which he had reason to imagine was inhabited by her, whose presence was sufficient to compensate for the loss of every other valuable connexion, and who, he flattered himself, would mingle the breathings of affection with the blushes of retiring diffidence.
He recollected that he now possessed a competency adequate to all the comforts, if not the luxuries, of life, which, though by no means equal to the merit of the person beloved, was yet, he was convinced, far beyond her desires, as it would, at least, place them, would she deign to listen to his proposals, above mediocrity; but when his mind reverted with painful concern to his lost parent, whose destiny was yet veiled in obscurity, a cloud of premature sadness overshadowed his future prospects. Was she present to congratulate him on his new accessions, and at the same time to confer upon him her orphan charge, how pure, how unmixed, would have been his felicity; and how exquisite would have been her sensations when empowered to bestow such happiness!
Lost in these reflections, Enrico proceeded silently along; nor could the loquacity of Anselmo, who endeavoured to direct his attention towards those "cloud-capped" temples, decayed edifices, and lofty columns, which on every side decorate the Italian landscape, giving sublimity to beauty, withdraw him from thoughtfulness.
Having proceeded for many leagues along the winding borders of the Po, by means of a gondola they crossed the Adda that communicates with the Lago di Como, celebrated by Virgil under the name of Lake Larius, which issuing out at the extremity, loses itself in that river, the grand receptacle of all others, except the Adige, that washes the vernal and fruitful soil of this romantic country. Had Enrico's mind been entirely disengaged from nearer interests, with what solemn emotions of awe and admiration would he have contemplated the scene before him? The vast range of Alps, which serve as a barrier to divide France and Germany from the Italian states, rose in irregular and misshapen forms, some towering till their summits were lost in perpetual obscurity, whilst others were broken into so many steeps and inaccessible precipices, that the traveller, surveying them with that kind of enthusiasm which is peculiar to the admirers of stupendous imagery, feels an affecting kind of horror stealing irresistibly to his heart.
After passing with much difficulty these dangerous acclivities, the soul of Enrico became more animated. Every step he conceived brought him nearer to Laurette; and though still far distant, he imagined the wintry landscape, as he passed the boundaries of Germany, exhibited a less saddened appearance. Hope again brightened his prospects, and scarcely submitting to the delay of stopping for necessary food, he redoubled his speed. A few days brought them within three leagues of the castle, and having proceeded thus far, the travellers were compelled, from the darkness of the night, to put up at a small cottage on the road, meaning to prosecute the remaining part of their journey on the ensuing morning; but Enrico had of late suffered so much mental, as well as bodily fatigue, that he was obliged to remain at the cottage some hours longer than was his intention, and also to take something of a medicinal nature before he was enabled to proceed; though his impatience arose almost to agony when he recollected how inconsiderable was the distance which separated him from Laurette, and yet that he was prevented from being with her, without having even obtained an assurance that she was still in safety. Towards evening, however, the symptoms, which had threatened him with severe indisposition, abated, and, unable to endure the idea of procrastinated happiness when his lovely enchantress was so near, he determined to proceed; and, after bestowing upon the owners of this little asylum many testimonies of gratitude, they continued their journey.
It was night when the travellers arrived within sight of the mansion, and new sensations assailed the mind of Enrico as he surveyed it. From what had passed, he had every reason to believe that he must encounter the displeasure of its possessor by venturing into his presence without a previous invitation, who had never once hinted a desire of being known to him on any former occasion; but the force of his attachment soon weakened these unpleasant surmises, and as nearer interests succeeded in his thoughts, he wondered how they had ever troubled him. When Enrico had reached the high wall which encompassed the castle, his heart beat high with expectation. He attempted to open the arched door which had before given him admission; it gave way to his touch; and desiring Anselmo to attend to the horses till he received orders to the contrary, he advanced rapidly through the grounds. The moon, which before gave only a pale and uncertain light, now shrunk beneath a cloud, and it was with much difficulty that he was enabled to proceed through the numerous shrubberies and low coppices, which were every where scattered around. The path he had chosen, though the most direct one leading to the portico, was winding and irregular, frequently intercepted with small clumps of juniper, almond, and pomgranate, or with knots of variegated evergreens, which, in a more favourable season, perfumed the air with their fragrance. When arrived at the principal entrance, he knocked, but the summons was unanswered; he listened, but no step was to be heard; fear and mistrust, with a thousand melancholy accompaniments, were now communicated to his mind. He surveyed the front of the edifice; no lights appeared at the windows. He ascended the solarium, and looked through the glass door that opened into the terrace-parlour, which the Signora d'Orfo and her fair friend formerly occupied when alone; but it was deserted, and even the lamps, which used to be hung in the balconies, were removed. Impatience now arose to the most painful solicitude; he knocked again and again, but without better success, and at length becoming desperate by this cruel disappointment, endeavoured to scale the wall inclosing the court which led to the portal. After many ineffectual attempts, he succeeded in his desires; but the enterprise was a dangerous one, and as he alighted on the other side, something placed there for the purpose lacerated his leg. The pain, though acute, was disregarded; but the blood, which flowed fast from the wound, obliged him to apply his handkerchief as a bandage to the part till assistance could be procured. This accident, though it retarded the execution, tended not to subdue the energy of his resolves. He bounded instantly towards the door, and knowing that a bell, resounding through one whole wing of the building, was here the signal of approach, he repeated the alarm, and in a few minutes had the consolation of hearing footsteps approaching slowly along the hall. The door was now opened by a male servant, whom Enrico never remembered to have seen during his former residence in the castle, who, after surveying him with surprise, demanded his business. In a voice rendered tremulous by emotion, he inquired for Laurette, and was informed that she had eloped from the mansion without the knowledge of the family, and was gone no one could tell whither.
To describe the sensations of the unfortunate Chevalier at this moment, would demand powers of expression beyond the utmost eloquence of language. He rushed into the castle in spite of the efforts of the domestic, who endeavoured to prevent his design, and hastening along the hall, stopped at the door of the saloon. He attempted to open it, but it was locked. The Marchese and the Signora were then assuredly removed, and whither must he go for information. The servant, by whom he was admitted, having never seen him before, being entirely ignorant of his intentions from the circumstance of his scaling the wall, as well as the wildness of his looks, took him for a maniac, and had left him to pursue his own inclinations only whilst he acquai
nted his fellows with the adventure.
Lost in bewildering conjecture, Enrico stood with his eyes unconsciously fixed upon the deserted apartments in a state of total inaction; for surprise had deprived him of the power of exertion, and made him sensible only of his own misfortunes and disappointment. One solitary lamp, suspended from the ceiling in a central situation, which cast a dim and partial light, scarcely dissipated the gloom that was every where visible; but his mind was too much wounded to feel the effect of accidental events, though all around appeared melancholy, hopeless, and blank as his destiny.
The few remaining domestics now crowded about the forlorn traveller, some to demand his business at that lone and silent hour, and others to prove the truth of the assertion, by discovering whether he was really touched with insanity. Extreme agony of mind prevented Enrico from immediately undeceiving them; but recollecting the necessity of recalling some portion of that resisting fortitude, which love only could have weakened, he repeated his inquiries with all the calmness he could command, and finally, by declaring his name, endeavoured to make himself known. This avowal roused one of the women that followed in the rear, who elevating her lamp as she advanced nearer, for the purpose of examining his countenance, let it fall suddenly from her hand, exclaiming, in evident astonishment, that it was indeed the Chevalier Chamont. Somewhat animated by the certainty that he was remembered, at least, by one of the domestics, Enrico made a second attempt at recomposing his spirits; and having requested that she would indulge him with a few moments" conversation alone, she opened the door of the terrace-parlour to give him admittance, whilst the rest stole silently away.
Fanchette, which was the name of the servant, possessing much natural kindness, was easily prevailed upon to give him an audience; and when she beheld his wild, unsettled appearance, and the many symptoms of distress which marked his dejected features, compassion was so warmly excited in her bosom, that, had it been in her power to have offered him consolation, she would have bestowed it with pleasure.
The Marchese, as well as Ambrose, had confidently affirmed that Laurette had voluntarily escaped from the castle ever since her departure, and had taken much pains to circulate this report among the servants; and as she had not been seen by any one but Paoli and Ambrose after having left the pavilion, the probability of the assertion was apparently justified; though Fanchette observed, that the steward's quitting the castle at so early an hour in the morning, without giving some previous intimation of his intentions, appeared somewhat mysterious. The sudden removal of the fair orphan, in whose fate all were interested, had been a subject of surprise and conjecture in those apartments appropriated to the use of the servants ever since the event had taken place. Various opinions were received and propagated, which were faithfully recited by Fanchette; but from these nothing was to be gathered that might lead to a future discovery. Plunged still deeper in despair, the disconsolate Enrico could scarcely be prevailed upon to continue in the castle during the night, so anxious was he to commence his pursuit of Laurette, however hopeless the attempt.
Having at length reluctantly assented to Fancliette's wishes, who kindly applied something of an healing quality to his leg, which was found upon examination to be very slightly injured, Anselmo's horses were ordered into the stable, and he into the kitchen, to partake of a comfortable repast, and the warmth of a blazing fire. Enrico's mind was too much disturbed with internal conflicts to attend to the wants of Nature, and throwing himself upon one of those sofas, on which in happier times he had often sat with Laurette, he yielded to all the melancholy forebodings of his agitated breast.
CHAPTER IV
Oh thievish night!
Why shouldst thou, but for some felonious ends.
In thy dark lantern thus close up the stars
That Nature hung in Heaven, and fill'd their lamps
With everlasting oil, to give due light
To the misled and lonely traveller?
For their way
Lies through the perplex'd path of this drear wood;
The nodding horror of whose shady brow
Threats the forlorn and wand'ring passenger.
-MILTON
Unable to obtain even a moment's repose, Enrico arose with the dawn of early day, and being determined to go instantly in search of Laurette, roused his servant from a comfortable sleep into which he had recently fallen, with orders for him to prepare to accompany him on his new expedition. Anselmo hastily obeyed the summons, and the unfortunate travellers, being again mounted, commenced their hopeless journey.
It was a dreary December morning, and the grey heavy mists that loaded the atmosphere brought on a cold and drizly rain. The woods were now disrobed of their honours; no choral harmony resounded through the desolated branches; all was melancholy, repose, and silence! With no guide but chance, and without having obtained any intelligence that could serve as a clue to discovery, the wretched Enrico traversed the barren hills and humid values, in a state of mind that partook of agony. A thousand vague conjectures passed across his mind as he continued to ruminate upon the subject. Sometimes he imagined that the Marchese had conceived a passion for Laurette, and had adopted this plan at once to separate her from the Signora, and to deceive the domestics; at others, he conceived it probable that she had made a voluntary escape to avoid falling a victim to his artifice, which, he naturally believed, had been already exerted for the accomplishment of her destruction. But why was the promise she made to him on parting disregarded? Why did she not inform him of her danger, and accept of his protection? A slight emotion of indignation accompanied this reflection; she might be false, her affections might be another's, or, what was still more probable, they might never have been his.
This apprehension brought with it a pang more acute, but it was only momentary. He recollected the touching expression of her countenance when he tore himself from the castle, the sweet languishment of her charming eyes as they followed him towards the portico, and the tears and speaking blushes that graced her last innocent farewells. These had been indelibly impressed upon his memory ever since he had parted from her in every distressing emergency; and amidst all the cross accidents and unexpected calamities which he experienced, these sweet remembrances conveyed a cordial to his wounded spirits.
Thinking that some information might possibly be obtained from the peasantry, should they have providentially taken the same road as the lovely young fugitive, they did not permit a village or town to escape their inquiries;—but no one had seen any person the least answering to the description; and a few incoherent words, accompanied by a stare of idle curiosity, was frequently the only answer they received. Wounded where he was the most vulnerable, the distracted Chevalier suffered the keenest anguish that circumstance could inflict: it was too deep for utterance; but the wildness of his aspect, and the settled paleness of his countenance, discovered the inward working of his mind.
As it advanced towards mid-day, the rain gradually ceased, the sun looked meekly from the south, and a cold driving wind assisted in dissipating the mists, which had enveloped the faded features of the landscape. As Enrico surveyed the cheerless face of Nature, and contrasted it with its summer appearance, he could not forbear applying this melancholy change to his own more desolate situation; and sighing deeply as the idea occurred, he turned involuntarily round to contemplate the whole of the prospect, and observed, as his eyes glanced towards those vast mountains that rise in all forms and directions in this picturesque country, that which he had once rambled over with Laurette, crowned with the rustic church. A thousand mournful reflections were now communicated to his mind:—where was the sweet wanderer gone, who appeared like the Hebe of that secluded retreat? If alone, how could she avoid danger? And if conveyed away by stratagem, how was it possible she should escape from it? The more he reflected upon the subject, the more improbable it appeared that he should ever meet with her again; yet he steadily resolved never to relinquish the pursuit, since life without her, who cou
ld only make it desirable, would be a tasteless potion.
Several leagues had been traversed without any material event, in which time no intelligence had been obtained, though they stopped at all the inns and cottages on the road, as well as at the convents, to renew their inquiries.
Anselmo, who was naturally volatile, preserved throughout the whole of the journey a respectful silence. He perceived that his beloved master's uneasiness was too deep to be diverted from its source, and could only be removed by the success of the enterprise, or by the slow, but certain, effects of time. Knowing with what reluctance he stopped to obtain a sufficient portion of food, the wary servant had procured unknown to Enrico three flasks of Florence wine, the best that part of the country afforded, which he secured in his wallet, to be in readiness in case of emergency.
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) Page 364
