Father Morris, when Abelard and Evelina confessed to him the following
morning the strange spectre they had witnessed, treated the whole as
the mere vision of their heated imaginations, and refusing to listen
to any of their surmises respecting it, prepared to attend the Queen,
who, finding herself sufficiently recovered to be able to attend to the
duties of religion, had, from the general reputation of his superior
sanctity, sent for him to confess her. Her Majesty, indeed, seemed
rapidly improving, and the hopes of Edmund reviving with her health, he
passed every hour he could abstract from the duties of his station, at
the feet of his adored Elvira, his love for whom, seemed increased by
the imminence of the danger he had just escaped, of losing her for ever.
In this manner several days had passed, and the strange visit of the
Mummy, and the accident of the Queen, had already taken their place
on the shelf with the other _événements passés_ of the day; when one
morning Sir Ambrose was startled by an earnest message from the Duke
of Cornwall, entreating him to come to him without delay. Sir Ambrose
immediately obeyed the summons, and found the duke walking up and down
his study in a state of the greatest agitation, which Father Morris was
vainly endeavouring to tranquillize.
"Oh, my beloved friend!" exclaimed the duke, springing forward and
grasping the baronet's hand the moment he saw him approach: "my dear
Sir Ambrose, Claudia is no more!"
"Dead!" cried Sir Ambrose, involuntarily looking at Father Morris,
whose aspect, however, still preserved only its usual cold and
statue-like appearance. "Are you sure that she is dead?--I thought she
was better."
"So we all did," said the duke: "but alas! we deceived ourselves, for
Father Morris has just seen her expire. Oh! where is Edmund--why is he
not with you?--what will become of him? It will destroy him to lose
Elvira: and I, too, that have felt so proud in the expectation of his
becoming my son-in-law, oh, it will break my heart!"
"Oh!" cried Father Murphy, who was also present; "and if that's the
case, why don't you let Rosabella take the crown at once, and make no
more fuss about it."
"And yet," continued the duke, "I cannot bear that Elvira should be
deprived of her right, she would so become a crown; and with her
inflexible sense of justice, and desire for improvement, she would do
so much good that I should not feel justified in depriving the country
of such a sovereign."
"Thus," said Father Morris, smiling, "do we deceive ourselves; you
are ambitious whilst you think that you are only just. Believe me,
if you consult Elvira's real happiness, you will not impose upon her
the troublesome duties of a crown: she will make a better wife than a
queen; for her gentle nature is less fitted to command than to obey.
Rosabella has more firmness."
"I do not agree with you, Father," said Sir Ambrose; "in my opinion
Elvira is infinitely better fitted to be a queen than Rosabella, for
her passions are more under the control of reason."
"That is to say," resumed the monk, sneeringly, "they have not yet been
called into play."
"What do you mean, Father?" began the duke.
"Nothing that could give you offence, my Lord," returned the priest.
"Disgusted myself with the world, I naturally thought the princess most
likely to find happiness where I seek it myself--viz. in a life of
quiet and retirement."
"Enough," said the duke: "but where is Edmund? Let us seek him; no
doubt he is with Elvira--poor things! we must spoil their billing and
cooing."
Edmund was with Elvira, and was passionately urging his suit, whilst
she, engaged with her embroidery frame, listened with a half abstracted
mind, and Emma duteously waited behind her chair.
"You do not love me," said he, "or you could not answer with such
provoking coldness."
"Indeed I do, Edmund, but you are so unreasonable. I have already told
you I have no idea of that passionate overwhelming love you appear to
feel, it absolutely terrifies me, and I am sure it is not natural to my
character.--This silk is too dark, Emma--and so, Edmund, if you feel
you cannot be happy with such love as it is in my power to bestow, we
had better determine at once to separate."
"Good God!" exclaimed Edmund, striking his forehead violently with his
clenched hand; "how coldly you talk of our separation!"
"What can I do? I try every thing in my power to please you. Emma, give
me my scissors. But since you will not hear reason--"
"Reason!" cried Edmund fiercely, seizing her arm, and then letting it
go again; "If you talk of reason you will drive me distracted!"
"You quite terrify me with your violence, Edmund," said Elvira, rising,
and preparing to quit the room.
"Oh stay! stay, my adored Elvira!" exclaimed Lord Edmund, throwing
himself upon his knees and catching her hand; "for Heaven's sake, stay!
pardon my impetuosity--frown upon me, treat me with coldness, disdain,
or contempt, but do not, do not leave me."
"I do not know what you wish; I have repeatedly told you I am ready to
become your wife whenever our parents think fit; and that I will do
every thing in my power to make you happy. Do you call that coldness?"
"I do--I do indeed: freezing, insulting coldness. Oh, Elvira! I would
rather see you spurn me--hear you declare you hated me, or know that
you doomed me to destruction, than hear you speak of our marriage in
that calm, unvaried tone."
"How unreasonable you are!" said Elvira, smiling. "Hear him, Emma; is
he not a singular being? And if I find it so difficult to please him
now, what must I expect when I become his wife?"
"Tormenting girl!" exclaimed Edmund, "you know your power but too well."
"What ridiculous creatures these lords of the creation are!" said
Elvira, playfully holding out her hand to Edmund, though she still
affected to address Emma; "I really don't think any of them know what
they would have; and I believe the only way to manage them is to make
one's-self perfectly disagreeable."
"That _you_ can never do," cried Edmund, rapturously kissing her hand.
At this moment a slight tap at the door announced the arrival of the
duke and his friends.
"So, so!" said the duke, "we have found you, have we? but you must take
your leave of such tender scenes for the future."
"What do you mean?" asked Edmund.
"The Queen is dead," said Sir Ambrose. The glowing countenance of
Edmund turned of a ghastly paleness; and his livid lips quivered, as he
leaned against the window for support.
"Assist him!" cried the duke. "He will faint! Don't distress yourself,
Edmund; the death of Claudia shall make no alteration in your
prospects."
"I am better," said Edmund faintly, attempting to smile, and waving off
all assistance; "'Twas but for a moment: the suddenness of the shock
overcame me: I thought the Queen was better."
"She was supposed so," returned the duke; "but it seems she had some
internal malady her physicians were not aware of. An inward bruise, I
believe. But don't make yourself unhappy about it, Edmund; I cannot
bear to see you wretched. Let Rosabella take the crown, and think no
more about it."
"Your Grace wrongs me," said Edmund, his fine countenance glowing
with the exalted feelings of his soul. "However I may suffer from the
violence of my feelings, I can never permit them to interfere with
my sense of duty. Elvira has a right to ascend the throne, and if my
exertions can ensure her success, she shall be Queen."
"Thou art a brave lad!" cried the duke. "And will you really try to
secure the election of Elvira, when you know, by so doing, you will
deprive yourself of her for ever?"
"I shall do my duty," said Lord Edmund, pressing his lips firmly
together, as though to suppress his feelings. Father Morris looked at
him from under his over-shadowing cowl with a kind of sardonic smile,
which seemed to say "You speak well, but let us see how you will act."
"My noble Edmund!" murmured Sir Ambrose, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Elvira's eyes thanked her lover for his disinterestedness; and the
glow of anticipated triumph which flushed her cheeks, betrayed, that
neither her love for Edmund, nor the grief for the loss of her cousin,
could suppress her joy at the flattering prospect opened before her.
"Elvira!" said Lord Edmund, gazing upon her earnestly, as though he
would penetrate the inmost recesses of her bosom. "What are your
wishes? Do not hesitate to declare them, for alas! much hangs upon your
words."
Elvira blushed, and cast her eyes upon the ground; however, Lord Edmund
comprehended but too well the meaning of her silence, and he sighed
deeply. "It is enough," said he, in a mournful tone; "then the die is
cast." He paused a few moments, whilst his friends, though they all
looked at him with the deepest commiseration, respected his emotion
too much to venture to interrupt it: then rousing himself, he hastily
brushed a tear from his eye, and exclaimed, "How weak is human nature!
I know my duty, and I will perform it; but yet--Oh Elvira!"
"Compose yourself, my beloved Edmund," said his father; "to-morrow you
will be more calm."
"Oh, talk not of to-morrow!" replied Edmund; "to-day is the season for
action. Keep the death of Claudia concealed a few hours, if possible. I
will in the mean time assemble my friends: I know the army is devoted
to me. A council of state will be chosen to direct the kingdom during
the interregnum. I must be one of its members: some weeks must elapse
before the election can take place, I think?"
"Three months is the time fixed," said the duke: "but you know the
votes of all the people are to be collected, and that, with such a
population as ours, will be no trifle: to be sure, it is the deputies
that are to do the business, but then it will take some time to elect
them."
"When the founder of the present dynasty ordained her successor should
be chosen by the votes of the whole people," said Sir Ambrose; "she
wisely recollected the difficulty that must arise from collecting their
votes impartially, and directed they should elect deputies; but when
she ordered that every ten thousand men throughout the kingdom should
choose a deputy of their own rank and station to come to London to
represent them, she did not calculate upon the immensity of our present
population, nor think of the evils the presence of such a disorderly
body of men must bring upon the capital."
"Yet any attempt to reduce their number, would inevitably overturn
the government," observed Father Morris; "for as it is the only act
of freedom the people have long been permitted to enjoy, they will be
proportionably tenacious of it."
"And the majority of these deputies are to decide the election," said
Edmund, musing; "then our business must be to secure that majority.
Think you that any good can be done by endeavouring to procure the
return of those who are disposed to be favourable to us?"
"Very little," returned Father Morris, to whom this observation was
addressed; "for the lower classes, from their conceit and pedantry, are
extremely difficult to manage. Their deputies, however, notwithstanding
the ordinance of the Queen, will probably be more polished, and less
learned, as the lower classes will be ill able to spare the time
necessary to become deputies, whilst the country gentlemen will be
delighted to obtain something to do."
"We must be prompt," said the duke, "at all events. I don't like delay."
"True!" replied Edmund, starting from a reverie into which he had
fallen; "I must get myself nominated a member of the council, and we
must arrange our other plans afterwards."
The party now separated, and Elvira, left alone with her companion,
indulged in dreams of future grandeur. "I am sorry for the death
of Claudia," said she, "but I never loved her; she was so cold and
uninteresting--such a mere matter-of-fact being--she had no soul, Emma,
and how can one love a being so totally passionless and insipid? I
wonder," continued she, after a short pause, "what Henry Seymour will
think of this?"
Emma smiled. "Poor Lord Edmund!" said she.
"I know what you would say," returned Elvira; "I am sorry for him, and
I admire his conduct extremely. There is really something very noble
about him."
Emma again smiled, for she saw, in spite of this admiration, that in a
week poor Lord Edmund would be forgotten.
In the mean time, poor Rosabella's mind was a prey to the most violent
passions. A billet from Father Morris had informed her of the death of
her cousin, and of the designs brooding against her interests. "I will
be revenged," said she; "I will show them mine is not a soul to dwell
upon impotent grief. I will assemble my friends; my father's party was
strong in the state; it cannot be quite extinct. Let me see, to whom
shall I apply?"
"The Lords Noodle and Doodle (both of ancient families) were both
devoted to your father, and were under great obligations to him when
they were young," observed Marianne.
"But they are such fools!" said Rosabella.
"They are well connected," returned her confidant; "and power does not
always attend upon talent."
"True, and, as they are so weak, I may guide them as I will."
"Do not rely upon that: folly is generally obstinate; and though there
may be hopes of convincing a man of sense, fools will always have their
own way."
"How then are they to be dealt with?"
"By letting them fancy they direct, when, in fact, they are directed.
Apply to Lords Noodle and Doodle, as though for advice, more than
assistance. Consult them how you ought to act, and suggest the
advantages that will arise from your possessing the throne so artfully,
that they may fancy what you say the dictates of their own minds, and
then, if they advise any course, they in some measure pledge themselves
to support you, if you pursue it."
"I do not doubt obtaining their sanction, and that of Lord Gustavus
de Montfort; but I wish I could also obtain the countenance of Dr.
Hardman, for he has many friends, and some talents," said Rosabella;
"and I own I do not feel satisfied to trust myself entirely in the
hands of any of the others."
"Talk of liberty and public spirit," replied Marianne; "promise a
redress of grievances, and a radical reform of all evils, and you may
secure Dr. Hardman. Yet he is not a fool; nay, he is even shrewd,
penetrating, and persevering; but as lunatics are generally mad only
upon one subject, so even men of sense have generally some prevailing
folly, and his is, that of being thought of importance in the state.
Indeed, in my opinion, there are very few human beings that we may not
make subservient to our views, if we have but penetration enough to
discover their weak sides, and art enough to avail ourselves of the
discovery."
"The world is very much obliged to you for the high opinion you have of
it," returned Rosabella; "however, I like your advice, and will pursue
it. But do you think Father Morris will approve?"
"Oh, I will answer for him," interrupted Marianne.
"I will then write to each of the three lords," continued Rosabella;
"and appoint a time and place for an interview with each. I must attend
to the doctor afterwards."
"Beware," said Marianne; "you have a difficult game to play. The old
proverb says, it is well to have two strings to one's bow; but four, I
fear, will be too much for you to manage."
"Fear me not," cried her mistress; "impetuous as I generally am, I can
be cautious when I see occasion."
In pursuance of her resolution, Rosabella wrote to the noblemen, whose
assistance she wished to secure; and receiving favourable answers, the
hour of twelve that night was fixed upon for a secret meeting between
Lord Gustavus and herself upon the subject. The utmost secrecy was
requisite, as Rosabella knew the fiery temper of her uncle, and felt
confident, that if he discovered her plans before they were ripe for
execution, his vengeance would have no bounds. She wished, therefore,
to ascertain her strength privately; and, as she was aware a fruitless
struggle would only involve her in ruin, she resolved not to betray her
intentions till there appeared at least a fair prospect of success.
For this reason, when the duke informed her of the death of the Queen,
she affected only the surprise she might naturally be supposed to feel
at the suddenness of the event; and appeared absorbed in grief for the
loss of her cousin, without seeming even to think of the consequences
likely to ensue to herself; in short, she acted her part so well, that
the duke was completely deceived; and when he returned to Sir Ambrose,
after his conference with her, he exclaimed, "We had no occasion to
alarm ourselves, or give ourselves so much trouble: I don't believe
Rosabella even thinks about the throne; and I am sure she doesn't care
a straw whether she has it or not. I am even confident, from what I
have seen to-night, that I have only to express my wishes in favour of
Elvira, to have her resign all pretensions immediately."
Sir Ambrose smiled and shook his head incredulously, and the duke was
provoked; for, like all weak, obstinate men, he was extremely tenacious
of the infallibility of his judgment.
"Why do you shake your head?" said he; "Do you disbelieve my assertion?"
"I do not disbelieve your assertion; I only doubt your penetration!"
"And why do you doubt that?"
"Because I know Rosabella."
"Then you think her indifference affected?"
"I think it too great to be real. Moderation is not by any means a
characteristic of Rosabella. She is ever in extremes; and when she
appears otherwise, depend upon it she is only acting a part, and she
has some end in view that she hopes to gain by it."
"Well, let her be as sly as she will, she cannot deceive me! I'll watch
her! I'll defy her to think, walk, look, or speak, without my knowing
of it; and if I find she nourishes even the thought of rivalling
Elvira, she shall quit my house immediately. I will encourage no
vipers."
Sir Ambrose smiled inwardly at the mistaken confidence of his friend
in his own judgment. Thinking it useless, however, to irritate him
by farther opposition, he endeavoured to turn the conversation upon
another subject. "It is strange," said he, "how frequently I have been
thinking of that Mummy. If there be no deception in the business, it is
a perfect miracle!"
"And what deception can there be?" returned the duke, peevishly:
"you think yourself so very wise, and that you know so much better
than other people, only because you are always suspecting something
wrong. Now, for my part, I think, as poor Dr. Entwerfen used to say,
'Incredulity is often as much the offspring of folly as credulity'!"
"I wonder what has become of the doctor and Edric? for, ill as Edric
behaved, he is still my son; and I own I should like to know where he
is."
"Oh! I don't think you have the least occasion in the world to trouble
yourself about him. Depend upon it, he and his mad friend, Doctor
Entwerfen are rambling about Egypt, and are happier now than ever they
were before in their lives."
"If you are right," said Sir Ambrose, "and they are now in Egypt; as
they have lost their balloon, they may be even in want of necessaries."
"And it is very right they should be so," replied the duke; "what
business had they to go away?"
The hours of this eventful day rolled on heavily with Rosabella; the
important consequences of the struggle she was about to engage in
forcibly impressed her mind. Ruin must inevitably ensue if she failed,
and even if she succeeded, her path seemed strewed with thorns. The
anxiety natural to the intrigues she was about to be involved in,
also hung about her. Though haughty and vindictive, Rosabella was
not naturally deceitful. Indeed the very violence and impetuosity of
her passions rendered it difficult for her to appear otherwise than
she really was. The secret intercourse, however, which, through the
intervention of Marianne, she had long maintained with Father Morris,
had somewhat practised her in concealment, but it was still repugnant
to her nature. She was now anxiously expecting a visit from the
reverend father, and as he was generally remarkably punctual to his
appointments, his non-appearance filled her with a sensation of dread;
and a presentiment of evil crept over her, that she tried in vain to
overcome.
"It is long past the hour the father mentioned," said Marianne, after
a long pause, during which she had been listening with the utmost
attention to every sound. "I cannot imagine the cause of his absence.
Surely our plans have not been discovered." And as she spoke, her
blanched cheeks and livid lips betrayal the deep interest she took in
his fate.
"How gloomily that heavy bell clangs in my ear!" said Rosabella; "it
seems to ring the death-knell of my hopes. A gloomy foreboding hangs
upon my mind, and undefinable horrors rise in dim perspective before
me."
"Hark!" cried Marianne, her sense of hearing sharpened by anxiety; "he
comes! yes, yes, he comes," added she, after a short pause; and in a
few seconds Rosabella heard the Father's well-known step. "You are very
late," said she, as he entered the room.
"Good God! what is the matter?" asked Marianne, as the haggard,
agitated features of the priest met her eye. "You look like one who has
held communion with infernal spirits."
"You say right, Marianne," replied the Father, in a deep hollow tone;
"I have, indeed, conversed with spirits--for never could those fearful
eyes that so long have glared upon me, belong to mortal."
"What do you mean?" asked Rosabella.
"I have again seen the Mummy! that fearful spectre from the tomb. I
have even conversed with him, and he lives and breathes; nay even
reasons, thinks, and speaks like a human being; but the cerecloths of
the grave are still wrapped round him, his fearful eyes glare with
unearthly lustre, and his deep sepulchral voice thrills through every
nerve."
"What, that horrid creature whom we saw descend from above at the very
moment of Claudia's accident? Heaven grant no horrible consequences may
ensue from so awful an invasion of the general laws of nature!" said
Rosabella.
"Are you certain it is no deception?" asked Marianne.
"Deception!" returned the priest, "even I trembled, Marianne, when I
gazed upon the countenance of that tremendous being, and read there
the traces of fierce and ungoverned passions, wild and destructive in
their course as the raging whirlwind. Even I, dreaded the influence he
might exert upon our destinies, and shuddered at the thought of such
a creature's being released from the fetters of the tomb, and sent
back as a destroying spirit upon earth. The eternal gloom that hangs
upon his brow, seems to bespeak a fallen angel, for such is the deadly
hate that must have animated the rebellious spirits when expelled
from heaven. His look is terrific; and my blood froze in my veins at
his horrid laugh, which seemed to ring in my ears like the mockery of
fiends when they have involved a human being inextricably in their
toils."
"It may be a fiend," murmured Marianne, in a low whisper. At this
moment, the clock struck twelve.
Rosabella started at the sound. "Lord Gustavus will expect me," cried
she.
"Go, then," replied the priest, "with Marianne. I will follow
presently."
With trembling limbs, beating heart, and all the trepidation which the
consciousness of guilt cannot fail to give even to the firmest mind,
Rosabella and Marianne proceeded to the terrace, where they found Lord
Gustavus waiting to receive them.
"You may think it strange, my Lord," said the agitated princess, as she
advanced, leaving her confidant at the gate which led from the garden,
"that I should desire this meeting."
"By no means--by no means," said Lord Gustavus, condescendingly.
"Indeed, I have already had some conversation with an emissary of
yours, that has let me into your views; and I find from him your ideas
upon several important subjects are so clear, so just, so sensible, and
so accordant with my own, that I feel disposed to become your partizan,
even before you utter a syllable."
"And who is this emissary?" asked Rosabella, unable to account for a
reception so unexpectedly gracious, and alarmed at what she feared a
premature exposure of her plans.
"Father Morris," replied Lord Gustavus, alarmed in his turn, lest he
should have unguardedly committed himself: "he told me, he was an
accredited agent of yours, and even induced me to--to--"
"Your Lordship need not hesitate," returned Rosabella; "I was not
aware, that Father Morris had seen you, or I should not have expressed
surprise."
"I have been induced then," said Lord Gustavus, "to bring with me
two friends of mine, Lord Maysworth and Dr. Hardman. They are fully
convinced of the justness of your ideas respecting retrenchment and
reform; and they think your plans of curtailing the expenditure, by
throwing all the power of the state into the hands of a few trustworthy
individuals, upon whom you may thoroughly rely, (such as them or
myself, for instance,) most excellent."
Poor Rosabella was here completely puzzled, as she had not the
slightest idea of what plan Lord Gustavus could possibly allude to;
nor indeed was it probable she should, it being entirely the offspring
of the creative brain of Father Morris, invented by him solely for the
purpose of the winning of the noble lords, to whom he had confided
it, over to her party. Rosabella was naturally quick, and, possessing
abundantly that very unexplainable, but well-known faculty, designated
"tact," she instantly divined the motive that had induced Father Morris
to attribute this scheme to her, and determined to avoid, if possible,
betraying her ignorance.
Lord Maysworth and Dr. Hardman, who had remained at a little distance,
and whom the agitation of Rosabella had prevented her before seeing,
now advanced; and after having been presented to the princess, the
former assured her of his devotion to her cause.
"I admire your ideas exceedingly," said he; "and particularly your
intention of removing Lord Edmund from the command of the army, and
placing an older and more experienced person in his stead."
"Lord Edmund!" cried Rosabella, thrown off her guard by the sudden
mention of that name.
"Father Morris told me so," resumed Lord Maysworth, in surprise.
"And he told you truly," interrupted Rosabella. "Father Morris is
worthy of all the confidence I can repose in him; and, in fact, he
knows my inmost thoughts; but I was not aware that he had seen you."
A conversation now ensued, in the course of which Lord Maysworth
detailed, with admirable minuteness, a variety of subjects calling for
reform. Rosabella did not understand half he said, for his calculations
bewildered her; and her mind, accustomed to soar with the eagle
flight of genius, and take in oceans with a glance, could scarcely
condescend to listen to the petty articles of economy in expenditure,
to which it seemed principally his object to draw her attention. She
assented, however, to all he said; and having let him speak as long as
he liked, without showing symptoms of weariness, and having luckily
said 'yes' and 'no' in the right places, he departed quite enchanted,
and completely gained over to her party, declaring her to be, without
exception, one of the most sensible young women he had ever conversed
with in his life. To this, Lord Gustavus and Dr. Hardman assented, as
she had appeared also to acquiesce in all they had said; and the noble
lords and learned doctor departed perfectly satisfied.
Scarcely were they gone, when Father Morris appeared. "My dear father!"
exclaimed Rosabella, enraptured at the result of the interview,
"congratulate me! Lord Maysworth, Dr. Hardman, and Lord Gustavus, are
our own."
"I rejoice sincerely, my child," returned the priest; "for Heaven knows
I feel as great an interest in your welfare as in my own. But what did
they say? Let us hear if your hopes are well founded."
"At first their expressions were rather of a negative nature--for they
told me rather that a party existed against my rival, than for myself.
They say the duke has many enemies, from his obstinate and conceited
disposition; they said also that my father _had_ had many friends."
"And do they exist no longer then, that you lay such emphasis on the
word _had_?'" asked Father Morris bitterly.
"They exist, but it seems my father has been so unfortunate as to lose
their friendship," returned Rosabella; "Lord Gustavus even alluded to
some crime, which he said he had committed."
"Crime! Did he dare to call it crime?"
"He did indeed, and it is not possible to describe the torture
that rent my bosom as he spoke. I always knew my father had been
unfortunate, but I never before even suspected him of having been
guilty."
"Nor was he guilty, girl! none but fools or idiots dare breathe such an
accusation against his name."
"Ten thousand blessings on you for relieving my mind from the agony of
believing him unworthy of my love. I am perfectly satisfied with your
assurance; and yet, methinks, I would fain know his history."
"Rosabella, you never knew your father; you were but three years
old when circumstances occurred that urged him to commit a deed
of desperation. Seek not to inquire farther; and endeavour, since
misfortune has thrown a shade over your father's name, to redeem it by
the lustre of your own."
"As an obscure individual, whatever might be my will, power would be
wanting."
"But it shall not be wanting. You shall be Queen. I swear it, though
all the powers of heaven and earth should unite to oppose my designs,
and though even blood should be necessary to seal the compact--"
He was going on when a fiendish laugh rang in his ears; and, looking
up, he beheld the gigantic form of Cheops standing over him. The bright
moonbeams showed, with horrible distinctness, the strange attire,
savage features, and unearthly gaze of the Mummy, as his horrid laugh
echoed from the wall behind them and pealed across the water. Rosabella
had not before seen him, except when she knelt before the dying Queen;
and, shrieking with horror, she fled for refuge to her uncle's garden,
whilst Cheops thus tauntingly addressed the priest.
"You were conspiring mischief. Though the language your lips employed
was unknown to me, that of your looks was clear. Men do not cast their
eyes upon the earth, and murmur forth their accents as though they
trembled at the sound of their own voices, when their purposes are
such as will bear avowal. Make me your confidant, and by the aid of
my serpent deity, my guardian Cneph, I may assist you: but force me
to become your enemy, and Typhon himself never pursued Isis and the
infant Horus with more unrelenting vengeance than I will follow you and
destroy your plans."
Dreading alike to trust, or enrage this mysterious being, and cursing
the evil chance that had led him to that spot, Father Morris, who, like
all the English in those days, was an universal linguist, found himself
obliged partially to obey this injunction, and inform the Mummy of his
design. Cheops burst into one of his terrific laughs of derision. "And
so," he said, "you would make yonder feeble girl who fled screaming
at my approach, a Queen. A fit monarch for a warlike people. Can a
woman's arm resist an invasion of the Palli, or a woman's hands direct
the reins of Mizraim's government? Alas! alas! where am I wandering?
I forgot the change wrought in my destiny, and that your people seem
powerless as the sovereign you would give them. Be satisfied, I will
not betray thee. Indeed, so do I hate thy countrymen, that I shall
rejoice to see thee triumph in deceiving them. Beware, however, how
thou attemptest to deceive me, lest my vengeance, quick, sure, and
unforeseen as the secret agency of the Epoptæ, should fall upon and
crush thee at the very moment of the fruition of thy wishes."
Fearing, whilst he hated the mysterious being thus strangely thrust
into his most inmost secrets, Father Morris promised obedience, and the
Mummy retreated within the walls of Mrs. Montagu's garden; ere he left
the priest, however, he held out his hand to him. "Give me your hand,"
said he, "and let us seal our compact." Father Morris shuddered as he
obeyed; for the words of the Mummy recalled those he had just employed,
when this fearful apparition broke in upon him, and brought with them
a train of thoughts he would now willingly have shaken off. He did not
dare, however, to refuse, and reluctantly held out his hand: the Mummy
seized it with an iron grasp, and an icy chill seemed to creep from his
hand to Father Morris's heart, as he burst into one of his demon-like
laughs and left him.
Father Morris, unable to shake off the horror that oppressed him,
for he felt as though he had entered into a compact with a fiend,
stood gazing at the supernatural appearance of Cheops as he stalked
across the terrace. His gaunt figure (rendered more awful by the
grave-clothes that bound it) was magnified in the moonbeams, which
seemed to increase, rather than to mitigate the unearthly ugliness
of the apparition they shone upon. The priest was fixed in a fearful
trance: in imagination, he still felt the cold and iron grasp of
the Mummy, whose eyes seemed as though they were still looking into
his very soul, and whose solemn accents were even now scaring his
faculties. At length, however, Father Morris recovered something of
his self-possession, and fled from the spot (he scarcely knew in what
direction) under the fear, at every turning, of again encountering the
dreaded Mummy!