This was
the moment in which magic lords it supreme, in which the goblin breaks
forth from his confinement, and ranges unlimited in the nether globe;
and in which all that is regular and all that is beautiful give place to
the hunger of the savage brute, and the witcheries of the sorcerer. But
Roderic was otherwise engaged. His heart was employed in inventing
guile, and was lulled into unapprehensive security. But Edwin was
heroic. His bosom swelled with the most generous purposes; and he
trusted unwaveringly in that guardianship that is every where present,
and that eye that never slumbers.
He entered the walls of the enchanted castle. The novelty of the
appearance of a stranger within the circle of those mountains, which no
vulgar mortal had yet penetrated, the dignity of his appearance, and the
boldness of his manner, at first distracted the attendants from the
performance of that, which might have seemed most natural in their
situation, and awed them into passiveness. He still wore that flowing
and graceful garb, which was appropriated by the inhabitants of Clwyd to
the celebration of public solemnities. He had passed through the midst
of the shower, and yet one thread of his garment was not moistened with
the impetuousness of its descent.
Pages:
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203