The Monk: A Romance
crime to condemn me; and though till now these Vaults have afforded me
a retreat.......”
Here looking up, her eye fell upon Lorenzo, who had continued to
approach softly.
“The Murderers!” She cried—
She started away from the Statue’s Pedestal on which She had been
seated, and attempted to escape by flight. Her Companions at the same
moment uttered a terrified scream, while Lorenzo arrested the Fugitive
by the arm. Frightened and desperate She sank upon her knees before
him.
“Spare me!” She exclaimed; “For Christ’s sake, spare me! I am innocent,
indeed, I am!”
While She spoke, her voice was almost choaked with fear. The beams of
the Lamp darting full upon her face which was unveiled, Lorenzo
recognized the beautiful Virginia de Villa-Franca. He hastened to raise
her from the ground, and besought her to take courage. He promised to
protect her from the Rioters, assured her that her retreat was still a
secret, and that She might depend upon his readiness to defend her to
the last drop of his blood. During this conversation, the Nuns had
thrown themselves into various attitudes: One knelt, and addressed
herself to heaven; Another hid her face in the lap of her Neighbour;
Some listened motionless with fear to the discourse of the supposed
Assassin; while Others embraced the Statue of St. Clare, and implored
her protection with frantic cries. On perceiving their mistake, they
crowded round Lorenzo and heaped benedictions on him by dozens. He
found that, on hearing the threats of the Mob, and terrified by the
cruelties which from the Convent Towers they had seen inflicted on the
Superior, many of the Pensioners and Nuns had taken refuge in the
Sepulchre. Among the former was to be reckoned the lovely Virginia.
Nearly related to the Prioress, She had more reason than the rest to
dread the Rioters, and now besought Lorenzo earnestly not to abandon
her to their rage. Her Companions, most of whom were Women of noble
family, made the same request, which He readily granted. He promised
not to quit them, till He had seen each of them safe in the arms of her
Relations: But He advised their deferring to quit the Sepulchre for
some time longer, when the popular fury should be somewhat calmed, and
the arrival of military force have dispersed the multitude.
“Would to God!” cried Virginia, “That I were already safe in my
Mother’s embraces! How say you, Segnor; Will it be long, ere we may
leave this place? Every moment that I pass here, I pass in torture!”
“I hope, not long,” said He; “But till you can proceed with security,
this Sepulchre will prove an impenetrable asylum. Here you run no
risque of a discovery, and I would advise your remaining quiet for the
next two or three hours.”
“Two or three hours?” exclaimed Sister Helena; “If I stay another hour
in these vaults, I shall expire with fear! Not the wealth of worlds
should bribe me to undergo again what I have suffered since my coming
hither. Blessed Virgin! To be in this melancholy place in the middle of
night, surrounded by the mouldering bodies of my deceased Companions,
and expecting every moment to be torn in pieces by their Ghosts who
wander about me, and complain, and groan, and wail in accents that make
my blood run cold, ..... Christ Jesus! It is enough to drive me to
madness!”
“Excuse me,” replied Lorenzo, “if I am surprized that while menaced by
real woes you are capable of yielding to imaginary dangers. These
terrors are puerile and groundless: Combat them, holy Sister; I have
promised to guard you from the Rioters, but against the attacks of
superstition you must depend for protection upon yourself. The idea of
Ghosts is ridiculous in the extreme; And if you continue to be swayed
by ideal terrors ...”
“Ideal?” exclaimed the Nuns with one voice; “Why we heard it ourselves,
Segnor! Every one of us heard it! It was frequently repeated, and it
sounded every time more melancholy and deep. You will never persuade me
that we could all have been deceived. Not we, indeed; No, no; Had the
noise been merely created by fancy ....”
“Hark! Hark!” interrupted Virginia in a voice of terror; “God preserve
us! There it is again!”
The Nuns clasped their hands together, and sank upon their knees.
Lorenzo looked round him eagerly, and was on the point of yielding to
the fears which already had possessed the Women. Universal silence
prevailed. He examined the Vault, but nothing was to be seen. He now
prepared to address the Nuns, and ridicule their childish
apprehensions, when his attention was arrested by a deep and long-drawn
groan.
“What was that?” He cried, and started.
“There, Segnor!” said Helena; “Now you must be convinced! You have
heard the noise yourself! Now judge, whether our terrors are imaginary.
Since we have been here, that groaning has been repeated almost every
five minutes. Doubtless, it proceeds from some Soul in pain, who wishes
to be prayed out of purgatory: But none of us here dares ask it the
question. As for me, were I to see an Apparition, the fright, I am very
certain, would kill me out of hand.”
As She said this, a second groan was heard yet more distinctly. The
Nuns crossed themselves, and hastened to repeat their prayers against
evil Spirits. Lorenzo listened attentively. He even thought that He
could distinguish sounds, as of one speaking in complaint; But distance
rendered them inarticulate. The noise seemed to come from the midst of
the small Vault in which He and the Nuns then were, and which a
multitude of passages branching out in various directions, formed into
a sort of Star. Lorenzo’s curiosity which was ever awake, made him
anxious to solve this mystery. He desired that silence might be kept.
The Nuns obeyed him. All was hushed, till the general stillness was
again disturbed by the groaning, which was repeated several times
successively. He perceived it to be most audible, when upon following
the sound He was conducted close to the shrine of St. Clare:
“The noise comes from hence,” said He; “Whose is this Statue?”
Helena, to whom He addressed the question, paused for a moment.
Suddenly She clapped her hands together.
“Aye!” cried she, “it must be so. I have discovered the meaning of
these groans.”
The nuns crowded round her, and besought her eagerly to explain
herself. She gravely replied that for time immemorial the Statue had
been famous for performing miracles: From this She inferred that the
Saint was concerned at the conflagration of a Convent which She
protected, and expressed her grief by audible lamentations. Not having
equal faith in the miraculous Saint, Lorenzo did not think this
solution of the mystery quite so satisfactory, as the Nuns, who
subscribed to it without hesitation. In one point, ’tis true, that He
agreed with Helena.
He suspected that the groans proceeded from the Statue: The more He
listened, the more was He confirmed in this idea. He drew nearer to the
Image, designing to inspect it more closely: But perceiving his
intention, the Nuns besought him for God’s sake to desist, since if He
touched the Statue, his death was inevitable.
“And in what consists the danger?” said He.
“Mother of God! In what?” replied Helena, ever eager to relate a
miraculous adventure; “If you had only heard the hundredth part of
those marvellous Stories about this Statue which the Domina used to
recount! She assured us often and often, that if we only dared to lay a
finger upon it, we might expect the most fatal consequences. Among
other things She told us that a Robber having entered these Vaults by
night, He observed yonder Ruby, whose value is inestimable. Do you see
it, Segnor? It sparkles upon the third finger of the hand, in which She
holds a crown of Thorns. This Jewel naturally excited the Villain’s
cupidity. He resolved to make himself Master of it. For this purpose He
ascended the Pedestal: He supported himself by grasping the Saint’s
right arm, and extended his own towards the Ring. What was his
surprize, when He saw the Statue’s hand raised in a posture of menace,
and heard her lips pronounce his eternal perdition! Penetrated with awe
and consternation, He desisted from his attempt, and prepared to quit
the Sepulchre. In this He also failed. Flight was denied him. He found
it impossible to disengage the hand, which rested upon the right arm of
the Statue. In vain did He struggle: He remained fixed to the Image,
till the insupportable and fiery anguish which darted itself through
his veins, compelled his shrieking for assistance.
The Sepulchre was now filled with Spectators. The Villain confessed his
sacrilege, and was only released by the separation of his hand from his
body. It has remained ever since fastened to the Image. The Robber
turned Hermit, and led ever after an exemplary life: But yet the
Saint’s decree was performed, and Tradition says that He continues to
haunt this Sepulchre, and implore St. Clare’s pardon with groans and
lamentations. Now I think of it, those which we have just heard, may
very possibly have been uttered by the Ghost of this Sinner: But of
this I will not be positive. All that I can say is, that since that
time no one has ever dared to touch the Statue: Then do not be
foolhardy, good Segnor! For the love of heaven, give up your design,
nor expose yourself unnecessarily to certain destruction.”
Not being convinced that his destruction would be so certain as Helena
seemed to think it, Lorenzo persisted in his resolution. The Nuns
besought him to desist in piteous terms, and even pointed out the
Robber’s hand, which in effect was still visible upon the arm of the
Statue. This proof, as they imagined, must convince him. It was very
far from doing so; and they were greatly scandalized when he declared
his suspicion that the dried and shrivelled fingers had been placed
there by order of the Prioress. In spite of their prayers and threats
He approached the Statue. He sprang over the iron Rails which defended
it, and the Saint underwent a thorough examination. The Image at first
appeared to be of Stone, but proved on further inspection to be formed
of no more solid materials than coloured Wood. He shook it, and
attempted to move it; But it appeared to be of a piece with the Base
which it stood upon. He examined it over and over: Still no clue guided
him to the solution of this mystery, for which the Nuns were become
equally solicitous, when they saw that He touched the Statue with
impunity. He paused, and listened: The groans were repeated at
intervals, and He was convinced of being in the spot nearest to them.
He mused upon this singular event, and ran over the Statue with
enquiring eyes. Suddenly they rested upon the shrivelled hand. It
struck him, that so particular an injunction was not given without
cause, not to touch the arm of the Image. He again ascended the
Pedestal; He examined the object of his attention, and discovered a
small knob of iron concealed between the Saint’s shoulder and what was
supposed to have been the hand of the Robber. This observation
delighted him. He applied his fingers to the knob, and pressed it down
forcibly. Immediately a rumbling noise was heard within the Statue, as
if a chain tightly stretched was flying back. Startled at the sound the
timid Nuns started away, prepared to hasten from the Vault at the first
appearance of danger. All remaining quiet and still, they again
gathered round Lorenzo, and beheld his proceedings with anxious
curiosity.
Finding that nothing followed this discovery, He descended. As He took
his hand from the Saint, She trembled beneath his touch. This created
new terrors in the Spectators, who believed the Statue to be animated.
Lorenzo’s ideas upon the subject were widely different. He easily
comprehended that the noise which He had heard, was occasioned by his