The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1834-01-22

him TO rise and follow. lie obcyed the
sign, and saw before him, with all the
distinctucss Of reality, the broken and
tottering nrch. Julie stood upon it, un-
appaliod by the danger; and her long
hair, which hung like a mantle around
her, was unnoyed by the Storm Her
face was paler than the moon; her eyes
glittered like stars, and her white raj
ment seemed os delicate and unsutstan-
iial as the feecy clouds of the sky. But
suddenly a chilling sensation crept o.
yer his heart Ills knees rremulously
knocked against each other his hair
rose upon his head; his whole frame
trembled; for he saw that the being be-
fore him was not dcnizen of earth. He
stepped backwards in his fear, and the
things aud persons of his dream were
shattered in pieces as if by the move
+. ment. The arch crumbled into frag-
ments; the spirit melted from his sight
and nmid screams Of terror, groans of
q Dguish, and shouts of hellish laughter.
he nwoke.
lie did not at once remember where
he was, or what had befallen him /; the
profound stiffness which reigned around
was so singularly in contrast with the
deafening tumult of his dream, tina, he
imagined for moment all things else
that had been presented to his slumber-
ing senses to bc equally lllusory. The
storm had died away; there was not a
breath or whisper on the desert noun
tain and he could see the rocks before
him bathed in moonlight.
He rose from his savage lair. The
moon stood glorious and alone in the
heavens and the tall shadows Of the
mountain peaks lay along the earth as
distinct. and apparently as substantial,
as the cliffs themselves. The fortress
rock, whose uneven edges at the sum.
init hnd all the appearance Of ramparts
painted on the bright sky, stood before
him, vast and solemn in its desert gran
deur, looking like some war-tower Of the
primeyal world, which by its own
strength and solidity had defied the revo-
lutions of nature. The form of the
mighty arch which swept down its brow
was still, rs before, almost entire, but its
ruin rendered more visible by tho moon
light, seemed so complete that Antoine
gave up the idea, as wild and impracti-
cable, of reaching the top by its means,
without the assistance Of the whole vii
lage +; and with bitterness of heart he
determined to wait no longer, but to
hasten homewards and give the alarm.
lie hao no sooner formed his resolu-
tion. than, on raising his eyes to bid a
hasty ndieu to the place where his un-
fortunate Julie lay--by this time, per-
haps, insensible alike to heat and cold
he saw standing on the brink of the pre-
cip,cc between him and the moon the re-
semblance Of her figure. His heart
quaked at The sight. Her redundant
hair hung motionless around her like a
mantle of cloud. and her face shone with
n pale and faded lustrc, like that of ,Ire
moon in the dawn.
She put her foot over the precipice, ms
If to step upon the arch and wild cry
Of warning and alarm burst from the
lips Of the lover. Needless Of the sound
she stepped upon the arch, and walked
calmly and majestically along its sur
face, whilst the stones crumbled beneath
her feet, ind fragment after fragment
rushed roaring into the abyss below. At
length the whole Of that part which re-
mained between her and the rock gave
way the sound of its fall was like the
explosion of artillery, and the startled
echoes Of the mountain joined the thun-
derburst from their remotest caves.
The shape paused for moment on
the broken arch /; and Antoine saw that
], was the same appearance which had
startled him in his sleep--the dream-gir
that stood before him. She recon-
menced her descent, skimming so light.