The Castle of Otranto | Page 7

resisted his utmost efforts.
"Since Hell will not satisfy my curiosity," said Manfred, "I will use the
human means in my power for preserving my race; Isabella shall not
escape me."
The lady, whose resolution had given way to terror the moment she had
quitted Manfred, continued her flight to the bottom of the principal
staircase. There she stopped, not knowing whither to direct her steps,
nor how to escape from the impetuosity of the Prince. The gates of the
castle, she knew, were locked, and guards placed in the court. Should
she, as her heart prompted her, go and prepare Hippolita for the cruel
destiny that awaited her, she did not doubt but Manfred would seek her
there, and that his violence would incite him to double the injury he
meditated, without leaving room for them to avoid the impetuosity of
his passions. Delay might give him time to reflect on the horrid

measures he had conceived, or produce some circumstance in her
favour, if she could--for that night, at least--avoid his odious purpose.
Yet where conceal herself? How avoid the pursuit he would infallibly
make throughout the castle?
As these thoughts passed rapidly through her mind, she recollected a
subterraneous passage which led from the vaults of the castle to the
church of St. Nicholas. Could she reach the altar before she was
overtaken, she knew even Manfred's violence would not dare to
profane the sacredness of the place; and she determined, if no other
means of deliverance offered, to shut herself up for ever among the
holy virgins whose convent was contiguous to the cathedral. In this
resolution, she seized a lamp that burned at the foot of the staircase, and
hurried towards the secret passage.
The lower part of the castle was hollowed into several intricate cloisters;
and it was not easy for one under so much anxiety to find the door that
opened into the cavern. An awful silence reigned throughout those
subterraneous regions, except now and then some blasts of wind that
shook the doors she had passed, and which, grating on the rusty hinges,
were re-echoed through that long labyrinth of darkness. Every murmur
struck her with new terror; yet more she dreaded to hear the wrathful
voice of Manfred urging his domestics to pursue her.
She trod as softly as impatience would give her leave, yet frequently
stopped and listened to hear if she was followed. In one of those
moments she thought she heard a sigh. She shuddered, and recoiled a
few paces. In a moment she thought she heard the step of some person.
Her blood curdled; she concluded it was Manfred. Every suggestion
that horror could inspire rushed into her mind. She condemned her rash
flight, which had thus exposed her to his rage in a place where her cries
were not likely to draw anybody to her assistance. Yet the sound
seemed not to come from behind. If Manfred knew where she was, he
must have followed her. She was still in one of the cloisters, and the
steps she had heard were too distinct to proceed from the way she had
come. Cheered with this reflection, and hoping to find a friend in
whoever was not the Prince, she was going to advance, when a door

that stood ajar, at some distance to the left, was opened gently: but ere
her lamp, which she held up, could discover who opened it, the person
retreated precipitately on seeing the light.
Isabella, whom every incident was sufficient to dismay, hesitated
whether she should proceed. Her dread of Manfred soon outweighed
every other terror. The very circumstance of the person avoiding her
gave her a sort of courage. It could only be, she thought, some domestic
belonging to the castle. Her gentleness had never raised her an enemy,
and conscious innocence made her hope that, unless sent by the Prince's
order to seek her, his servants would rather assist than prevent her flight.
Fortifying herself with these reflections, and believing by what she
could observe that she was near the mouth of the subterraneous cavern,
she approached the door that had been opened; but a sudden gust of
wind that met her at the door extinguished her lamp, and left her in
total darkness.
Words cannot paint the horror of the Princess's situation. Alone in so
dismal a place, her mind imprinted with all the terrible events of the
day, hopeless of escaping, expecting every moment the arrival of
Manfred, and far from tranquil on knowing she was within reach of
somebody, she knew not whom, who for some cause seemed concealed
thereabouts; all these thoughts crowded on her distracted mind, and she
was ready to sink under her apprehensions. She addressed herself to
every saint in heaven, and inwardly implored their