The Rivals of Acadia | Page 8

her personal attractions, as by the strength and energy
of her mind. Her majestic figure displayed the utmost harmony of
proportion, and the expression of her regular and striking features
united, in a high degree, the sweetest sensibilities of woman, with the
more bold and lofty attributes of man. At times, an air of hauteur
shaded the openness of her brow, but it well became her present
situation, and the singular command she had of late assumed. She
received the messenger of D'Aulney with politeness, but the cold
reserve of her countenance and manner, convinced him, that his task
was difficult, if not hopeless. For an instant, his experienced eye
drooped beneath her piercing glance; and, perceiving her advantage,
she was the first to break the silence.
"What message from my lord of D'Aulney," she asked, "procures me
the honor of this interview? or is it too bold for a woman's ear, that you
remain thus silent? I have but brief time to spend in words, and would

quickly learn what brave service he now demands of me?"
"My lord of D'Aulney," replied the officer, "bids me tell you, that he
wars not with women; that he respects your weakness, and forgives the
injuries which you have sought to do him."
"Forgives!" said the lady, with a contemptuous smile; "thy lord is
gracious and merciful,--aye, merciful to himself, perhaps, and careful
for his poor vessels, which but yesterday shivered beneath our cannon!
Is this all?"
"He requires of you," resumed the officer, piqued by her scornful
manner, "the restoration of those rights, which the lord of la Tour hath
unjustly usurped; he requires the submission of this garrison, and the
possession of this fort, and pledges his word, on such conditions, to
preserve inviolate the life and liberty of every individual."
"Thy lord is most just and reasonable in his demands," returned the
lady, sarcastically; "but hath he no threats in reserve, no terrors
wherewith to enforce compliance?"
"He bids me tell you," said the excited messenger, "that if you reject his
offered clemency, you do it at your peril, and the blood of the innocent
will be required at your hands. He knows the weakness of your
resources, and he will come with power to shake these frail walls to
their foundations, and make the stoutest heart within them tremble with
dismay."
"And bid him come," said the lady, every feature glowing with
indignant feeling, and high resolve; "bid him come, and we will teach
him to respect the rights which he has dared to infringe; to
acknowledge the authority which he has presumed to insult; to
withdraw the claims, which he has most arrogantly preferred. Tell him,
that the lady of La Tour is resolved to sustain the honor of her absent
lord, to defend his just cause to the last extremity, and preserve,
inviolate, the possessions which his king hath intrusted to his keeping.
Go tell your lord, that, though a woman, my heart is fearless as his own;
say, that I spurn his offered mercy, I defy his threatened vengeance, and

to God, the defender of the innocent, I look for succor in the hour of
danger and strife."
So saying, she turned from him, with a courteous gesture, though her
manner convinced him that any farther parley would be useless; and
endeavoring to conceal his chagrin by an air of studied civility, the
dissatisfied messenger was reconducted to the boat.
The vessels of M. d'Aulney left their anchorage below the fort, at an
early hour in the morning; but it was reported, that they still lay near
the mouth of the river, probably to intercept the return of La Tour. The
day passed away, and he did not arrive, nor were any tidings received
from him. Mad. la Tour's page remarked the unusual dejection of his
lady, and, emulous perhaps of her braver spirit, resolved, if possible, to
obtain some information, which might relieve her anxiety. With this
intention he left the fort soon after sunset, attended only by a large
Newfoundland dog, which was his constant companion, whenever he
ventured beyond the gates. For some time, he walked slowly along the
bank of the river, hoping to meet with some fishermen, who usually
returned from their labors at the close of day, and were most likely to
have gathered the tidings which he wished to learn. The gloom of
evening, which had deepened around him, was gradually dispersed by
the light of the rising moon; and as he stood alone in that solitary place,
the recollection of his interview with the strange priest on the preceding
evening, recurred to his imagination with a pertinacity, which he vainly
endeavored to resist. He looked carefully round, almost expecting to
see the tall, ghost-like figure of the holy father