Wieland; or, The Transformation | Page 8

Contrary to custom, the lamp, instead of being placed on the hearth,
was left upon the table. Over it against the wall there hung a small
clock, so contrived as to strike a very hard stroke at the end of every
sixth hour. That which was now approaching was the signal for retiring
to the fane at which he addressed his devotions. Long habit had
occasioned him to be always awake at this hour, and the toll was
instantly obeyed.
Now frequent and anxious glances were cast at the clock. Not a single
movement of the index appeared to escape his notice. As the hour
verged towards twelve his anxiety visibly augmented. The trepidations
of my mother kept pace with those of her husband; but she was
intimidated into silence. All that was left to her was to watch every
change of his features, and give vent to her sympathy in tears.
At length the hour was spent, and the clock tolled. The sound appeared
to communicate a shock to every part of my father's frame. He rose
immediately, and threw over himself a loose gown. Even this office
was performed with difficulty, for his joints trembled, and his teeth
chattered with dismay. At this hour his duty called him to the rock, and
my mother naturally concluded that it was thither he intended to repair.
Yet these incidents were so uncommon, as to fill her with astonishment
and foreboding. She saw him leave the room, and heard his steps as

they hastily descended the stairs. She half resolved to rise and pursue
him, but the wildness of the scheme quickly suggested itself. He was
going to a place whither no power on earth could induce him to suffer
an attendant.
The window of her chamber looked toward the rock. The atmosphere
was clear and calm, but the edifice could not be discovered at that
distance through the dusk. My mother's anxiety would not allow her to
remain where she was. She rose, and seated herself at the window. She
strained her sight to get a view of the dome, and of the path that led to
it. The first painted itself with sufficient distinctness on her fancy, but
was undistinguishable by the eye from the rocky mass on which it was
erected. The second could be imperfectly seen; but her husband had
already passed, or had taken a different direction.
What was it that she feared? Some disaster impended over her husband
or herself. He had predicted evils, but professed himself ignorant of
what nature they were. When were they to come? Was this night, or
this hour to witness the accomplishment? She was tortured with
impatience, and uncertainty. All her fears were at present linked to his
person, and she gazed at the clock, with nearly as much eagerness as
my father had done, in expectation of the next hour.
An half hour passed away in this state of suspence. Her eyes were fixed
upon the rock; suddenly it was illuminated. A light proceeding from the
edifice, made every part of the scene visible. A gleam diffused itself
over the intermediate space, and instantly a loud report, like the
explosion of a mine, followed. She uttered an involuntary shriek, but
the new sounds that greeted her ear, quickly conquered her surprise.
They were piercing shrieks, and uttered without intermission. The
gleams which had diffused themselves far and wide were in a moment
withdrawn, but the interior of the edifice was filled with rays.
The first suggestion was that a pistol was discharged, and that the
structure was on fire. She did not allow herself time to meditate a
second thought, but rushed into the entry and knocked loudly at the
door of her brother's chamber. My uncle had been previously roused by
the noise, and instantly flew to the window. He also imagined what he

saw to be fire. The loud and vehement shrieks which succeeded the first
explosion, seemed to be an invocation of succour. The incident was
inexplicable; but he could not fail to perceive the propriety of hastening
to the spot. He was unbolting the door, when his sister's voice was
heard on the outside conjuring him to come forth.
He obeyed the summons with all the speed in his power. He stopped
not to question her, but hurried down stairs and across the meadow
which lay between the house and the rock. The shrieks were no longer
to be heard; but a blazing light was clearly discernible between the
columns of the temple. Irregular steps, hewn in the stone, led him to the
summit. On three sides, this edifice touched the very verge of the cliff.
On the fourth side, which might be regarded as the front, there was an
area of small extent, to which