'It was no man, lady,' said Launcelot, who stood by, 'but the devil himself, as my comrade says.What man, who does not live in the castle, could get within the walls at midnight? Why, I might just as well pretend to march to Venice, and get among all the Senators, when they are counselling; and I warrant I should have more chance of getting out again alive, than any fellow, that we should catch within the gates after dark.So I think I have proved plainly enough, that this can be nobody that lives out of the castle; and now I will prove, that it can be nobody that lives in the castle--for, if he did--why should he be afraid to be seen? So after this, I hope nobody will pretend to tell me it was anybody.No, I say again, by holy Pope! it was the devil, and Sebastian, there, knows this is not the first time we have seen him.'
'When did you see the figure, then, before?' said Emily half smiling, who, though she thought the conversation somewhat too much, felt an interest, which would not permit her to conclude it.
'About a week ago, lady,' said Sebastian, taking up the story.
'And where?'
'On the rampart, lady, higher up.'
'Did you pursue it, that it fled?'
'No, Signora.Launcelot and I were on watch together, and every thing was so still, you might have heard a mouse stir, when, suddenly, Launcelot says--Sebastian! do you see nothing? I turned my head a little to the left, as it might be--thus.No, says I.Hush!
said Launcelot,--look yonder--just by the last cannon on the rampart!
I looked, and then thought I did see something move; but there being no light, but what the stars gave, I could not be certain.We stood quite silent, to watch it, and presently saw something pass along the castle wall just opposite to us!'
'Why did you not seize it, then?' cried a soldier, who had scarcely spoken till now.
'Aye, why did you not seize it?' said Roberto.
'You should have been there to have done that,' replied Sebastian.
'You would have been bold enough to have taken it by the throat, though it had been the devil himself; we could not take such a liberty, perhaps, because we are not so well acquainted with him, as you are.But, as I was saying, it stole by us so quickly, that we had not time to get rid of our surprise, before it was gone.Then, we knew it was in vain to follow.We kept constant watch all that night, but we saw it no more.Next morning, we told some of our comrades, who were on duty on other parts of the ramparts, what we had seen; but they had seen nothing, and laughed at us, and it was not till to-night, that the same figure walked again.'
'Where did you lose it, friend?' said Emily to Roberto.
'When I left you, lady,' replied the man, 'you might see me go down the rampart, but it was not till I reached the east terrace, that Isaw any thing.Then, the moon shining bright, I saw something like a shadow flitting before me, as it were, at some distance.I stopped, when I turned the corner of the east tower, where I had seen this figure not a moment before,--but it was gone! As I stood, looking through the old arch, which leads to the east rampart, and where I am sure it had passed, I heard, all of a sudden, such a sound!--it was not like a groan, or a cry, or a shout, or any thing I ever heard in my life.I heard it only once, and that was enough for me; for Iknow nothing that happened after, till I found my comrades, here, about me.'
'Come,' said Sebastian, 'let us go to our posts--the moon is setting.
Good night, lady!'
'Aye, let us go,' rejoined Roberto.'Good night, lady.'
'Good night; the holy mother guard you!' said Emily, as she closed her casement and retired to reflect upon the strange circumstance that had just occurred, connecting which with what had happened on former nights, she endeavoured to derive from the whole something more positive, than conjecture.But her imagination was inflamed, while her judgment was not enlightened, and the terrors of superstition again pervaded her mind.