Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/183

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

fully stored every memorable part of their contents, and no human being could forthwith interpose between me and Elmira.

CHAP. XIII.

I will now proceed to give a faithful extract of that part of Elmira's history, and use as far as a lively imagination permits it, her own expressions.

—"I awoke, half insensible, from that long swoon, and found myself in a coffin. Several others stood about me, and the putrescent exhalations of the vault were the first impression my senses received. A pale glimmering lamp hung from the middle of the dread abode, and keenly penetrated my mind with all its concomitant terrors.

"An awful situation! I knew not what to do. Was I to call out for help, or quietly wait the issue? The lamp told me, I was in a place not intirely forsaken by men, and a general lassitude and relaxation of strength, were the next torturing sensation I felt. But they would not leave me time for long re-