CHAPTER XII. "By force she shall be mine; Or death, if force should fail, shall finish my design— Resolved, he said." DRYDEN. "Her chill was at her heart; Till grew such certainty from that suspense, BYRON. "But neither bended knees, pure hands held up, Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears Could penetrate." SHAKSPEARE. ON taking an eager and hasty survey of the sterile space which she had reached, Eva Dillon perceived that she was surrounded by several cells or small chapels dedicated to different Saints, and curiously built in the ancient Roman manner, being constructed of stone, jointed and closed without either mor tar or cement. The heart of the maiden beat with a pulsation almost audible, as, seated on a fragment of rock near the arched entrance of one of those chapels, with her hand locked in Norah's and her form bent forward in an attitude of expectation, she silently watched with breathless fear the movements of The O'Sullivan, who, having despatched Connell to the Cutter, now, with a disordered step, paced the ground alone at a short distance, apparently awaiting the return of his confidant. Our heroine, in an impressive whisper, had conjured her nurse to forbear from irritating Murty Oge by useless words or wailings; and poor Norah, ever obedient to her Mistress, and repenting her recent violence, sat in the stillness of suspense perfectly silent, though labouring under the strongest emotions which can agitate the human breast. The blood curdled in Eva's veins when suddenly she saw The O'Sullivan, with a look that bespoke a mind worked by evil passions, walk towards her. The roll of his leering eye was far more alarming and offensive to her feelings than the malignant scowl which lately glared from it; and, as Eva lifted her pious spirit in prayer for the support of Heaven, she knew how deeply she required such aid. Her limbs shivered with an agitation that compelled her to lean on Norah's shoulder, and she recoiled involuntarily from the expression of The O'Sullivan's features, when, having reached the rock where she was seated, he seized her struggling hand, and with a sudden boldness and audacious admiration said, "Beautiful girl! you must forgive me if ungovernable love has led me into measures which seem harsh. The powerful attraction -the cruel necessity" - "Stop!" cried Eva, raising her face, which, until she had succeeded in conquering the violence of her feelings, had been veiled with her hand-"Stop! I desire-I command you!" The haughty curl of the lip with which she pronounced those words quivered the next instant into an expression of utter misery, and, amidst the cruel strife of feelings which the moment brought, the full quick accents of her voice merged into low and broken tones, as throwing herself breathlessly before The O'Sullivan she said with clasped hands and lifted eyes that pleaded through their tears, "Oh, spare and pity me! Do not-do not break the heart of the young creature who petitions for your mercy!" The Chief was not unmoved by Eva's anguish; but mortified at the scorn and pride his lovely suppliant had shown, he knit his dark brow, and with a look very different from his previous one, flung aside the hands which were upraised to him, and sternly said, - "Time is too precious to be lost in idle words. Within that Chapel the Church's rites shall make you mine this night!Think yourself well off, I don't contemplate your dishonour;—whom would you look to, then?" "To Him who is the father of the desolate! My soul is strong now; ay, even in this mountain desert, for a Higher Power is over me." than yours As those words passed Eva's lips, her whole appearance changed. In unshaken confidence she rose and, dashing away her tears, stood sternly erect, the vigour of religious trust gathering on her features, while a rich colour flitted over the exquisite paleness of her cheek. The O'Sullivan could not help being struck by a resolution to which in woman he was wholly unaccustomed, but, scorning to shrink before the majesty of virtue, he almost instantly exclaimed, while conflicting feelings shot from his gleaming eye, "Your better course would be to bend at once to what you can't prevent, for now " At this instant Norah at once recovering from the paralyzing influence of terror only to exchange it for a sharper feeling, raised her face and showed by the change in her countenance what fearful struggles had been passing through her mind. The play of the started blood-vessels might be seen on her brow; a crimson spot had settled on her cheek; her dark eyes shone with lustrous excitement, and one thick lock of hair which was swept across her temples by the blast completed the witch-like air of her appearance, when, throwing back her head and lifting upwards her expanded eyes, she suddenly rushed towards the Pirate-Chief and shrieked out, as she grasped his arm, "Murty Oge O'Sullivan, listen to my words an' thremble!-If you do hurt or harum to that angel girl, may a canker ate |