Page:Clermont - Roche (1798, volume 4).djvu/107

 'Some dreadful mystery lurks beneath those words (cried he); tell me, my son, what has distressed you?'

"To tell you my distress is useless, since you cannot relieve it.'

'Though not able to remove, I might at least be able to mitigate it,' said he.

"No; except you could re-animate the dead;—except you could raise Philippe from the bloody turf, and bid him live again!"

"I tried to disengage myself, but he held me fast: in the conflict my strength and senses failed, and I fell fainting to the earth.

"When I recovered, I found myself in the hall of the castle, supported by my wife and the monk, and surrounded by the domestics, amidst whom the Earl stood. The minute I regained my senses, the monk dismissed the servants, and none remained with me but Geraldine, her father, and himself.

"He then besought me to reveal the cause of my distress. Geraldine and the