Page:Walter Scott - The Monastery (Henry Frowde, 1912).djvu/187

RV 119 (Rh) The sacred pledge of Heav'n All things revere, Each in his sphere, Save man for whom 'twas giv'n: Lend thy hand, and thou shalt spy Things ne'er seen by mortal eye.' Halbert Glendinning boldly reached his hand to the White Lady.

'Fearest thou to go with me?' she said, as his hand trembled at the soft and cold touch of her own—

'If what thou sayest be true,' said the undaunted boy, 'my destinies are higher than thine own. There shall be neither well nor wood which I dare not visit. No fear of aught, natural or supernatural, shall bar my path through my native valley.'

He had scarce uttered the words, when they both descended through the earth with a rapidity which took away Halbert's breath and every other sensation, saving that of being hurried on with the utmost velocity. At length they stopped with a shock so sudden, that the mortal journeyer through this unknown space must have been thrown down with violence, had he not been upheld by his supernatural companion.

It was more than a minute, ere, looking around him, he beheld a grotto, or natural cavern, composed of the most splendid spars and crystals, which returned in a thousand prismatic hues the light of a brilliant flame that glowed on an altar of alabaster. This altar, with its fire, formed the central point of the grotto, which was of a round form and very high in the roof, resembling in some respects the dome of a cathedral. Corresponding to the four points of the compass, there went off four long galleries, or arcades, constructed of the same brilliant materials with the dome itself, and the termination of which was lost in darkness.

No human imagination can conceive, or words suffice to