'No,' answered Ugo, 'he crowed as loud as the best of them in the midst
of it all. There he was roaring out in the hottest fire I have seen this
many a day! I said that some of them would have a hit at the old fellow,
but he escaped, and the tower too.'
The road winding round the base of a mountain, they now came within view
of the castle, which was shewn in the perspective of the valley by a
gleam of moon-shine, and then vanished in shade; while even a transient
view of it had awakened the poignancy of Emily's feelings. Its massy and
gloomy walls gave her terrible ideas of imprisonment and suffering:
yet, as she advanced, some degree of hope mingled with her terror; for,
though this was certainly the residence of Montoni, it was possibly,
also, that of Valancourt, and she could not approach a place, where he
might be, without experiencing somewhat of the joy of hope.
They continued to wind along the valley, and, soon after, she saw again
the old walls and moon-lit towers, rising over the woods: the strong
rays enabled her, also, to perceive the ravages, which the siege had
made,--with the broken walls, and shattered battlements, for they were
now at the foot of the steep, on which Udolpho stood. Massy fragments
had rolled down among the woods, through which the travellers now began
to ascend, and there mingled with the loose earth, and pieces of rock
they had brought with them. The woods, too, had suffered much from the
batteries above, for here the enemy had endeavoured to screen themselves
from the fire of the ramparts. Many noble trees were levelled with the
ground, and others, to a wide extent, were entirely stripped of their
upper branches. 'We had better dismount,' said Ugo, 'and lead the mules
up the hill, or we shall get into some of the holes, which the balls
have left. Here are plenty of them. Give me the torch,' continued Ugo,
after they had dismounted, 'and take care you don't stumble over any
thing, that lies in your way, for the ground is not yet cleared of the
enemy.' 'How!' exclaimed Emily, 'are any of the enemy here, then?'
'Nay, I don't know for that, now,' he replied, 'but when I came away I
saw one or two of them lying under the trees.' A
s they proceeded, the torch threw a gloomy light upon the ground, and
far among the recesses of the woods, and Emily feared to look forward,
lest some object of horror should meet her eye. The path was often
strewn with broken heads of arrows, and with shattered remains of
armour, such as at that period was mingled with the lighter dress of the
soldiers. 'Bring the light hither,' said Bertrand, 'I have stumbled over
something, that rattles loud enough.' Ugo holding up the torch, they
perceived a steel breastplate on the ground, which Bertrand raised, and
they saw, that it was pierced through, and that the lining was entirely
covered with blood; but upon Emily's earnest entreaties, that they would
proceed, Bertrand, uttering some joke upon the unfortunate person, to
whom it had belonged, threw it hard upon the ground, and they passed on.