An expression of baffled rage remained for a moment on his countenance;
for a moment he remained with his eager eye fixed on the route of his
vanished enemy, and then he walked slowly towards the tomb; but his
excited temper was now little in unison with the still reverie in
which he had repaired to the sepulchre to indulge. He was restless and
disquieted, and at length he wandered into the woods, which rose on the
summit of the burial-place.
He found himself upon a brow crested with young pine-trees, in the midst
of which rose a mighty cedar. He threw himself beneath its thick and
shadowy branches, and looked upon a valley small and green; in the midst
of which was a marble fountain, the richly-carved cupola,[4] supported
by twisted columns, and banded by a broad inscription in Hebrew
characters. The bases of the white pillars were covered with wild
flowers, or hidden by beds of variegated gourds. The transparent sunset
flung over the whole scene a soft but brilliant light.
The tranquil hour, the beauteous scene, the sweetness and the stillness
blending their odour and serenity, the gentle breeze that softly rose,
and summoned forth the languid birds to cool their plumage in the
twilight air, and wave their radiant wings in skies as bright---- Ah!
what stern spirit will not yield to the soft genius of subduing eve?
And Alroy gazed upon the silent loneliness of earth, and a tear stole
down his haughty cheek.
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