पृष्ठ 275 / 1118

Gertrude was then left alone, with her shame, her remorse, and

her terror; and the sole company of this woman, whom she hated,

as the witness of her fault, and the cause of her disgrace. The

hatred was cordially returned, inasmuch as the attendant found

herself reduced to the annoying duty of a jailer, and was made

the guardian of a perilous secret for life. The first confused

tumult of her feelings having in some measure subsided, she

recalled to mind the dark intimations of her father with regard

to some future punishment: what could this be? It most probably

was a return to the monastery at Monza, not as the signorina, but

as a guilty wretch, who, loaded with shame, was to be inclosed

within its walls for ever! Now, indeed, her fancy no longer dwelt

on the bright visions with which it had been so often busied;

they were too much opposed to the sad reality of her present

condition. Such an act would repair all her errors, and change

(could she doubt it) in an instant her condition.