Valperga Author:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: =- After the crowd of visitors had retired, a few of the intimate friends who formed the council of the bishop remained; the lady Marchesana invited them imme... more »diately to adopt some plan for the entrance of their prince into the city; she continued: " I speak but the words of my child, when I say this; pardon me, saintly Beatrice, that I call you thus. It is sweet to me to fancy that you are my daughter, although i am much unworthy of such a child, and you are the offspring of heaven alone." Beatrice kissed the hand of her excellent friend with respect and gratitude; the bishop was much troubled at his sister's expression; the remembrance of her heretic mother, and his prison-scene with Magfreda, was full in his recollection, and he looked up to heaven, as if to ask God to pardon him, and to avert the punishment of deceit from the guileless Beatrice. One of the nobles present asked the sacred maiden, to name the day when the prince should enter the town. She said in a gentle voice: " My lords, the hour of victory is at hand: the Popes, in despite of their duty, have deserted their sacred city, have relinquished their lawful rule, and would now establish tyranny among us,—it will not be. Four days hence, on the evening of Monday, we shall receive our sovereign, and on the following morning his banner will be unfurled on the battlements of this city." " On Monday," cried a noble, " my heart misgives me; methinks it is an .Egyptian day; has no one a calendar ?" " It is an ./Egyptian day," exclaimed Beatrice, with vivacity; " but the adverse aspect of the stars falls on our adversaries; for us there is joy and victory." " Monday is an early day," said Castruccio; " but as the holy Beatrice commands, so shall it be. And, my honoured lord, I shall leave you at day-bre...« less