Read Books Online, for Free |
Mosses From An Old Manse | Nathaniel Hawthorne | |
Egotism; or, The Bosom Serpent |
Page 2 of 9 |
"Elliston! Roderick!" cried he, "I had heard of this; but my conception came far short of the truth. What has befallen you? Why do I find you thus?" "Oh, 'tis a mere nothing! A snake! A snake! The commonest thing in the world. A snake in the bosom--that's all," answered Roderick Elliston. "But how is your own breast?" continued he, looking the sculptor in the eye with the most acute and penetrating glance that it had ever been his fortune to encounter. "All pure and wholesome? No reptile there? By my faith and conscience, and by the devil within me, here is a wonder! A man without a serpent in his bosom!" "Be calm, Elliston," whispered George Herkimer, laying his hand upon the shoulder of the snake-possessed. "I have crossed the ocean to meet you. Listen! Let us be private. I bring a message from Rosina--from your wife!" "It gnaws me! It gnaws me!" muttered Roderick. With this exclamation, the most frequent in his mouth, the unfortunate man clutched both hands upon his breast as if an intolerable sting or torture impelled him to rend it open and let out the living mischief, even should it be intertwined with his own life. He then freed himself from Herkimer's grasp by a subtle motion, and, gliding through the gate, took refuge in his antiquated family residence. The sculptor did not pursue him. He saw that no available intercourse could be expected at such a moment, and was desirous, before another meeting, to inquire closely into the nature of Roderick's disease and the circumstances that had reduced him to so lamentable a condition. He succeeded in obtaining the necessary information from an eminent medical gentleman. |
Who's On Your Reading List? Read Classic Books Online for Free at Page by Page Books.TM |
Mosses From An Old Manse Nathaniel Hawthorne |
Home | More Books | About Us | Copyright 2004