"No one will enter here with my will," said she. "Now we will place
chairs before the door of the sleeping-room, and sit there. We shall
then have erected a barricade before our queen, a wall which will be
as strong as any other, for there beat three courageous hearts
within it."
They sat down upon the chairs, whose high backs leaned against the
door of the queen's room, and, taking one another's hands, began
their hallowed watch.
All was still and desolate around them. No one of the women could
break the silence with a word or a remark. With dumb lips, with open
eyes, the three watchers sat and hearkened to the sounds of the
night. At times, when the roaring without was uncommonly loud and
wild, they pressed one another's hands, and spoke to one another in
looks; but when the sounds died away, they turned their eyes once
more to the windows and listened.
Slowly, dreadfully slowly moved the fingers of the great clock above
on the chimney. Madame de Campan often fixed her gaze upon it, and
it seemed to her as if time must have ceased to go on, for it
appeared to be an eternity since Varicourt had taken leave of her,
and yet the two longer fingers on the dial had not indicated the
fourth hour after midnight. But the pendulum still continued its
regular, even swinging; the time went forward; only every moment
made the horror, the fear of unknown danger seem like an eternity!
At last, slowly, with calm stroke, the hour began to strike four
o'clock.
Pages:
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321