Meanwhile the two dread
figures stood as motionless as herself--the silence was unbroken, and
"the beating of her own heart was the only sound she heard." So at last
she plucked up courage to look more closely at the grim sentinels, and
could not help smiling at her own needless alarm, when she found that
they were suits of armour, indeed, but without men inside of them--just
such as one sees standing about in the ancient royal palaces of France.
Passing them with a saucy glance of defiance, and a little triumphant
toss of the head, Isabelle entered a vast dining room, with tall,
sculptured buffets, on which stood many superb vessels of gold and
silver, together with delicate specimens of exquisite Venetian and
Bohemian glass, and precious pieces of fine porcelain, fit for a king's
table. Large handsome chairs, with carved backs, were standing round the
great dining-table, and the walls, above the heavy oaken wainscot, were
hung with richly embossed Cordova leather, glowing with warm, bright
tints and golden arabesques.
She did not linger to examine and admire all the beautified things dimly
revealed to her by the feeble light of her small lamp, but hurried on
to the third door, which opened into an apartment yet more spacious
and magnificent than the other two.
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