Angels and Women (1924)

180 ANGELS AND WOMEN
We reached the door of the bridal chamber.
O sight of woe! There, prone upon
the marble floor, lay the beautiful form of
my mother, writhing in the agonies of death.
The steel had done its work, the lifeblood
poured fast from the cruel wound in her
bosom. Yet was she still conscious, and as I,
sobbing, embraced her, she whispered faintly
--"Saved, O my daughter!" Then her violet
eyes were closed in death.
Frantic with grief and terror, I dashed
away the restraining arms of Aldeth, and
rushed out into the pale moonlight. All was
quiet in court and palace, but afar could be
heard a confused sound like the surges of
ocean. As I passed the wall from which a
few moments previous I had seen the form
of Hesperus, I groaned aloud---"O night of
death and woe! O my mother! O Hesperus!
O my God!"
A deep sigh answered, and from the dense
shadow of the wall came back the words:
"O my God!"