I was already preparing to return the insulter such an answer, as his insolent speech demanded; but ere I had time to speak,—“treachery! treachery!”—was shrieked in my ears by an hundred voices. I looked round, and saw the glittering of hostile swords. My people were beaten back, and the ground was strewed with their corses—the soldiers of the perfidious Abbot had stolen upon us through secret passages, had taken my followers by surprise, and were hewing for themselves a way to me with their faulchions. Terror deprived me of my senses! what would have become of me in this dreadful moment of confusion and fear I know not, had not my faithful Gertrude, who had followed me to battle with undaunted courage, been close to my side; and ere I fell, she caught me in her arms. The loss of my helmet made it easy for me to be recognized by my pale and feminine features. She seized the casque of one of the Abbot’s soldiers, who happened to be struck down near us, and concealed my face with it; she then wrapped me in his cloak, on which the Abbot’s coat of arms was emblazoned; and under favour of this disguise she succeeded in extricating me from the throng, and in conducting me in safety towards the side, from which the combat seemed at that time to be retiring. I recovered myself, and we hastened to seat ourselves on horseback. Gertrude convinced me that my presence was now quite unavailing, and that my being taken prisoner would be unavoidable, if I suffered the least delay. In truth, my nerves had been too much shaken by this last dreadful piece of treachery to admit of my adopting any other resource than flight, the woman’s constant refuge. The darkness of the night enabled us to escape; and we arrived in safety at the castle, which (while unacquainted with my own want of strength and ability, and the power and perfidy of the foe with whom I had to deal) I had left with such sanguine hopes of victory. We were obliged to traverse the narrow pass through the mountains, where the fatal ambuscade had been stationed in the morning: as I hastened through it, methought the groans of dying men sounded in my ears, and my hair stood erect, and my blood ran cold, as I listened. Woman’s weakness re-assumed it’s rights; and she, who so lately had dared to trust herself among hostile faulchions, now trembled at a sound, at a shadow, which only existed in her over-heated imagination. I reached the Castle more dead than alive. We found the Castle-gates closed. We called in vain for admittance; no signal was attended to; every thing within seemed to be silent as the grave: no glimmering of light was visible in the high-arched casements, and we were compelled to pass the night in a small ruined chapel at no great distance from the Castle.