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"
A
snake
in
his
bosom
!
"
repeated
the
young
sculptor
to
himself
.
"
It
must
be
he
.
No
second
man
on
earth
has
such
a
bosom
friend
.
And
now
,
my
poor
Rosina
,
Heaven
grant
me
wisdom
to
discharge
my
errand
aright
!
Woman
’
s
faith
must
be
strong
indeed
since
thine
has
not
yet
failed
.
"
Thus
musing
,
he
took
his
stand
at
the
entrance
of
the
gate
and
waited
until
the
personage
so
singularly
announced
should
make
his
appearance
.
After
an
instant
or
two
he
beheld
the
figure
of
a
lean
man
,
of
unwholesome
look
,
with
glittering
eyes
and
long
black
hair
,
who
seemed
to
imitate
the
motion
of
a
snake
;
for
,
instead
of
walking
straight
forward
with
open
front
,
he
undulated
along
the
pavement
in
a
curved
line
.
It
may
be
too
fanciful
to
say
that
something
,
either
in
his
moral
or
material
aspect
,
suggested
the
idea
that
a
miracle
had
been
wrought
by
transforming
a
serpent
into
a
man
,
but
so
imperfectly
that
the
snaky
nature
was
yet
hidden
,
and
scarcely
hidden
,
under
the
mere
outward
guise
of
humanity
.
Herkimer
remarked
that
his
complexion
had
a
greenish
tinge
over
its
sickly
white
,
reminding
him
of
a
species
of
marble
out
of
which
he
had
once
wrought
a
head
of
Envy
,
with
her
snaky
locks
.
The
wretched
being
approached
the
gate
,
but
,
instead
of
entering
,
stopped
short
and
fixed
the
glitter
of
his
eye
full
upon
the
compassionate
yet
steady
countenance
of
the
sculptor
.
"
It
gnaws
me
!
It
gnaws
me
!
"
he
exclaimed
.
And
then
there
was
an
audible
hiss
,
but
whether
it
came
from
the
apparent
lunatic
’
s
own
lips
,
or
was
the
real
hiss
of
a
serpent
,
might
admit
of
a
discussion
.
At
all
events
,
it
made
Herkimer
shudder
to
his
heart
’
s
core
.
"
Do
you
know
me
,
George
Herkimer
?
"
asked
the
snake
-
possessed
.
Herkimer
did
know
him
;
but
it
demanded
all
the
intimate
and
practical
acquaintance
with
the
human
face
,
acquired
by
modelling
actual
likenesses
in
clay
,
to
recognize
the
features
of
Roderick
Elliston
in
the
visage
that
now
met
the
sculptor
’
s
gaze
.
Yet
it
was
he
.
It
added
nothing
to
the
wonder
to
reflect
that
the
once
brilliant
young
man
had
undergone
this
odious
and
fearful
change
during
the
no
more
than
five
brief
years
of
Herkimer
’
s
abode
at
Florence
.
The
possibility
of
such
a
transformation
being
granted
,
it
was
as
easy
to
conceive
it
effected
in
a
moment
as
in
an
age
.
Inexpressibly
shocked
and
startled
,
it
was
still
the
keenest
pang
when
Herkimer
remembered
that
the
fate
of
his
cousin
Rosina
,
the
ideal
of
gentle
womanhood
,
was
indissolubly
interwoven
with
that
of
a
being
whom
Providence
seemed
to
have
unhumanized
.
"
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
?
"
