d take that
liberty which she would not give. The servant, having conveyed his
message through the keyhole, returned with an answer, importing that she
would adhere to the resolution she had taken, and perish, rather than
comply with his will. Our adventurer, without staying to make any
rejoinder to this reply, ran upstairs, and, thundering at the door
for entrance, was given to understand by the nymph's attendant, that
a blunderbuss was ready primed for his reception, and that he would do
well to spare him the necessity of shedding blood in defence of a person
who had put herself under his protection. "All the laws of the land,"
said he, "cannot now untie the knots by which we are bound together; and
therefore I will guard her as my own property; so that you had better
desist from your fruitless attempt, and thereby consult your own safety;
for, by the God that made me! I will discharge my piece upon you, as
soon as you set your nose within the door; and your blood be upon your
own head."

These menaces, from a citizen's clerk, would have been sufficient
motives for Pickle to storm the breach, although they had not been
reinforced by that declaration, which informed him of Emilia's having
bestowed herself in marriage upon such a contemptible rival. This sole
consideration added wings to his impetuosity, and he applied his foot to
the door with such irresistible force, as burst it open in an instant,
entering at the same time with a pistol ready cocked in his hand. His
antagonist, instead of firing his blunderbuss, when he saw him
approach, started back with evident signs of surprise and consternation,
exclaiming, "Lord Jesus! Sir, you are not the man! and, without doubt,
are under some mistake with regard to us." Before Peregrine had time
to answer this salutation, the lady, hearing it, advanced to him, and,
pulling off a mask, discovered a face which he had never seen before.
The Gorgon's head, according to the fables of antiquity, never had
a more instantaneous or petrifying effect, than that which this
countenance produced upon the astonished youth. His eyes were fixed
upon this unknown object, as if they had been attracted by the power of
enchantment, his feet seemed riveted to the ground, and, after having
stood motionless for the space of a few minutes, he dropped down in an
apoplexy of disappointment and despair. The Swiss, who had followed him,
seeing his master in this condition, lifted him up, and, laying him