r by the weight of years (and she
had already passed what the Psalmist has declared to be the age of
man) or luxurious indulgence. Her face was pale and marked by deep
furrows, indicating an unlimited indulgence of the strong passions
which had rendered her life so unquiet. Her eye was black, and
retained all the fire of lively feeling, yet it was sunken. Her
forehead was low, yet there was an inflexibility of resolve in
its deep lines that added much to the majestic character of her
appearance. Her teeth too were perfect, and her thin and colourless
lips left them visible to attract the painful admiration excited by
their contrast with the unlovely expression of her features; her chin
was small. Her hair was all drawn from her face to the crown of her
head and concealed under the black lace veil, which concealing the
upper part of her forehead, fell over each shoulder even to her feet.
Her upper garment was a long mantle of black velvet lined with ermine,
which, opening in front, fell over the arms of her throne, and
discovered a dress of crimson cloth of Bruges of that beautiful sort
called _ecarlate_. The boddice was drawn tightly to her shape by
rich gold cord, the ends of which, finished by heavy tassels, fell
downwards to the edge of her robe. The crimson tunic reached only to
her knees, and discovered an under dress of white Syrian silk, on
which was a border of gold, evidently of oriental workmanship. Her
hard bust was covered by many rows of the finest Asiatic pearls, and
depending from her girdle was a rosary of jet, which sustained a
richly embossed golden cross, probably enshrining a piece of wood of
the true cross from Palestine. The small gold crown which circled
her brows, and the sceptre she held, were evidently made by the same
skilful artist--probably the work of the celebrated Erembert, Abbot
of Wansfort. Her arms, which notwithstanding her towering statue were
disproportionably long, were covered by sleeves of the finest Bruges
linen, which however only appeared at the shoulders and elbows, the
rest of the arm being covered with the crimson cloth which formed the
tunic, and these were laced with gold cord down to the waist, where
the Bruges linen formed a cuff. Her form was harsh and bony, and no
grace of motion relieved its outlines; for she was so fearfully still,
you might have thought the living form had been placed in sight of the
Gorgon's head and so transformed to stone. Her features seemed ali