"She had naturally a strong inclination to the marvellous; and her nurse, who believed firmly in apparitions, had related to her, when an infant, so many horrible adventures of this kind, that all Elvira's attempts had failed to eradicate their impressions from her daughter's mind."
— Lewis, Matthew Gregory (1775-1818)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Bell
Date
1796
Metaphor
"She had naturally a strong inclination to the marvellous; and her nurse, who believed firmly in apparitions, had related to her, when an infant, so many horrible adventures of this kind, that all Elvira's attempts had failed to eradicate their impressions from her daughter's mind."
Metaphor in Context
The perusal of this story was ill calculated to dispel Antonia's melancholy. She had naturally a strong inclination to the marvellous; and her nurse, who believed firmly in apparitions, had related to her, when an infant, so many horrible adventures of this kind, that all Elvira's attempts had failed to eradicate their impressions from her daughter's mind. Antonia still nourished a superstitious prejudice in her bosom: she was often susceptible of terrors, which, when she discovered their natural and insignificant cause, made her blush at her own weakness. With such a turn of mind, the adventure which she had just been reading sufficed to give her apprehensions the alarm. The hour and the scene combined to authorise them. It was the dead of night; she was alone, and in the chamber once occupied by her deceased mother. The weather was comfortless and stormy; the wind howled around the house, the doors rattled in their frames, and the heavy rain pattered against the windows. No other sound was heard. The taper, now burnt down to the socket, sometimes flaring upwards, shot a gleam of light through the room, then sinking again seemed upon the point of expiring. Antonia's heart throbbed with agitation; her eyes wandered fearfully over the objects around her, as the trembling flame illuminated them at intervals. She attempted to rise from her seat, but her limbs trembled so violently that she was unable to proceed. She then called Flora, who was in a room at no great distance; but agitation choked her voice, and her cries died away in hollow murmurs.
(III, pp. 66-8)
(III, pp. 66-8)
Categories
Provenance
ECCO-TCP
Citation
12 entries in ESTC (1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800).
See The Monk: A Romance. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1796). <Link to ESTC><Link to Vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Vol. II><Vol. III>
Pre-published as The Monk: A Romance. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1795). <Link to ESTC>
See also the substantially revised fourth edition: Ambrosio, or the monk: a romance. By M.G. Lewis, Esq. M.P. In three volumes. The fourth edition, with considerable additions and alterations. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
See The Monk: A Romance. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1796). <Link to ESTC><Link to Vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Vol. II><Vol. III>
Pre-published as The Monk: A Romance. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1795). <Link to ESTC>
See also the substantially revised fourth edition: Ambrosio, or the monk: a romance. By M.G. Lewis, Esq. M.P. In three volumes. The fourth edition, with considerable additions and alterations. (London: Printed for J. Bell, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
03/12/2014
