The Mysteries of Udolpho

The Alpine Bridge and the Torrent

As the party continues along the valley, they come upon a rough alpine bridge spanning two high crags of the glen, where a group of local children drop pebbles into the roaring torrent below, watching the stones send up white spray as they plunge into the water. Below the bridge, they can see the valley with its cascading cataract and a pine-shaded cottage on a nearby cliff, indicating they are close to a small settlement. When St. Aubert calls out to the children to ask for directions to Montigny, the noise of the torrent and the extreme height of the surrounding crags make communication impossible.

Hearing the Convent Bell

The party continues traveling long after twilight falls, the broken road making it safer to walk than ride. As they move carefully along the path, the faint sound of a convent vesper bell reaches them, seeming to come from woods overhanging a slope to their right. Valancourt offers to search for the convent to ask for directions to Montigny or a night’s lodging, but St. Aubert, exhausted from the day’s travel, insists they all go to the convent together, reasoning that his and Emily’s weary appearances will make the monks more likely to offer them shelter.

The Moonlit Ascent Through the Woods

Guided by the sound of the convent bell, St. Aubert, Emily, and Valancourt begin climbing the slope toward the woods, with Valancourt supporting the frail St. Aubert. The thin moonlight glides through the leaves, casting a tremulous, uncertain light on the steep path, while the quiet of the wild, moonlit scene and the occasional toll of the bell evoke a sense of awe in Emily, which is only slightly eased by Valancourt’s conversation.

Resting in Moonlight

After some time climbing, St. Aubert complains of weariness and the group stops to rest on a small, grassy summit where the trees open to let in moonlight. The bell has gone silent, and the only sound is the distant, soft murmur of torrents. From their vantage point, they look out over the valley they have just climbed from: rocks and woods on the left are silvered by moonlight, while the opposite cliffs are wrapped in deep shadow, with only their fringed summits tipped with light, and the distant valley fades into a yellow lunar mist. The travelers sit in quiet, contented stillness for some time.

Reflections on Memory and Love

Valancourt breaks the silence to speak of how grand mountain scenes soften the heart, inspire gentle melancholy, and awaken pure feelings of benevolence, pity, and friendship, noting that he feels his love for those close to him grow stronger in such moments. His voice trembles as he speaks, and St. Aubert is silent, a tear falling on the hand he holds as he thinks of his late wife. He reflects that memory of loved ones and lost times comes to the mind softly in such quiet, sublime hours, like distant music, and that only an unfeeling heart would remain unmoved by the influence of such scenes. Valancourt sighs in response, and Emily asks if many people are indeed unfeeling, prompting St. Aubert to reply that she will understand the weight of the question in a few years’ time before urging them to continue their climb.

Arrival at the Convent

After emerging from the woods, the travelers see the convent they have been seeking atop a turfy hillock above them. They approach its high surrounding wall and knock at the ancient gate, where a poor monk lets them in and directs them to wait in a small adjoining room while he informs the convent’s superior of their request for shelter.

The Superior’s Reception

While waiting, several friars enter separately to look at the travelers, before the first monk returns to lead them to the superior’s room. The superior, seated in an armchair with a large black-letter folio open on a desk before him, receives them with formal, solemn courtesy, does not rise to greet them, asks a few brief questions, and grants their request for a night’s lodging.