Thelma a Norwegian Princess Author:Marie Corelli Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: shudder creeps through the system, and a dreary feeling of general hopelessness benumbs the faculties ; a morbid state of body and mind which is only to be remed... more »ied by a speedy return to the warm sunlight, and a draught of generous wine. Sir Philip, however, held the antique lamp aloft, and descended the clumsy steps cautiously, counting twenty steps in all, at the bottom of which he found himself face to face with the closed door. It was made of hard wood, so hard as to be almost like iron. It was black with age, and covered with quaint carvings and inscriptions ; but in the middle, standing out in bold relief among the numberless Runic figures and devices, was written in large well-cut letters the word — " By Jove !" he exclaimed, " I have it ! The girl's name, of course ! This is some private retreat of hers, I suppose, — a kind of boudoir like my Lady Winsleigh's, only with rather a difference." And he laughed aloud, thinking of the dainty gold-satin hangings of a certain room in a certain great mansion in Park Lane, where an aristocratic and handsome lady-leader of fashion had as nearly made love to him as it was possible for her to do without losing her social dignity. His laugh was echoed back with a weird and hollow sound, as though a hidden demon of the cave were mocking him, a demon whose merriment was intense but also horrible. He heard the unpleasantly jeering repetition with a kind of careless admiration. " That echo would make a fortune in Faust, if it could be persuaded to back up Mephistopheles with that truly fiendish ' Ha, ha /' " he said, resuming his examination of the name on the door. Then an odd fancy seized him, and he called loudly : "Thelma!" " Thelma !" shouted the echo. " Is that her name ?" " Her name !" replied the echo. ...« less