From the white
curtains at the window to the vase of flowers standing by the bedside,
the same natural refinement of taste appeared in the arrangement of all
that the apartment contained. No sound broke the deep silence of the
place, save the low, soft breathing, occasionally interrupted by a long,
trembling sigh, of its sleeping occupant. The sole light in the room
consisted of a little lamp, so placed in the middle of the flowers round
the sides of the vase that no extended or steady illumination was cast
upon any object. There was something in the decent propriety of all
that was visible in the bed-chamber; in the soft obscurity of its
atmosphere; in the gentle and musical sound that alone interrupted its
magical stillness, impressive enough, it might have been imagined, to
have awakened some hesitation in the bosom of the boldest libertine ere
he deliberately proceeded to intrude on the unprotected slumbers of its
occupant. No such feeling of indecision, however, troubled the thoughts
of Vetranio as he cast a rapid glance round the apartment which he had
venture so treacherously to invade.
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