"You fear me. Well, it is what I would have. Ho! 'Tis pleasant to be feared by the lovely and the pure—by the strong and the mighty; to be sought out by the noble, and have the homage of the low! Oh, it's a brave thing, this holding sway over the minds of mortals. Kings may govern their bodies—we hold the empire of their souls! Ha, ha! So you fear me, trembler?"
"An angel would tremble before thee, guilty one!"
"Ha, ha! I know it. Thou hast spoken it. It is the reward held out to us that we shall one day master the good spirits."
"And how? Alone by the power of darkness and of sin! You conquer through fear, not by strength. Therefore it is that good spirits dare not enter the abodes of the prince of evil. Woman, thou art fearful; thy spells sinful; thy soul lost for ever!" she cried, with virtuous horror united to the natural enthusiasm of her character.
"Soul!" repeated the sorceress, with a writhing lip of derision; "soul!"
"Hast thou no soul, woman, in the name of God!" exclaimed the maiden, appalled by the emphasis she laid on the word as she repeated it a second time.
The sorceress gazed on her a moment fixedly ere she replied, and then advancing a pace towards her, said hoarsely,
"Yes!"
"Woman," continued Kate, with solemn earnestness, turning pale at the manner in which she pronounced this monosyllable, "I know thou art wicked and full of evil; but thou canst not have bartered thy eternal life? have made compact with Sathanas, at the hazard of thy salvation?"
Elpsy was moved with surprise by the energy with which she was addressed, and, banishing her derisive smile, answered in a more natural tone,