`` This matter shall be expedited forthwith . When there shall be a sentinel at every corner and a court of guard before the town-house , a loyal gentleman may venture to walk abroad . What to me is the outcry of a mob in this remote province of the realm ? The king is my master , and England is my country ; upheld by their armed strength , I set my foot upon the rabble and defy them . '' He snatched a pen and was about to affix his signature to the paper that lay on the table , when the captain of Castle William placed his hand upon his shoulder . The freedom of the action , so contrary to the ceremonious respect which was then considered due to rank and dignity , awakened general surprise , and in none more than in the lieutenant-governor himself . Looking angrily up , he perceived that his young relative was pointing his finger to the opposite wall . Hutchinson 's eye followed the signal , and he saw what had hitherto been unobserved -- that a black silk curtain was suspended before the mysterious picture , so as completely to conceal it . His thoughts immediately recurred to the scene of the preceding afternoon , and in his surprise , confused by indistinct emotions , yet sensible that his niece must have had an agency in this phenomenon , he called loudly upon her : `` Alice ! Come hither , Alice ! '' No sooner had he spoken than Alice Vane glided from her station , and , pressing one hand across her eyes , with the other snatched away the sable curtain that concealed the portrait . An exclamation of surprise burst from every beholder , but the lieutenant-governor 's voice had a tone of horror . `` By Heaven ! '' said he , in a low inward murmur , speaking rather to himself than to those around him ; `` if the spirit of Edward Randolph were to appear among us from the place of torment , he could not wear more of the terrors of hell upon his face . '' `` For some wise end , '' said the aged selectman , solemnly , `` hath Providence scattered away the mist of years that had so long hid this dreadful effigy . Until this hour no living man hath seen what we behold . '' Within the antique frame which so recently had enclosed a sable waste of canvas now appeared a visible picture-still dark , indeed , in its hues and shadings , but thrown forward in strong relief . It was a half-length figure of a gentleman in a rich but very old-fashioned dress of embroidered velvet , with a broad ruff and a beard , and wearing a hat the brim of which overshadowed his forehead . Beneath this cloud the eyes had a peculiar glare which was almost lifelike . The whole portrait started so distinctly out of the background that it had the effect of a person looking down from the wall at the astonished and awe-stricken spectators .
The expression of the face , if any words can convey an idea XXXXX it , was that of a wretch detected in some hideous guilt and exposed to the bitter hatred and laughter and withering scorn of a vast surrounding multitude .
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