then, had conveyed the body away? and whither had it been carried?

"In this state of uncertainty, and almost of distraction, with the weight of innocent blood upon my soul, (for I had little doubt then, and have still less now, of the fatal issue of the contest,) I returned to Wyeburne Hall, to witness the sufferings, and what was to me, if possible, a still more intense degree of punishment, the silent reproaches of my injured wife.

"The disappearance, indeed, of the body, and with it, of course, all means of positively ascertaining what had been the final fate of her brother, augmented, to a dreadful degree, the distress of Bertha. Though void of hope myself, I tried, by every effort in my power, to excite a belief in her bosom that he had been succoured in time to save his life; but the endeavour was in vain; and, after the first paroxysms of grief had subsided, she gradually sank into a state of profound melancholy and abstraction, amounting, in short, at times, to partial derangement, and from which she has never since, at least for any length of time, recovered.

"You may picture to yourself, my friend, the never-ceasing affliction into which this situation of my domestic affairs has continued to plunge me. There was a period, indeed, when I had flattered myself that Bertha might have been restored, if not to happiness, at least to peace of mind, to such a degree had she regained her wonted composure; but the loss of her two sons, whom she had borne me during the earlier years of her affliction, seemed to reintroduce all her former trains of sorrow; and latterly she has lived altogether apart from the family, in a suite of rooms appropriated solely to her use, and which are situated over the very gallery into which she had last night, I apprehend, wandered during her sleep. Here, perfectly secluded, with the exception of one old servant, from the rest of the household, who have been purposely taught to look upon these apartments with a superstitious dread, she is attended by a lady whose time is exclusively devoted to her service, and with whom she occasionally walks in an adjoining garden, entirely set apart for her use; and my daughter also spends part of every day in her society. It has

been, in truth, a task of painful necessity to me to keep the mother and daughter sufficiently separate, so strongly are they attached to each other; but both the health and spirits of Helen had suffered so much by the unrestrained intercourse, that I thought it my duty to interfere. Indeed, a similar effect, though in a far higher degree, has, I am conscious, been produced on my own mind and constitution from the like cause; for I have long felt, as the consequence, perhaps, of great nervous irritability, a peculiar proneness to superstitious terror."

As Montchensey said this, a shivering indicative of horror seemed to pass over his frame, and his eye assumed a wild and somewhat alarmed cast of expression. In a moment or two, however, recovering from this sudden abstraction, he added, "I am almost ashamed to confess, that to such lengths has this tendency sometimes hurried my imagination, that I have often fancied that there exists in the mind of my poor Bertha a mysterious pre-intimation of misfortune, when about to occur either to herself or to some part of her family; and that this has

VOL. II.

been unequivocally shown at the time, by a more than usually perturbed state of her mind, producing the very phenomenon which you witnessed last night. Twice did she thus walk in her sleep a short time before the death of her two sons, and, in both instances, immediately previous to the attack which carried them off. Can you wonder, therefore, that I should view with awful forebodings the recurrence of an event which has thus been the herald of disaster? for should I be deprived of my beloved Helen, what on earth remains for me?"

"Calm your apprehensions, my friend," replied Shakspeare," nor suffer these fearful anticipations to unman you. Much, I confess, of what is extraordinary, much of what is scarcely dreamt of in our philosophy, appears to have determined the events of last night; but, since I have listened to your narrative, I am persuaded they are meant for good and not for evil. One disclosure, at least, of the very first importance to your peace of mind, they will assuredly lead to; for, owing to the conversation we have just held, I now hasten to inform you, and I do it with the most unfeigned pleasure,

that Raymond Neville most certainly did not die from the consequences of your rencounter.'

"Gracious Heaven!" exclaimed Montchensey, with a mixed emotion of rapture and astonishment," is it possible! where, when, how did you gain this intelligence? Are you certain of the fact ?”

"I have it from the best of all authorities," returned the bard, "from a letter written to me by Raymond Neville himself, a twelvemonth subsequent to the date of your disastrous meeting."

"What a weight of oppression, what a load of misery," rejoined Montchensey, "have you at once removed from my soul ! Oh, let me fly to communicate this joyful intelligence to Bertha !"

"Stay, my friend," interrupted Shakspeare, alarmed at the proposal," suffer me, I beseech you, to be the communicator of this news. Nothing but the most cautious and indirect mode of conveying it can be safe; or we shall otherwise destroy what the pressure of misfortune has spared us. Pardon the interference, but all is at stake, and I dare not trust your feelings !"