he had "a mighty desire to make a baker's dozen of it, by adding me to the list." I, on my part, thought this desire a little unreasonable; and, as the discussion grew unpleasant, his friend hinting something about canes and cowards, I withdrew myself to the continent with the intention of staying abroad till it should please Sir Phelim to abate somewhat of his absurd wrath, or to forget me altogether. If neither of these desirable events should fall out, there was still a tolerable chance of so fiery a gentleman involving himself in a dispute with an opponent of more sensibility than myself, and thus getting his mittimus to another world, which would equally well answer my purpose.

The experience I had acquired of a traveller's hazards, in only going from Brighton to Dieppe, and from Dieppe again to Paris, gave me every possible inclination to fix my abode in the capital of the French empire; but fate, in the disguise of a Gallic doctor, who had been called to my aid in a fit of I know not what precise kind, ordered me off to Italy. Great as was my reluctance to encounter the perils of such a journey, I had no alternative but that or dying-at least if any trust could be placed in my medical oracle-and therefore, as I always do on such occasions, I chose to risk the remote danger, rather than the one present. At all events, it was putting off the evil day, and that was something.

I will not trouble you with the recital of the multitude of hairbreadth escapes I met with in my journey from Paris across the seas. They were, indeed, well worth remembering, and, many of them, such as I cannot now reflect upon without the same feelings of horror that are said to agitate the somnambulist upon being shown, when awake, the perils of his nightly wanderings. But, fearful as they were, they bear no comparison with my adventures of one night at an inn about five leagues from Terracina, or Bergamo, I am uncertain which, or whether it was either of the two, for I am not very learned in nice points of geography, and, even when the people told me the name of any place, I generally contrived to forget it. Two things, however, I do remember with the utmost distinctness; the forest, where we broke down, was a very wild forest full of trees, and the building was a large ruin in the midst of a desolate spot, far removed from any human habitation, both, in short, being precisely the

The lively good-humoured face of my driver, whom I had taken up at the last stage only, served for a time to reconcile me to the dreariness of the way; but when the evening closed in, and found us still far from the place where we intended to pass the night, I must confess I began to feel uneasy. My attention being thus called to the man, I observed-what had before escaped my notice that he was by no means urging on his horses to their fair speed. At times, too, he would whistle in a very peculiar manner, and, when I called out to him to cease his confounded clamour, and drive faster, as I had no mind to pass the night on the road if he had, the rascal only whistled so much the louder. This was too much, but I was determined he should have no pretext of not hearing me, so I cried out again at the utmost pitch of my voiceMomolo, you rascal!"

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Momolo, I should observe, is the diminutive of Geronimo, the same that we in English call Jerome.

"Momolo, you scoundrel!"

This was delivered in too high a tone for him to pretend deafness any longer.

66 Si, signor," he replied, pulling up, and turning half round upon his saddle to face

me.

The traitor! To stop his horses at a time like this, when, for aught I knew to the contrary, there might be a robber taking aim at me from behind the nearest oak. I had never fired off a pistol in my life; but I felt at the moment that it would cost me very little effort to shoot him dead on the spot. Indeed, I did go so far as to draw the weapon from its holster, and held it ready for action.

"Drive on, I say, and faster, rascal, for your life-for your life! Do you hear, villain? Get out of that snail's trot, and put your horses to something like a gallop, as you hope to sleep with whole bones tonight."

"Diavolo! is the signor ill?"

for an old acquaintance. I at once felt that resistance would be fruitless, the odds being too much against me, for it was plain from a single glance at this Giuseppe, that he was as daring as he was powerful; and I listened, therefore, in passive terror, to the arrangements which the worthy associates thought proper to make in my behalf.

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"The signor shall be heartily welcome to my house, such as it is," said Giuseppe ; and, at all events, a poor roof is better than sleeping in the forest such a night as this is like to be."

66 Si, si," replied Momolo, looking up at the dark sky; "there's a vast of black clouds gathering on the hills to windward. I shall hardly reach Terracina,”—I think it was Terracina,-" before the storm sets in."

And the villain crossed himself with as much unction as if he were on the most pious errand imaginable. To look at him, one would have imagined that murder was no more than a gentlemanly peccadillo, not at all detracting from a man's claims to be considered by his patron saint.

"Put spurs to your horse, then, friend Momolo," said Giuseppe, "lest you taste more water than you care for, and leave the signor to my charge. I'll give a good account of him, I warrant you."

Could any thing be plainer? A man must have been a downright idiot not to know how to interpret these words, though the speaker veiled their meaning, as he thought, by an affectation of bluntness. At all events, a person of my susceptible disposition was not to be imposed upon so easily. I saw the danger that awaited me, but unfortunately I saw no immediate means of escaping from it.

"It's coming!" exclaimed Momolo; I felt a large rain-drop on my nose."

traitor's eye, or the laugh of his worthy associate, to tell me what the words meant. It was not intended that, when once asleep, I should ever wake again. And yet, with such a scheme in view, the villains could grin and make their empty jests!

I know not why, but I certainly felt much relieved when Momolo put spurs to his horse, and was quickly out of sight: not that I had any thought of measuring my strength with the sturdy Beppo, now that we were alone; the result of such a trial, even had I possessed the fool-hardy courage to venture upon it, was much too evident; yet still I felt that I had a better chance of escape from one than from two enemies, and in this spirit I followed my guide whither he thought proper to lead

me.

After winding through the forest for about half an hour, by paths little better than deer-tracks, we suddenly emerged upon a large open heath, covered with furze and intersected by a multitude of sand-pits. In the midst of this desolation stood a large building, which, from its ruined state, was in excellent keeping with the rest of the scene.

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"Yonder is my house, signor," said Giuseppe. I cannot boast much of it, being as you see little more than a ruin; but the inside is somewhat more comfortable than you would suppose, to look at it; and as to room, there's no want of that. Could I move the old carcase a little nearer to the road, or, what might be easier, bring the road to the building, I might set up for an innkeeper. And yet, perhaps, it's better as it is."

The last words he muttered to himself. They needed no interpreter.

On entering what appeared to serve both for kitchen and parlour, if not for other purposes, I found the table spread for supper, and in further confirmation of my suspicions, observed there was a dozen knives and forks laid, though my host's family amounted but to four, namely, himself, his wife, one daughter, and a stout red-haired girl of eighteen, whom he called Bettina. The quick eye of Giuseppe soon saw my dissatisfaction, and what had occasioned it, and for a moment a dark shade settled on his brow; he was, however, too practised a dissembler to let his features betray him for long together; the cloud passed off as rapidly as it had formed; and it was with an air of the frankest good humour that he

hastened to do away with the unfavourable impression which, it was plain to see, had been made upon me by his supper preparations.

"You are surprised," he said, “to find a poor man's cloth spread for so many; and, truth to say, we are not often troubled with visiters; no offence though to you, signor, you are as welcome as the best hound that ever tracked deer or pulled down boar at bay, and that for a forester is using a bold word, too; but the fact is, I had learned the Count's secretary intended having a day's sport amongst our hills here, and I wished to show him and his people the civility of a woodman's supper: we, that have neither land nor money, must curry favour with the great man's great man, or we are like to go without salt to our porridge." "And are we, then, to expect his Lordship's secretary?" asked the woman, significantly.

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No, dame," replied her husband; "the wind has got round to the northward: I hardly expect him before the morning."

This reason appeared very sufficient to the wife, but, I must confess, it produced a very different effect on me. What, in the name of Heaven, had the north wind to do with the secretary's shooting? It was evidently a cant mode of speech to hide their meaning from strangers, and yet perfectly intelligible amongst themselves.

In spite of my best efforts to hide my real feelings, I could not so far subdue nature, but that Giuseppe penetrated through the thin veil with which I sought to disguise my uneasiness. He chose, however, to attribute the emotion visible in my pale face to the fall I had experienced, and I of course pretended to be the dupe of his artifice.

"Couragio, signor," he said; "the tumble can't have done you much harm, since it has left you with whole limbs: and, as for the matter of the fright, a glass of lachryma and a plateful of that same stew which smells so savourily-a mess of wild ducks, isn't it, dame?"

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There was an ominous interchange of smiles amongst the women at this speech, which plainly intimated my wine-cup, or my meal, or perhaps both, were not to go undrugged. To put off the evil hour as long as possible, and to gain, if that could be, some chance for my life, I pretended to enter into my host's view of the matter, and even expressed a hope that my staying there till the morning would not occasion them any inconvenience.

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"None in the world,” he replied. For supper, there is, as you may see, provision for a dozen; so you are not like to sleep on an empty stomach, which we foresters, who rise with the sun, hold to be no good doctrine. As to bed, indeed, that is another chapter, and one that requires counsel; for though we have rooms enough and to spare, yet the most of them are in such a state that a rat would not abide in them for an hour, if he had any decent hole elsewhere to hide his head in. To be sure, there's the blue room-"

"The blue room!" exclaimed my hos

"You are fools," said Giuseppe, angrily, "downright fools."

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Beppo! Beppo!" exclaimed the wife, in spite of all the nods and winks which he gave her to be silent ; I really wonder at you. You see how timorous the poor young gentleman is, and if the ghost should pay his usual visit to the blue room, we shall find him a dead man in the morning."

"Confound the woman's chattering," muttered my host. "I was willing to keep this idle tale from your ears,” he added, turning to me, "that you might have a snug night's rest; but, now the murder's out, I suppose you have no mind to the blue chamber—not that I believe there's a word of truth in the story."

I caught the woman's eye, and the expressive glance she gave me, determined me at once.

“Mine honest host,” I said, 66 it is as square with you, instead of boasting of a courage which might chance to fail me when it was most wanted. For the living I have no dread"—and I laid a strong emphasis on the negative" but as to your ghosts, whether in blue or black chambers, I take no shame to say, that I should most unwillingly intrude myelf upon their company. So, with your good

leave, I'll pass the night here in the armchair before the fire."

This proposal seemed to disconcert Giuseppe. He cast a fierce look at the women for their interference, but suddenly re-assuming his usual frankness of manner, he said " No, no, signor, that will never do; we must manage better for you than so, or we were but churlish hosts. Bettina here shall sleep with my daughter, and you can have her chamber."

It was now Bettina's turn to show confusion. She coloured up to her brows, and in the next instant turned deadly pale; but she said nothing, and, as her back was to Giuseppe, he did not notice it. I hardly knew how to construe this emotion. Was it possible I had a friend in her? and if so, had she the power to assist me? It was my only chance, however, and I determined to keep my eye upon her; but it seemed as if the crafty Giuseppe had seen through my purpose, for during the supper, which was now served up, he watched us both narrowly, and I observed his manner towards the poor girl was harsh and strongly expressive of distrust. Still I calculated upon her lighting me to my bed-room, when I should have an opportunity of concerting with her some plan of escape, if she really were inclined, as I did not doubt she was, to be my friend in this struggle for life. This scheme, however, was defeated by the vigilance of the wife, who, to do her justice, was as crafty a looking old crone as ever was inspired by the spirit of envy to mar a hopeful project. Under the pretext of paying due respect to her guest she would insist upon showing me to my bed-room, and, when I endeavoured to evade her politeness, had the daring impudence to hint that she had observed sundry glances pass between me and Bettina, and did not think it prudent to trust us together. I was forced, therefore, to comply; farther resistance could only serve to convince them that I was aware of their murderous intentions, and thus bring about the catastrophe at once, whereas now it was probable they would delay the deed till they thought me asleep, in which respite I might by some unforeseen accident stumble on the means of safety.

The moment the old crone left me, I locked and bolted the door, and proceeded carefully to examine the room, lest there should be any other entrance by which I could be taken unawares by my murderers.

Minute as my search was, I could discover nothing of the kind, and this, if it was not decisive of my safety, was some sort of satisfaction. Not knowing what other precautionary measures to take till the peril assumed a more definite form, I at least resolved to afford no opening to the enemy; and, with this determination, withdrew the light from the window, and flung myself into a large oaken arm-chair that stood by the bed-side-not with a view to sleep, but that I might the more surely remain awake, and be prepared to repel attacks. Chance, however, will sometimes frustrate the best laid schemes; in spite of all my precautions, before half an hour was over, the treacherous arm-chair, with its high back and well-stuffed cushion, had seduced me into a light dose, from which I was roused by a noise, like the rattling of pebbles against glass. I started up in an instant, but yet so screened by the bedcurtains that I could see without being seen. What was my horror, when by the feeble light of the lamp upon the hearth, I saw a human face close against the window! Before I could recover from my alarm sufficiently to know how to act, the proprietor of the face had got one leg into the room, supported by the window-ledge. was utterly powerless. I strove to speak, but the tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth, and just as little was I able to stir hand or foot, though I was shaking all over as if under the influence of fever-frost.

Still I

With the greatest caution the ruffian now drew in the other leg,-probably he feared to waken me -and in one second more he would have been in the room, and myselr at his mercy, when by some miracle my faculties were suddenly restored to me. I called out, or rather shrieked out, to him to retire, at the same time threatening him with my pistols, one of which I brandished in either hand, and I have no doubt that my attitude was sufficiently imposing, fear always supplies me with energy. Be this as it may, the assassin was alarmed. He turned upon me a look that I shall never forgot, and actually leaped out of the window, a danger which no man would have incurred unless he had been previously frightened out of his senses.

for

I had thus got rid of the peril for the immediate moment, but was it to be expected that the ruffian would so easily give up his enterprise? Would he not return with the rest of his gang, who, it was to be