much of mistrust and apprehension in the movement, as if it were that of one whose curiosity was not unmingled with the dread of being detected in its indulgence: but no appearance of life was to be seen which could have alarmed the most timid, not a taper gleamed from the many windows around, whence the lights of revelry in other years were wont to gild the waters as they flowed beneath. The only evidence of human existence, which broke the dreary monotony of the desolate scene, was the rays of a fire upon the deck of a distant vessel, glowing through the mist on the canal; and the silence of death, which for a few moments pervaded the city, pressed like a fearful weight upon his spirit. It was an awful tranquillity, and, whatever might be the stranger's fears, he listened eagerly for some of the sounds which had once enlivened those forsaken streets; nor did he listen long, till the full tones of the organ in the neighbouring church of St. Michael, and the voices of the priests swelling in lofty chorus, burst loudly on

8

A RENCOUNTRE.

his ear. Without words the holy strain told the story of the desolation around him; and, starting as if at the same time they had warned him of personal danger, he abruptly hurried onwards.

After crossing the bridge, he almost immediately turned into a narrow street, which wound at no great distance from the water around the irregular angles of the Cathedral. He knew, by the chorus within the building, that the mass there celebrating was drawing to a close; and, eager to escape the observation of those who were engaged in the ceremony, he redoubled his speed as he approached the sacred edifice. But he was too late; long before he had trodden half the length of its extensive walls, the music ceased, and, a few moments afterwards, three catholic priests in their white linen garments emerged from a low arched portal only a few paces to his right. In the imperfect light of the declining day, he might have escaped their observation, but each carried a blazing taper in his hand; and, though under pretence of a salutation, he drew his broad hat yet lower on his

APPREHENSIONS.

9

brows as they for a moment obstructed his path, he saw they flashed the rays of their torches intentionally full upon him, and surveyed him, as they did so, with a scrutinizing gaze. A hurried glance convinced him that one of the party, at least, he had met before, yet he paused not to seek assurance of the fact, but, muffling himself yet closer in his disguise, redoubled the former quickness of his steps, until a turning in the streets concealed him from their view.

He knew not that he had been recognized, he was not aware that he was watched, but judged it most prudent to act as if certain of both; and, although the house it was his purpose to visit was at no great distance, he thought it expedient to lengthen his way by making a circuit through many of the narrow streets in the neighbourhood, before he paused at the door of a mean and gloomy dwelling which stood at the bottom of an unfrequented court, one side of which was bounded by the canal, and the other by the high unbroken wall of a convent.

10

A GLOOMY DWELLING.

A stranger in the city which he had only once previously visited, and not even a native of the country, he vigilantly surveyed the mansion, to convince himself that it in all things corresponded with his recollections, before he ventured to knock for admission; till, as if satisfied by the grotesque carvings which adorned its successively projecting stories, and the strange forms of its porch and narrow windows, that he was not mistaken, he struck gently against its low oaken door with the butt end of a pistol he drew from his broad leathern belt for the purpose. Three times he repeated the signal without receiving the slightest reply, or hearing the least noise within; and he had at length begun to imagine the house to be totally uninhabited, when he perceived the glimmering of a light through the crevice of a window shutter on the ground floor, and soon afterwards a cracked and aged voice demanded what he sought.

"I have come at Roger Forster's request to

speak with him on business of importance-is not this his dwelling?" returned the stranger in broken Flemish.

"And what may be your name, and whence come you?" squalled the woman who had before spoken, without any movement being made to give him admission.

"My name is Bertram Witherington," was the reply, "but, though I am a native of his own land, I was in France when Forster's summons reached me."

Are

you sure that

you are

Bertram Wither

ington, the real Bertram, and no cunning spy that has learnt we are expecting the gentleman from foreign parts ?" rejoined the querist.

“I know not how to convince you if my accent does not," was his answer, "but let me in, and your master will know me at a glance."

"My master, truly!" muttered the trusty porteress; but as if satisfied with this assurance, no further question was put, and a rattling of bars, bolts, and chains forthwith commenced,