Paul de Walberg. 419 



diffidence of their hospitality, I forced myself to fall in with the pre- 

 vailing spirit, and succeeded better than I could have anticipated. 

 About eleven o'clock a domestic, as he was called, but one whom 1 

 now set down as one of the gang, was desired to conduct me to my 

 apartment. They bade me " good night," and I retired. The 

 words fell like ice upon my heart. As the door closed behind me, 

 " Thank God," cried I mentally, " I am now left to myself." Sum- 

 moning all my courage to my aid, I compressed my lips, and deter- 

 mined to act as coolly and determinedly as possible. The servant 

 left me at the door of my apartment, and, with the lamp which he had 

 carried in my hand, I entered that which Walberg had determined 

 should be my grave ! 



Having closed and locked the door, I sat down and began to think 

 of what had best be done : "My death," said I, " decreed by the 

 man who was most forward in protestation, whose conduct has been 

 uniformly generous and free-hearted ; to whom appearances bore the 

 highest testimony ! His sister too, educated, amiable, and fascinating, 

 a partner in his guilt. His residence, doubtless, the strong hold of 

 banditti ; and himself, evidently their chief. These things sound 

 strange, and actual conviction could alone have satisfied me of their 

 truth. Could I have detected it? could I have suspected it? There 

 is even some consolation is knowing that no foresight, no caution, no 

 suspicion, could have enabled me to avoid my present situation. 

 The determination to avoid my fate, if earthly means would permit 

 me, or, at the worst, to sell my life at as dear a rate as possible, 

 gave me an artificial self-possession. This feeling may have partaken 

 of the calmness of mere desperation ; but it enabled me to have all 

 my senses alive to the slenderest chance of extrication, and gave me 

 a clear and calculating judgment. Had there been something like a 

 promising hope of escape, I should have been flattered ; but, know- 

 ing there was the merest possibility, I found I could face the thoughts 

 of death with a substantial courage. 



At this moment the clock struck the half- hour after eleven all 

 was quiet within and without the house. The night was rather dark, 

 though now and then the moon would faintly struggle out of the 

 masses of cloud, and stream indecisively across the forest. The wind, 

 too, I found was rising ; and I could hear, at a great distance, the re- 

 verberating roll of thunder. I rose, went to my portmanteau, and 

 drew out my pistols. The two barrels of each had before been 

 doubly loaded ; and, as I grasped them, a relieving sensation of pos- 

 sessing protection stole over me. I examined the window to see if I 

 could manage an escape through it; but this I found extremely pro- 

 blematical, owing to the height. The terrace, however, extended 

 below me ; and I determined, if no other means presented, to have 

 r ecourse to these 



Having fully satisfied myself that there were no trap-doors or 

 sliding panels, at least, such as were at all cognizable, I took the 

 money which I had carried, out of my portmanteau, and, putting it 

 into a small leather case, disposed of it about my person. The door 

 afforded the most likely means of escape ; for, till I could find an 

 egress, I might, perhaps, remain in the dark passages undiscovered 



2 E2 



