382 MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 



" ' You are dared and challenged to a combat, which it appears you would 

 wish to avoid,' was the taunting reply. ' Do not I stand here to punish you 

 for your crimes ? are you not the seducer of Emily ? the accomplice in a deed, 

 which must be horrible, as even Crawford himself only hinted at — and dared 

 not utter it ? are you not the bane of a whole family — a family that was in- 

 nocent and happy, till you destroyed its peace of mind for ever ?' 



" ' Ah ! fares it thus ?' said the nobleman, now irritated in his turn by the 

 other's manner. ' Be it as you say.' 



" ' Have you pistols, my lord ?' enquired Hunter. 



" ' I have not : coming straight from my hotel hither, I left them behind 

 me, not anticipating such a call for their use.' 



" ' Here are mine,' said the young surgeon, producing those he had pur- 

 chased the night before. ' Choose that which you like the best.' 



" ' I accept of this,' replied Mornay, as he took one from the hand of his 

 foe. ' Are they loaded ?' 



" ' Both : — or we will reload, if it pleases you.' 



" ' By no means, since you gave me my choice : are we to fight without 

 witnesses ?' 



" ' Certainly; it was thus that you convened to fight the departed Craw- 

 ford,' was the response. 



" ' Agreed !' and they moved farther on till they arrived at a proper spot, 

 where they halted, and measured their ground. 



" The ladies in the parlour had not broken the terrible silence in which we 

 left them ; each bosom was too full of horror, and too much the victim of 

 dreadful suspense, to allow the utterance of a syllable. Presently the sound 

 of a pistol alarmed them ; they started up, and with one accord uttered a fearful 

 ejaculation : a second report followed, louder than the first ; their hearts 

 sank beneath them. 



" A few minutes elapsed — footsteps were heard ascending the staircase, 

 and Hunter, pale, scarcely able to support himself on his legs, entered the 

 room, his eyes rolling, as if in frenzied horror. He tottered towards a chair, 

 and fell upon it exhausted. 



" ' Heavens !' exclaimed Emily, springing forward, and catching firm hold 

 of his hand ; ' what mean those pistols ?' 



" ' Your seducer, Emily, is no more,' returned the young surgeon solemnly : 

 -' that villain — I have killed him !' 



" A dreadful scream issued from the lips of Lady Mornay ; and she sank 

 upon the floor, speechless. 



" ' Heaven be thanked for one thing!' cried Emily ; ' heaven be thanked ! 

 at all events you are safe !' 



" ' Oh no, said Hunter, with a bitter smile, baring his bosom, at the same 

 time, and displaying a deep wound, which had bled internally : ' Disease, 

 Sickness, and Sorrow are disappointed of their prey ; in giving his righteous 

 doom, Emily, to your seducei', I have myself met death, face to face.' " 



Narrative of a Captivity in France from 1809, to 18J4. By RicH- 

 ARn Langton. Smith, Elder, & Co. 



Had this work appeared at the close of the late war, when every 

 thing connected with it was regarded with so much interest, it could 

 not fail to have been read with unusual avidity. The narrative is 

 told with much animation, and embraces a variety of very lively and 

 striking incidents; but, unhappily, the lapse of twenty years since 

 the time they occurred deprives them of the interest they would at 

 that time have possessed. To those who were the companions of the 



