08 



Monthlif Review of Literature, 



[July, 



influence ; but in wV.atsoevcr thou cayest to 

 them, thou mu:it disclose nor tliyself^ — nor 

 thy de.siiny — nor thine aim. Be towards 

 them as man to man, and reach tlieir wills 

 hy /ivm/in inslruments alone. Persuade, 

 but ccramand not ; assume tlie oracle in 

 thy responses, but only to sway their pas- 

 sions. 'Work wonders ; but let not 

 the wonder-working hand be visible," 



Tliis oracle it is, tlien, the circumstances 

 of wliich are fuKilled in the Five Niglits at 

 St. Albans. Tlie knight had visited every 

 ■quarter of the globe, and at the end of 390 

 years arrived in England, and pitched at 

 yt. Albans. Here dv/elt — by the means at 

 Ills command, b.e learnt — an idiot girl, who 

 was a doating mother's much loved troa- 

 .sure. His enterprise had never auspicated 

 so well before — lie had constantly been de- 

 feated — some acciu-sed chasm in the cir- 

 ciim.stances had left him to the scorn and 

 mockery of Amaimon, and the avenging 

 torments of Jlephisto. At St. Albans, ac- 

 cordingly, he commences operations. 



Two substantial yeomen returning from 

 Dunstable in the dead of the night, v/ere sud- 

 denly surjiriscd by tlie strange ajipearancc 

 of the Abbey — it seemed on fire — or ratiier, 

 glowing red-hot like a furnace. Spurring 

 onward, they were still more surprised to 

 find all quiet in tlie town, and the Abbey 

 itself as gloomy as ever. One of tliem, 

 Pevcrell, bolder than the other, rode up to 

 the gates to discover the mystery, but could 

 make nothing of it. Tlie next morning, 

 tlie story flew, and was in every body's 

 mouth, and at night every body sat up in a 

 vague sort of expectation. Exactly as tlie 

 chimes of twelve began, the same marvel- 

 lous sight did re-appear — the Abbey was 

 again wrapt in flames, emitting neitlier heat 

 nor luiht (how were they vi^ible ?) which 

 again vanished at the last stroke of the hour. 

 ' The miracle fJlcd, of course, every soul, 

 and tlio next day the town met to delibe- 

 rate. At th.e meeting an old man pre- 

 sented himself (this was Amaimon, who of 

 course was on the watch to counteract the 

 knight) and demanded, who had pluck 

 enough to enter the Abbey at midnight, 

 and abide the rest. The challenge was 

 promptly accepted by Kit Barnes, the black- 

 Miiith, who was something of a fanatic, and 

 liad just turned preacher of the gospel ; and 

 the old man, grasping his arm, whispered — 

 " I will meet tliee tliere." " Wrench me 

 — tear me from that iron hand," screamed 

 liit, as he convulsively fell upon tlie ground, 

 to the terror and amazement of the specta- 

 tors. Recovering, however, from his .alarm, 

 he persisted, in spite of all remonstrance, in 

 his resolution ; and as the hour approached, 

 was accompanied by crowds to within a re- 

 spectful distance of the Abbey gate. At 

 twelve precisely, tlie old man of the iron 

 Jiand was seen within, waving a crucifix, 

 streaming with fire, and Kit rushed boldly 

 forward. Tlie flames apjieared to curl 



round them, and distant slnieks were heard, 

 when suddenly tlie doors closed with vio- 

 lence, and all was dark and silent. Tiie 

 assembled multitude had fled, but Feverell 

 drew nearer, and listening, heard the low 

 chaunt of a requiem, and presently beheld 

 a funeral procession, and Kit, shrunk and 

 withered, stretched on a bier. The viiioii 

 soon vanished, and Kit in a few moments 

 tottered out of the Abbey, more dead than 

 alive, and unable, or rather forbidden, to 

 tell what lie liad encountered. Peverell led 

 him home, and placed him under the care 

 of the woe-struck mother of the idiot-girl, 

 who had the previous night, in her mother's 

 absence, roamed from liome and perished. 

 The mother and Kit died. 



The next morning Peverell was visited 

 by a stranger (this was tlie knight I'itz. 

 niaurice) of gigantic stature, richly dressed 

 in a sable suit, and black ostrich feathers in 

 his bonnet. In a commanding, but yet 

 courteous manner, he complimented Pe- 

 verell on the cool courage he had shewn the 

 preceding evening ; and told a long story 

 of a marvellous adventure of his own in 

 IMauratania some years before, mixed up with 

 a Lttle diablerie. This, it proved, was told 

 to prompt the honest yeoman to the prose- 

 cution of the Abbey mystery. " As a 

 stranger," the Knight said, " lie could not 

 himself appear conspicuously ;" and, finally, 

 Peverell undertook to persuade some of his 

 fellow townsmen to accompany them to the 

 Abbey that night. Clayton, his companion 

 on the Dunstable road, after some difficul- 

 ties, consents ; and the mayor, by the in- 

 tervention of the crier, beats up for volun- 

 teers. Ten, from one motive or other — 

 and all are nicely and ably scanned — ofler 

 their services. The whole twelve assemble 

 at the Abbey at eleven, and are joined by 

 Fiizmaurice. M'ith the first stroke of twelve 

 commences a scene of horrible concep- 

 tion — Kit Barnes and the goblin of the iron 

 arm as phantoms — hideous incorporations 

 of blue mists — noises of all sorts — howling, 

 screaming, and yelling of wild beasts, ming- 

 . led with low lamentations, gentle wailings, 

 and stifled groans — voices blaspheming, des- 

 pairing, praying, beseeching, and some in an- 

 guish exclaimingpardon, pardon ! — then loud 

 shouts of laughter, bursting in horrid vol- 

 lies from infernal throats — death, ia propria 

 persona, hovering over all, in his terrific 

 revels of every shape, and every age, and 

 crime, and mode. Then follow clouds of 

 serpents hissing fire — reptiles of all loath- 

 some forms — fierce scorpions — gilded 



snakes, &.c till, by degrees, all finally 



vanished, and silence again returned. One 

 of the party was found dead — apparently of 

 fright. Though thoroughly alarmed, the 

 rest met again the following night, and 

 again were renewed like horrible scenes ; 

 and another of the ]i:ivty perished — stabbed 

 by his dearest friend in an attempt to kill a 

 serpent that seemed to coil around him ; 

 ar.d a third v.as found dead in his bed the 



