ACCOUNT of the GERMAN THEATRE. 187 



" dread unknown ! whither wilt thou lead ? where wilt thou 

 " place me ? If thou leav'ft me this confcious felf, 'tis that 

 " mud create my heaven or my hell. Amidft the wafle of a 

 " world which thine anger has deftroyed, I can people the fi- 

 " lent void with thought. Or wilt thou, in new and untried 

 " ftates, lead me through various mifery to nothing ? Thou 

 " mayeft annihilate my being ; but while this foul is left, will 

 " not its freedom and its force remain ? 'Tis equal where — 

 " (putting up his piftolj I will not now fhrink from the fuffer- 

 " ings of the prefent — the deftiny of Moor fhall be fulfilled." 



He is filent — he hears the tread of approaching feet, and 

 prefently a figure glides before him, and knocks at the grated 

 wicket of the tower. The figure fpeaks, " Rife, man of for- 

 " row, inhabitant of the tower, thy repaft is here." A feeble 

 voice anfwers from the dungeon within, " Herman^ is it thou ? 

 " Bring'fl thou, like the prophet's raven, his food to a linger- 

 " ing wretch, that lives by the crumbs which thy pity affbj 

 " him ?" Moor, who had fhrunk back in amazement, now ad- 

 vances, and defires the man to flop. That man is Herman. 

 He draws his fword j but is almoft inftantly difarmed. " What 

 " art thou, fays the aftonifhed Herman, whofe touch withers 

 " like that of death ? Art thou the demon of this horrid 

 " place ? the fpirit of this murderous tower ?" " I am, fays 

 " Moor; the exterminating angel is my name ; and yet I have 

 " flefh and bones like thee. But what wretch is in that 

 " tower ? I will burft his chains." He draws from his pocket 

 the pafs-keys which his profeflion employs ; he opens the tower; 

 the fkeleton figure of a famifhed wretch creeps from the dun- 

 geon — " Horrible phantom !" fays the aftoniflied Moor, in a 

 low and flifled voice, " my father !" 



It is his father, whom the inhuman Francis (taking advan- 

 tage of the long faint into which the account of his fon's death 

 had thrown him) had buried alive in the dungeon of the 

 tower. When Charles is informed of this, and his other 



A a 2 treacheries, 



