ber.

I presented myself to her; for a moment natural feeling produced a
sentiment of gladness, which disappeared again, when with ardent and
affectionate exhortation I besought her to accompany me in flight from this
den of superstition and misery. In a moment she relapsed into the delirium
of fanaticism, and, but that her gentle nature forbade, would have loaded
me with execrations. She conjured me, she commanded me to leave her--
"Beware, O beware," she cried, "fly while yet your escape is practicable.
Now you are safe; but strange sounds and inspirations come on me at times,
and if the Eternal should in awful whisper reveal to me his will, that to
save my child you must be sacrificed, I would call in the satellites of him
you call the tyrant; they would tear you limb from limb; nor would I hallow
the death of him whom Idris loved, by a single tear."

She spoke hurriedly, with tuneless voice, and wild look; her child awoke,
and, frightened, began to cry; each sob went to the ill-fated mother's
heart, and she mingled the epithets of endearment she addressed to her
infant, with angry commands that I should leave her. Had I had the means, I
would have risked all, have torn her by force from the murderer's den, and
trusted to the healing balm of reason and affection. But I had no choice,
no power even of longer struggle; steps were heard along the gallery, and
the voice of the preacher drew near. Juliet, straining her child in a close
embrace, fled by another passage. Even then I would have followed her; but
my foe and his satellites entered; I was surrounded, and taken prisoner.

I remembered the menace of the unhappy Juliet, and expected the full
tempest of the man's vengeance, and the awakened wrath of his followers, to
fall instantly upon me. I was questioned. My answers were simple and
sincere. "His own mouth condemns him," exclaimed the impostor; "he
confesses that his intention was to seduce from the way of salvation our
well-beloved sister in God; away with him to the dungeon; to-morrow he dies
the death; we are manifestly called upon to make an example, tremendous and
appalling, to scare the children of sin from our asylum of the saved."

My heart revolted from his hypocritical jargon: but it was unworthy of me
to combat in words with the ruffian; and my answer was cool; while, far
from being possessed with fear, methought, even at the worst, a man true to
himself, courageous and determined, could fight his way