aid and delusions of Satan, shown
to a young person of quality, in a mirror glass, a gentleman then
abroad, to whom the said young person was betrothed, and who appeared in
the vision to be in the act of bestowing his hand upon another lady. But
this and some other parts of the record appear to have been studiously
left imperfect in names and dates, probably out of regard to the honour
of the families concerned. If Dame Gourlay was able actually to play
off such a piece of jugglery, it is clear she must have had better
assistance to practise the deception than her own skill or funds could
supply. Meanwhile, this mysterious visionary traffic had its usual
effect in unsettling Miss Ashton's mind. Her temper became unequal,
her health decayed daily, her manners grew moping, melancholy,
and uncertain. Her father, guessing partly at the cause of these
appearances, made a point of banishing Dame Gourlay from the castle;
but the arrow was shot, and was rankling barb-deep in the side of the
wounded deer.

It was shortly after the departure of this woman, that Lucy Ashton,
urged by her parents, announced to them, with a vivacity by which they
were startled, "That she was conscious heaven and earth and hell had set
themselves against her union with Ravenswood; still her contract," she
said, "was a binding contract, and she neither would nor could resign
it without the consent of Ravenswood. Let me be assured," she concluded,
"that he will free me from my engagement, and dispose of me as you
please, I care not how. When the diamonds are gone, what signifies the
casket?"

The tone of obstinacy with which this was said, her eyes flashing
with unnatural light, and her hands firmly clenched, precluded the
possibility of dispute; and the utmost length which Lady Ashton's art
could attain, only got her the privilege of dictating the letter, by
which her daughter required to know of Ravenswood whether he intended to
abide by or to surrender what she termed "their unfortunate engagement."
Of this advantage Lady Ashton so far and so ingeniously availed herself
that, according to the wording of the letter, the reader would have
supposed Lucy was calling upon her lover to renounce a contract which
was contrary to the interests and inclinations of both. Not trusting
even to this point of deception, Lady Ashton finally determined to
suppress the letter altogether, in hopes that Lucy's impatience would
induce her to condemn Ravenswood unhear