, leaping from ledge to ledge, for the space of sixty
feet, produced a freshness in the air, and a murmur, the most delicious
and soothing imaginable. These, added to the odours of the cedars
which embowered it, and of the honey-suckle which clustered among the
lattices, rendered this my favorite retreat in summer.

On this occasion I repaired hither. My spirits drooped through the
fatigue of long attention, and I threw myself upon a bench, in a state,
both mentally and personally, of the utmost supineness. The lulling
sounds of the waterfall, the fragrance and the dusk combined to becalm
my spirits, and, in a short time, to sink me into sleep. Either the
uneasiness of my posture, or some slight indisposition molested my
repose with dreams of no cheerful hue. After various incoherences
had taken their turn to occupy my fancy, I at length imagined myself
walking, in the evening twilight, to my brother's habitation. A pit,
methought, had been dug in the path I had taken, of which I was not
aware. As I carelessly pursued my walk, I thought I saw my brother,
standing at some distance before me, beckoning and calling me to make
haste. He stood on the opposite edge of the gulph. I mended my pace, and
one step more would have plunged me into this abyss, had not some
one from behind caught suddenly my arm, and exclaimed, in a voice of
eagerness and terror, "Hold! hold!"

The sound broke my sleep, and I found myself, at the next moment,
standing on my feet, and surrounded by the deepest darkness. Images
so terrific and forcible disabled me, for a time, from distinguishing
between sleep and wakefulness, and withheld from me the knowledge of my
actual condition. My first panics were succeeded by the perturbations of
surprize, to find myself alone in the open air, and immersed in so deep
a gloom. I slowly recollected the incidents of the afternoon, and how
I came hither. I could not estimate the time, but saw the propriety of
returning with speed to the house. My faculties were still too confused,
and the darkness too intense, to allow me immediately to find my way up
the steep. I sat down, therefore, to recover myself, and to reflect upon
my situation.

This was no sooner done, than a low voice was heard from behind the
lattice, on the side where I sat. Between the rock and the lattice was a
chasm not wide enough to admit a human body; yet, in this chasm he that
spoke appeared to be stationed. "Attend! attend! but be not terrifi