g a
benefit on all parties. For this end I profited by an opening in the
conversation, and assured them of Catharine's irreconcilable aversion to
the scheme, and of the death of the Saxon baroness. The latter event
was merely a conjecture, but rendered extremely probable by Pleyel's
representations. My purpose, you need not be told, was effected.

"My passion for mystery, and a species of imposture, which I deemed
harmless, was thus awakened afresh. This second lapse into error made my
recovery more difficult. I cannot convey to you an adequate idea of
the kind of gratification which I derived from these exploits; yet I
meditated nothing. My views were bounded to the passing moment, and
commonly suggested by the momentary exigence.

"I must not conceal any thing. Your principles teach you to abhor a
voluptuous temper; but, with whatever reluctance, I acknowledge this
temper to be mine. You imagine your servant Judith to be innocent as
well as beautiful; but you took her from a family where hypocrisy, as
well as licentiousness, was wrought into a system. My attention was
captivated by her charms, and her principles were easily seen to be
flexible.

"Deem me not capable of the iniquity of seduction. Your servant is not
destitute of feminine and virtuous qualities; but she was taught that
the best use of her charms consists in the sale of them. My nocturnal
visits to Mettingen were now prompted by a double view, and my
correspondence with your servant gave me, at all times, access to your
house.

"The second night after our interview, so brief and so little foreseen
by either of us, some daemon of mischief seized me. According to my
companion's report, your perfections were little less than divine. Her
uncouth but copious narratives converted you into an object of worship.
She chiefly dwelt upon your courage, because she herself was deficient
in that quality. You held apparitions and goblins in contempt. You took
no precautions against robbers. You were just as tranquil and secure in
this lonely dwelling, as if you were in the midst of a crowd. Hence a
vague project occurred to me, to put this courage to the test. A woman
capable of recollection in danger, of warding off groundless panics,
of discerning the true mode of proceeding, and profiting by her best
resources, is a prodigy. I was desirous of ascertaining whether you were
such an one.

"My expedient was obvious and simple: I was to counterfeit a murderous
dia