his suit. At
least he might, with this knowledge that he had gained, appoint to meet
her now! All the morning Sir Purcell had been combative, owing to that
subordinate or secondary post he occupied in a situation of some
excitement;--which combativeness is one method whereby men thus placed,
imagining that they are acting devotedly for their friends, contrive
still to assert themselves. He descended to the foot of the stairs, where
he had told Emilia to wait for him, full of kind feelings and ready
cheerful counsels; as thus: "Nothing that we possess belongs to us;--All
will come round rightly in the end; Be patient, look about for amusement,
and improve your mind." And more of this copper coinage of wisdom in the
way of proverbs. But Emilia was nowhere visible to receive the
administration of comfort. Outside the house the fog appeared to have
swallowed her. With some chagrin on her behalf (partly a sense of duty
unfulfilled) Sir Purcell made his way to the residence of the Marinis, to
report of her there, if she should not have arrived. The punishment he
inflicted on himself in keeping his hand an hour from that letter to be
written to Cornelia, was almost pleasing; and he was rewarded by it, for
the projected sentences grew mellow and rich, condensed and throbbed
eloquently. What wonder, that with such a mental occupation, he should
pass Emilia and not notice her? She let him go.

But when he was out of sight, all seemed gone. The dismally-lighted city
wore a look of Judgement terrible to see. Her brain was slave to her
senses: she fancied she had dropped into an underground kingdom, among a
mysterious people. The anguish through which action had just hurried her,
now fell with a conscious weight upon her heart. She stood a moment,
seeing her desolation stretch outwardly into endless labyrinths; and then
it narrowed and took hold of her as a force within: changing thus, almost
with each breathing of her body.

The fog had thickened. Up and down the groping city went muffled men, few
women. Emilia looked for one of her sex who might have a tender face.
Desire to be kissed and loved by a creature strange to her, and to lay
her head upon a woman's bosom, moved her to gaze around with a longing
once or twice; but no eyes met hers, and the fancy recurred vividly that
she was not in the world she had known. Otherwise, what had robbed her of
her voice? She played with her fancy for comfort, long after any real
vitality in