lter, together with the wine he had
drunk, produced such a perturbation in his fancy, that he was visited
with horrible dreams; and, among other miserable situations, imagined
himself in danger of perishing in the flames, which he thought had taken
hold on his apartment. This vision made such an impression upon his
faculties, that he alarmed the whole house with repeated cries of "Fire!
fire!" and even leaped out of his bed, though he still continued fast
asleep. The lovers were very disagreeably disturbed by this dreadful
exclamation; and Mrs. Hornbeck, running in great confusion to the door,
had the mortification to see the footman, with a light in his hand,
enter her husband's chamber, in order to give him notice of this
accident. She knew that she would be instantly missed, and could easily
divine the consequence, unless her invention could immediately trump up
some plausible excuse for her absence.

Women are naturally fruitful of expedients in cases of such emergency:
she employed but a few seconds in recollection, and, rushing directly
towards the apartment of the governor, who still continued to hallo in
the same note, exclaimed, in a screaming tone, "Lord have mercy upon us!
where! where!" By this time, all the servants were assembled in strange
attire: Peregrine burst into Jolter's room, and seeing him stalking in
his shirt, with his eyes shut, bestowed such a slap upon his back, as in
a moment dissolved his dream, and restored him to the use of his senses.
He was astonished and ashamed at being discovered in such an indecent
attitude; and, taking refuge under the clothes, asked pardon of all
present for the disturbance he had occasioned; soliciting, with great
humility, the forgiveness of the lady, who, to a miracle, counterfeited
the utmost agitation of terror and surprise. Meanwhile Hornbeck, being
awaked by the repeated efforts of his man, no sooner understood that his
wife was missing, than all the chimeras of jealousy taking possession of
his imagination, he started up in a sort of frenzy, and, snatching his
sword, flew straight to Peregrine's chamber; where, though he found not
that which he looked for, he unluckily perceived an under-petticoat,
which his wife had forgot in the hurry of her retreat. This discovery
added fuel to the flame of his resentment. He seized the fatal proof of
his dishonour, and, meeting his spouse in her return to bed, presented
it to her view, with a most expressive countenance