beast burst it open,
and he had no reason to believe that any person followed him in his
inruption: on the other hand, he could not imagine that such a gentle
creature would either attempt to commit, or be able to execute, such
a desperate assault as that which his body had sustained; and her
demeanour was so modest and circumspect, that he durst not harbour the
least suspicion of her virtue. These reflections bewildered him in the
labyrinth of thought: he rummaged his whole imagination, endeavouring
to account for what had happened. At length, he concluded, that either
Peregrine, or the devil, or both must have been at the bottom of the
whole affair, and determined, for the satisfaction of his curiosity,
to watch our hero's motions, during the remaining part of the night, so
narrowly, that his conduct, mysterious as it was, should not be able to
elude his penetration.

With these sentiments he retired to his own room, after the ass had been
restored to the right owners, and the priest had visited and comforted
his fair ward, who had been almost distracted with fear. Silence no
sooner prevailed again, than he crawled darkling towards her door, and
huddled himself up in an obscure corner, from whence he might observe
the ingress or egress of any human creature. He had not long remained
in this posture, when, fatigued with this adventure and that of the
preceding night, his faculties were gradually overpowered with slumber;
and, falling fast asleep, he began to snore like a whole congregation of
Presbyterians. The Flemish beauty, hearing this discordant noise in the
passage, began to be afraid of some new alarm, and very prudently bolted
her door; so that when her lover wanted to repeat his visit he was not
only surprised and incensed at this disagreeable serenade, the author of
which he did not know; but when compelled by his passion, which was
by this time wound to the highest pitch, he ventured to approach the
entrance, he had the extreme mortification to find himself shut out. He
durst not knock or signify his presence in any other manner, on account
of the lady's reputation, which would have greatly suffered had the
snorer been waked by his endeavours. Had he known that the person
who thus thwarted his views was the painter, he would have taken some
effectual step to remove him; but he could not conceive what should
induce Pallet to take up his residence in that corner; nor could he use
the assistance of a light, to