p her jewels, made the
necessary preparations on the frontier, procured passports, and
powerful protections in distant countries; in short she had done all
that madness of an unbounded love could undertake. I treated her as an
invalid who does not know her own state, humoured all her
extravagances, and praised her most whimsical plans. Thus she thought
we agreed, and in a week we were to fly during a masquerade while all
were busied, and no one could be recognised. To satisfy her for the
moment I agreed to every thing, but proposed in my own heart to quit
the court and the town. While we were thus discussing our highly
reasonable projects I suddenly perceived behind us the prince, who had
been for sometime listening to our conversation. The scene which then
took place I will not attempt to describe. The father's anger
overstepped all bounds on finding me untrue to my promise, since he was
convinced that I quite agreed to all the wild plans of his daughter.
She cast herself at his feet totally unlike the beautiful being she was
formerly, she resembled an automaton moved by powerful springs, a
figure only manifesting life in convulsive gestures. It is astonishing
that we ever outlive some moments. I was banished, obliged to fly into
solitude, and for a long time heard nothing of the city or what
occurred there, as I avoided all intercourse with men. When I in some
measure recovered my tranquillity of mind, and was able to bear the
sight of friends, I heard that she was suffering from an incurable
disease, and that her life was despaired of by the physician. How
whimsically does fate sport with man and all human intentions! I was
informed that her father in the extremity of grief, would willingly
have given me his beloved child had he been able thereby to save her;
that he would have despised the opinion of the world, and the
objections of his family, could he by these means have saved his
Juliet, by whose illness he had first learnt how much he loved her, and
how much his life was bound up in hers. All was in vain,--she died in
agonies, calling for me, and the disconsolate father heaped execrations
upon me that will overtake me, ay,--as surely as her own."

These are, as nearly as possible, the affecting confessions of my
unhappy friend. He added, in conclusion, that the whole of his
property would be lost, unless he discovered a certain document for
which he had long been searching, but which he could find n