to reassure her, and convince her that the whole had
been a deception of her overheated fancy. The solitude in which She
had passed the Evening, the gloom of night, the Book which She had been
reading, and the Room in which She sat, were all calculated to place
before her such a vision. He treated the idea of Ghosts with ridicule,
and produced strong arguments to prove the fallacy of such a system.
His conversation tranquillized and comforted her, but did not convince
her. She could not believe that the Spectre had been a mere creature
of her imagination; Every circumstance was impressed upon her mind too
forcibly, to permit her flattering herself with such an idea. She
persisted in asserting that She had really seen her Mother's Ghost, had
heard the period of her dissolution announced and declared that She
never should quit her bed alive. Ambrosio advised her against
encouraging these sentiments, and then quitted her chamber, having
promised to repeat his visit on the morrow. Antonia received this
assurance with every mark of joy: But the Monk easily perceived that
He was not equally acceptable to her Attendant. Flora obeyed Elvira's
injunctions with the most scrupulous observance. She examined every
circumstance with an anxious eye likely in the least to prejudice her
young Mistress, to whom She had been attached for many years. She was
a Native of Cuba, had followed Elvira to Spain, and loved the young
Antonia with a Mother's affection. Flora quitted not the room for a
moment while the Abbot remained there: She watched his every word, his
every look, his every action. He saw that her suspicious eye was
always fixed upon him, and conscious that his designs would not bear
inspection so minute, He felt frequently confused and disconcerted. He
was aware that She doubted the purity of his intentions; that She would
never leave him alone with Antonia, and his Mistress defended by the
presence of this vigilant Observer, He despaired of finding the means
to gratify his passion.

As He quitted the House, Jacintha met him, and begged that some Masses
might be sung for the repose of Elvira's soul, which She doubted not
was suffering in Purgatory. He promised not to forget her request; But
He perfectly gained the old Woman's heart by engaging to watch during
the whole of the approaching night in the haunted chamber. Jacintha
could find no terms sufficiently strong to express her gratitude, and
the Monk departed