f returned; it
seemed as if she had escaped its heavy pressure only while she was
removed from the object of it. She passed immediately to the chamber,
where the remains of her father were laid, and yielded to all the
anguish of hopeless grief. La Voisin, at length, persuaded her to
leave the room, and she returned to her own, where, exhausted by
the sufferings of the day, she soon fell into deep sleep, and awoke
considerably refreshed.

When the dreadful hour arrived, in which the remains of St. Aubert were
to be taken from her for ever, she went alone to the chamber to look
upon his countenance yet once again, and La Voisin, who had waited
patiently below stairs, till her despair should subside, with the
respect due to grief, forbore to interrupt the indulgence of it, till
surprise, at the length of her stay, and then apprehension overcame his
delicacy, and he went to lead her from the chamber. Having tapped gently
at the door, without receiving an answer, he listened attentively, but
all was still; no sigh, no sob of anguish was heard. Yet more alarmed by
this silence, he opened the door, and found Emily lying senseless across
the foot of the bed, near which stood the coffin. His calls procured
assistance, and she was carried to her room, where proper applications,
at length, restored her.

During her state of insensibility, La Voisin had given directions for
the coffin to be closed, and he succeeded in persuading Emily to forbear
revisiting the chamber. She, indeed, felt herself unequal to this, and
also perceived the necessity of sparing her spirits, and recollecting
fortitude sufficient to bear her through the approaching scene. St.
Aubert had given a particular injunction, that his remains should be
interred in the church of the convent of St. Clair, and, in mentioning
the north chancel, near the ancient tomb of the Villerois, had pointed
out the exact spot, where he wished to be laid. The superior had granted
this place for the interment, and thither, therefore, the sad procession
now moved, which was met, at the gates, by the venerable priest,
followed by a train of friars. Every person, who heard the solemn chant
of the anthem, and the peal of the organ, that struck up, when the
body entered the church, and saw also the feeble steps, and the assumed
tranquillity of Emily, gave her involuntary tears. She shed none,
but walked, her face partly shaded by a thin black veil, between two
persons, who supported her