can you assist us in our difficulty?'

"'My cottage is some few miles distant,' replied my father, 'but I
have little to offer you besides a shelter from the weather; to the
little I have you are welcome. May I ask whence you come?'

"'Yes, friend, it is no secret now; we have escaped from Transylvania,
where my daughter's honour and my life were equally in jeopardy!'

"This information was quite enough to raise an interest in my father's
heart. He remembered his own escape: he remembered the loss of
his wife's honour, and the tragedy by which it was wound up. He
immediately, and warmly, offered all the assistance which he could
afford them.

"'There is no time to be lost, then, good sir,' observed the horseman;
'my daughter is chilled with the frost, and cannot hold out much
longer against the severity of the weather.'

"'Follow me,' replied my father, leading the way towards his home.

"'I was lured away in pursuit of a large white wolf,' observed my
father; 'it came to the very window of my hut, or I should not have
been out at this time of night.'

"'The creature passed by us just as we came out of the wood,' said the
female in a silvery tone.

"I was nearly discharging my piece at it,' observed the hunter; 'but
since it did us such good service, I am glad that I allowed it to
escape.'

"In about an hour and a half, during which my father walked at a rapid
pace, the party arrived at the cottage, and, as I said before, came
in.

"'We are in good time, apparently,' observed the dark hunter, catching
the smell of the roasted meat, as he walked to the fire and surveyed
my brother and sister, and myself. 'You have young cooks here,
Mynheer.' 'I am glad that we shall not have to wait,' replied my
father. 'Come, mistress, seat yourself by the fire; you require warmth
after your cold ride.' 'And where can I put up my horse, Mynheer?'
observed the huntsman.' 'I will take care of him,' replied my father,
going out of the cottage door.

"The female must, however, be particularly described. She was young,
and apparently twenty years of age. She was dressed in a travelling
dress, deeply bordered with white fur, and wore a cap of white ermine
on her head. Her features were very beautiful, at least I thought so,
and so my father has since declared. Her hair was flaxen, glossy and
shining, and bright as a mirror; and her mouth, although somewhat
large when it was open, showed the most brilliant teeth I have ever
behe