and beautiful, and keeping his eyes fixed upon hers, he
then, with that necessary freedom which physicians exercise with their
patients, pressed his hands after a time upon her temples, her head, her
eyes, and her heart, the whole family being present, servants and all.
The effect was miraculous. In the course of twenty minutes the girl was
recovered; her spirits--her health had returned to her. Her eyes smiled
as she turned them with delight upon her father and mother.

"O, papa!" she exclaimed, smiling, "O, dear mamma, what can this mean?
I am; cured, and what is more, I am no longer afraid of that vile,
bad man. May the God of heaven be praised for this! but how will we
thank--how can we thank the benevolent gentleman who has rescued me from
death?"

"More thanks are due," replied the stranger, smiling, "to Father
Mulrenin here, who acquainted me in a letter, not only with your
melancholy condition, but with the supposed cause of it. However, let
your thanks be first returned to God, whose mysterious instrument I only
am. Now, sir," said he, turning to Woodward, "you laid your hand upon
your sword. I also wear a sword, not for aggression but defence. You
know we met before. I was not then aware of your personal history, but
I am now. I have just returned from London, where I was at the court of
his Majesty Charles the Second. While in London I met your granduncle,
and from him I learned your history, and a bad one it is. Now, sir, I
beg to inform you that your malignant and diabolical influence over the
person of this young lady has ceased forever. As to the future, she is
free from that influence; but if I ever hear that you attempt to intrude
yourself into her presence, or to annoy her family, I will have you
secured in the jail of Waterford in forty-eight hours afterwards, for
other crimes that render you liable to the law."

"And pray who are you?" asked Woodward, with a blank and crestfallen
countenance, but still with a strong feeling of enmity and bitterness--a
feeling which he could not repress. "Who are you who presume to dictate
to me upon my conduct and course of life?"

"Who am I?" replied the stranger, assuming an air of incredible dignity.
"Sir, my name is VALENTINE GREATRAKES, a person on whom God has bestowed
powers which, apart from inspiration, have seldom for centuries ever
been vouchsafed to man."

Woodward got pale again. He had heard of his extraordinary powers of
curing almost every descr