n from the police, that he
was implicated in a projected scheme to fire and plunder a neighbouring
chateau, and that the ensuing night was fixed upon for the perpetration
of this atrocity. Upon inquiry it was discovered that Bartholdy had been
out all night, and it was now feared that he had finally absconded.
Happily, however, for the good name of the seminary, he returned soon
after the arrival of this intelligence, and, as I now conjecture, with a
view to repossess himself of the knife he had left in your custody. He
was immediately secured and committed to close confinement, in the hope
that his solitary reflections, aided by our admonitions, would have
gradually wrought a salutary change in his character. This confinement,
which was sanctioned by his relations, was prolonged three years without
any beneficial result; and at length, after many fruitless attempts, he
succeeded in making his escape. Joining the scattered remnant of the
band of villains dispersed by the police, he soon became their leader in
the contrivance and execution of atrocities which I must not reveal, but
which I cannot recollect without a shudder. In consequence of high winds
and clouds of dust, the public walk and grove beyond the gate of D. had
been some days deserted by the inhabitants, and the body of the murdered
officer was not discovered until the fourth morning after your departure
from the university. A catastrophe so dreadful had not for many years
occurred in that peaceful district: a proportionate degree of abhorrence
was roused in the public mind, and the excited people rushed in crowds
to view the corpse, in which, by order of the police, the fatal knife
was left as when first discovered; while secret agents mingled with the
crowd, to watch the various emotions of the spectators. Guided by a
retributive providence, Bartholdy, who had that morning arrived in D.,
approached the body, and gazed upon it with callous indifference, until
the remarkable handle of his long-lost knife caught his eye. Starting at
the well-remembered object, a deep flush darkened his yellow visage, and
immediately the police-officers darted forward and seized him. At first
he denied all knowledge of the knife, and, when again brought close to
the body, he gazed upon it with all his wonted hardihood; but when told
to take the bloody weapon from the wound, he grasped the handle with a
shudder, drew it forth with sudden effort, and, as he gazed on the
discoloure