escape by that outlet, and found his flight effectually
obstructed by divers strong bars of iron. Then his heart began to
palpitate, his hair to bristle up, and his knees to totter; his thoughts
teemed with presages of death and destruction; his conscience rose up in
judgment against him, and he underwent a severe paroxysm of dismay and
distraction. His spirits were agitated into a state of fermentation that
produced a species of resolution akin to that which is inspired by brandy
or other strong liquors, and, by an impulse that seemed supernatural, he
was immediately hurried into measures for his own preservation.

What upon a less interesting occasion his imagination durst not propose,
he now executed without scruple or remorse. He undressed the corpse that
lay bleeding among the straw, and, conveying it to the bed in his arms,
deposited it in the attitude of a person who sleeps at his ease; then he
extinguished the light, took possession of the place from whence the body
had been removed, and, holding a pistol ready cocked in each hand, waited
for the sequel with that determined purpose which is often the immediate
production of despair. About midnight he heard the sound of feet
ascending the ladder; the door was softly opened; he saw the shadow of
two men stalking towards the bed, a dark lanthorn being unshrouded,
directed their aim to the supposed sleeper, and he that held it thrust a
poniard to his heart; the force of the blow made a compression on the
chest, and a sort of groan issued from the windpipe of the defunct; the
stroke was repeated, without producing a repetition of the note, so that
the assassins concluded the work was effectually done, and retired for
the present with a design to return and rifle the deceased at their
leisure.

Never had our hero spent a moment in such agony as he felt during this
operation; the whole surface of his body was covered with a cold sweat,
and his nerves were relaxed with an universal palsy. In short, he
remained in a trance that, in all probability, contributed to his safety;
for, had he retained the use of his senses, he might have been discovered
by the transports of his fear. The first use he made of his retrieved
recollection, was to perceive that the assassins had left the door open
in their retreat; and he would have instantly availed himself of this
their neglect, by sallying out upon them, at the hazard of his life, had
he not been restrained by a conversati