and points invariably to
the pole, he soon returned to his Monimia; again he held her in his arms,
again he drank enchantment from her eyes, and thus poured forth the
effusions of his soul:--"Can I then trust the evidence of sense? And art
thou really to my wish restored? Never, O never did thy beauty shine
with such bewitching grace, as that which now confounds and captivates my
view! Sure there is something more than mortal in thy looks!--Where hast
thou lived?--where borrowed this perfection?--whence art thou now
descended?--Oh! I am all amazement, joy, and fear!--Thou wilt not leave
me!--No! we must not part again. By this warm kiss! a thousand times
more sweet than all the fragrance of the East! we nevermore will part.
O! this is rapture, ecstasy, and what no language can explain!"

In the midst of these ejaculations, he ravished a banquet from her
glowing lips, that kindled in his heart a flame which rushed through
every vein, and glided to his marrow. This was a privilege he had never
claimed before, and now permitted as a recompense for all the penance he
had suffered. Nevertheless, the cheeks of Monimia, who was altogether
unaccustomed to such familiarities, underwent a total suffusion; and
Madam Clement discreetly relieved her from the anxiety of her situation,
by interfering in the discourse, and rallying the Count upon his
endeavours to monopolise such a branch of happiness.

"O my dear lady!" replied Renaldo, who by this time had, in some measure,
recovered his recollection, "forgive the wild transports of a fond lover,
who hath so unexpectedly retrieved the jewel of his soul! Yet, far from
wishing to hoard up his treasure, he means to communicate and diffuse his
happiness to all his friends. O my Monimia! how will the pleasure of
this hour be propagated! As yet thou knowest not all the bliss that is
reserved for thy enjoyment!--Meanwhile, I long to learn by what
contrivance this happy interview hath been effected. Still am I ignorant
how I was transported into this apartment, from the lonely vault in which
I mourned over my supposed misfortune!"

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

THE MYSTERY UNFOLDED--ANOTHER RECOGNITION, WHICH, IT IS TO BE HOPED, THE
READER COULD NOT FORESEE.

The French lady then explained the whole mystery of Monimia's death, as a
stratagem she had concerted with the clergyman and doctor, in order to
defeat the pernicious designs of Fathom, who seemed determined to support
his