her lily
bosom? the odious reptile riot on her delicate limbs? the worm revel
amid the roses of her cheek, fatten on her temples, and bask in the
lustre of her eyes? Alas! the lustre has become dimmed in death; the
rose and the lily are withered; the harmony of her voice has ceased; the
graces, the elegancies of form, the innumerable delicacies of air, all
are gone, and I am left in a state of misery which defies mitigation or
comparison."

Exhausted by excess of grief, he now lay in a stupifying anguish, until
the servant summoned him to breakfast. He told the servant he was
indisposed and requested he might not be disturbed. Mr. Wyllis and his
lady came up, anxious to yield him any assistance in their power, and
advised him to call a physician. He thanked them, but told them it was
unnecessary; he only wanted rest. His extreme distress of mind brought
on a relapse of fever, from which he had but imperfectly recovered. For
several days he lay in a very dangerous and doubtful state. A physician
was called, contrary to his choice or knowledge, as for most part of the
time his mind was delirious and sensation imperfect. This was, probably
the cause of baffling the disorder. He was in a measure insensible to
his woes. He did not oppose the prescriptions of the physician. The
fever abated; nature triumphed over disease of body, and he slowly
recovered, but the malady of his mind was not removed.

He contemplated on the past. "I fear, said he, I have murmured against
the wisdom of Providence. Forgive, O merciful Creator! Forgive the
frenzies of distraction!" He now recollected that Melissa once told him
that she had an uncle who resided near Charleston in South Carolina;
thither he supposed she had been sent by her father, when she was
removed from the old mansion, in order to prevent his having access to
her, and with a view to compel her to marry Beauman. Her appearance had
indicated a deep decline when he last saw her. "There, said he, far
removed from friends and acquaintance, there did she languish, there did
she die--a victim to excessive grief, and cruel parental persecution."

As soon as he was able to leave his room, he walked out one evening, and
in deep contemplation roved, he knew not where. The moon shone
brilliantly from her lofty throne; the chill, heavy dews of autumn
glittered on the decaying verdure. The _cadeat_[A] croaked hoarsely
among the trees; the _dircle_[B] sung mournfully on the grass.--Alonzo