pt and
watched, and watched and wept.--Oh come with me, my boy--my boy! God's
curse on them that ever took thee away! Turn to me, my son: oh come,
come, come, come!"

With the energy of a maniac she flung her withered arm about his neck:
but Bertram was so overcome by the sudden shock of surprise, and by
mingled emotions of awe, pity, and distraction of purpose, on finding
himself thus suddenly in the arms of a lunatic, that he tore himself
violently away and ran off without asking himself whither. The poor
frantic mother pursued him, with outstretched arms and her aged locks
streaming upon the wind; crying out continually,

"Gregory, my love! turn back: the wind is high and stormy; and the
snowflakes are driving--driving--driving! I have kept a fire to warm
you in Anglesea for four and twenty years. Turn back to me, my bonny
lad! my love! my darling!"

Her powers were unable to support her in this contest of speed with the
energies of a young man suddenly restored by the excitement of panic:
and, on looking back within half a minute, Bertram perceived that her
figure was already obscured by the tumult of snow which raged in the
air. Her shrill voice however still at intervals forced its way to his
ear, in the very teeth of the wind, and contributed to aggravate the
distressing circumstances of his situation at this moment. It was a
situation indeed which might have shaken the fortitude of one more
accustomed to struggle with danger. The clouds had now lost their
colour of yellowish dun, and assumed a livid lead colour which
contrasted powerfully with the white livery in which all things were
already arrayed: the snowflakes, conflicting with the baffling wind as
they descended, "tormented all the air,"--and, to the eye of one
looking upwards, seemed to cross--thwart--and mazily interweave with
each other as rapidly as a weaver's shuttle, and with the lambent
scintillating lustre of fire-flies: and the plashes or shallow pools of
water, which were frequent in this part of the heath amongst the
excavations from which peats had been dug, now began under the sudden
breaking up of the frost to give way beneath their warm covering of
snow to the weight of a man. The wind, which was likely to subside as
the fall of snow grew more settled, at present blew a perfect
hurricane; and unfortunately the accidental direction which Bertram had
taken on extricating himself from the poor mad woman,--a direction
which he was unwilling