few yards of the spot where Miss F----d lay. She
sprang from the bed, and leaving the candle in the room behind her, she
made her way in the dark through the passage, the voice still following
her, until as she arrived at the door of the sitting-room it seemed to
die away in low sobbing.

As soon as Miss F----d was tolerably recovered, she declared her
determination to proceed directly, and without further loss of time,
to Castle Ardagh. It was not without much difficulty that Lady D----
at length prevailed upon her to consent to remain where they then were,
until morning should arrive, when it was to be expected that the young
lady would be much refreshed by at least remaining quiet for the night,
even though sleep were out of the question. Lady D---- was convinced,
from the nervous and feverish symptoms which her sister exhibited, that
she had already done too much, and was more than ever satisfied of the
necessity of prosecuting the journey no further upon that day. After
some time she persuaded her sister to return to her room, where she
remained with her until she had gone to bed, and appeared comparatively
composed. Lady D---- then returned to the parlour, and not finding
herself sleepy, she remained sitting by the fire. Her solitude was
a second time broken in upon, by the entrance of her sister, who now
appeared, if possible, more agitated than before. She said that Lady
D---- had not long left the room, when she was roused by a repetition of
the same wailing and lamentations, accompanied by the wildest and most
agonized supplications that no time should be lost in coming to Castle
Ardagh, and all in her sister's voice, and uttered at the same proximity
as before. This time the voice had followed her to the very door of the
sitting-room, and until she closed it, seemed to pour forth its cries
and sobs at the very threshold.

Miss F----d now most positively declared that nothing should prevent her
proceeding instantly to the castle, adding that if Lady D---- would not
accompany her, she would go on by herself. Superstitious feelings are at
all times more or less contagious, and the last century afforded a soil
much more congenial to their growth than the present. Lady D---- was so
far affected by her sister's terrors, that she became, at least, uneasy;
and seeing that her sister was immovably determined upon setting forward
immediately, she consented to accompany her forthwith. After a slight
delay, fresh horses