you. After your labours of the day, at
least until you sail, your Amine's smiles must still enliven you. Is it
not so?"

"Yes, dearest, I would have proposed it. I wonder much how Schriften
could come here. I did not see his body it is certain, but his escape
is to me miraculous. Why did he not appear when saved? where could he
have been? What think you, Amine?"

"What I have long thought, Philip. He is a Ghoul with evil eye,
permitted for some cause to walk the earth in human form; and is
certainly, in some way, connected with your strange destiny. If it
requires anything to convince me of the truth of all that has passed, it
is his appearance--the wretched Afrit! Oh, that I had my mother's
powers!--but I forget, it displeases you, Philip, that I ever talk of
such things, and I am silent."

Philip replied not; and, absorbed in their own meditations, they walked
back in silence to the cottage. Although Philip had made up his own
mind, he immediately sent the Portuguese priest to summon Father Seysen,
that he might communicate with them and take their opinion as to the
summons he had received. Having entered into a fresh detail of the
supposed death of Schriften, and his reappearance as a messenger, he
then left the two priests to consult together, and went upstairs to
Amine. It was more than two hours before Philip was called down, and
Father Seysen appeared to be in a state of great perplexity.

"My son," said he, "we are much perplexed. We had hoped that our ideas
upon this strange communication were correct, and that, allowing all
that you have obtained from your mother and have seen yourself to have
been no deception, still that it was the work of the evil one, and, if
so, our prayers and masses would have destroyed this power. We advised
you to wait another summons, and you have received it. The letter
itself is of course nothing, but the reappearance of the bearer of the
letter is the question to be considered. Tell me, Philip, what is your
opinion on this point? It is possible he might have been saved--why not
as well as yourself?"

"I acknowledge the possibility, Father," replied Philip; "he may have
been cast on shore and have wandered in another direction. It is
possible, although anything but probable; but since you ask me my
opinion, I must say candidly that I consider he is no earthly
messenger--nay, I am sure of it. That he is mysteriously connected with
my destiny is certain. Bu