, the victim of some diabolical agency. The yell was
close upon my ear; I felt the clammy breath of the grave across my face,
and the sound swept by. It slowly arose;--but the agony of the cry was
more intense,--more sharp and vehement the shriek of "Murder!" Grown
bolder, or perhaps more desperate, I cried out, "Where, in the name
of----?" I had scarcely uttered the words when a loud rushing cleft the
air, and a crash followed, as though some heavy body had fallen at my
feet. The horse burst from its bonds, galloping from me at full speed,
and I stood alone! In this appalling extremity, I approached the object
of my fears. I bent to the ground; stretching out my hand, my fingers
rested on the cold and clammy features of a corpse! I well remember the
deep groan that burst from my lips;--nature had reached the extremity of
endurance--I felt a sudden rush of blood to the heart, and fell beside
my ghastly companion, equally helpless and insensible.

I have no means of ascertaining the duration of this swoon; but, with
returning recollection, I again put out my hand, which rested on the
cold and almost naked carcase beside me. I felt roused by the touch, and
started on my feet--the moon at this instant emerging from a mass of
dark clouds, streamed full on the dead body, pale and blood-stained, the
features distorted, as if by some terrible death. Fear now prompted me
to fly: I ran as if the wind had lent me wings--not daring to look back,
lest my eyes should again rest on the grisly form I had just left. I
fled onwards for some time; the moon now enabling me to follow the
beaten track, which, to my great joy, brought me suddenly, at the turn
of a high bank, within sight of a cheerful fire gleaming through a
narrow door, seemingly the entrance to some wayside tavern. Bursts of
hilarity broke from the interior; the voice of revelry and mirth came
upon my ear, as though I was just awakening from a dream. It was as if I
had heard the dead laugh in their cold cerements. As I stepped across
the threshold, the boisterous roar of mirth made me shudder; and it
seemed, by the alarm visible in the countenances of the guests, that my
appearance presented something as terrible to their apprehensions.
Every eye was fixed on me as I seated myself by a vacant table; and I
heard whisperings, with suspicious glances occasionally directed towards
the place where I sat. The company, however, soon began to get the
better of their consternation,