sband, and a decent man he is, but she
must take up wid that dirty nager, bad luck to her and him! My master
gave me no orders to prevint any person from seeing the black spalpeen;
and as a goold yankee sovereign can't be picked up every day in the
street, faith it's yerself Dennis Macarty, that will take the
responsibility, and let this good-looking gossoon in to see black Nero,
and bad luck to him!'

Accordingly, the worthy Irishman produced a huge key from his pocket,
and led the way to the door of the vault, which he opened, and having
admitted the youth, relocked it, after requesting the visitor to knock
loudly upon the door when he desired to come out.

'Who is there?' demanded the negro in a hollow voice, from a remote
corner of the dungeon.

'Tis I, your Julia!' answered the disguised woman, in a soft
whisper--for it was no other than Sydney's guilty wife.

'My good, kind mistress!' exclaimed the black, and the next moment he
had caught the graceful form of his paramour in his arms. We shall not
offend the reader's good taste by describing the disgusting caresses
which followed. Suffice it to say, that the interview was commenced in
such a manner as might have been expected under the circumstance.

The first emotions of rapture at their meeting having subsided, they
engaged in a long and earnest conversation.

We shall not weary the reader's patience by detailing at length what
passed between them; suffice it to say, they did not separate until a
plan had been arranged for the escape of Nero from that dungeon vault.

When Julia left the abode of her husband, in the manner described in
Chapter VIII, she took apartments for herself and her maid Susan at a
respectable boarding house near the Battery. Representing herself to be
a widow lady recently from Europe, she was treated with the utmost
respect by the inmates of the establishment, who little suspected that
she was the cast-off wife of an injured husband, and the mistress of a
negro! She assumed the name of Mrs. Belmont; and, to avoid confusion, we
shall hereafter designate her by that appellation.

Mrs. Belmont was very well satisfied with her position, but she was well
aware that she could not always maintain it, unless she entrapped some
wealthy man into an amour or marriage with her; for her pecuniary
resources, though temporarily sufficient for all her wants, could not
last always. In this view of the case, she deemed it expedient to hire
some su