hastened after her "Stop, stop, my dear!" cried he aloud; "it is as dark as pitch on the stairs!-you may do yourself a mischief?"-Louisa was still standing on the first steps. Wolfe leaned over the railing and lighted her down. She thanked him with emotion, and her humid eyes were lifted up to him with an expression of unaccountable grief. Wolfe beheld her with silent perplexity, not unmingled with pleasure, for he now perceived that she was very pretty; and a fine, but rather hectic, red played alternately over her interesting features. He took her hand respectfully—“My dear," said he, you are so much agitated-have I offended you?"-"Oh heavens! certainly not," answered she, beginning to weep anew. 'Then surely," said Wolfe, earnestly, "some one else has done something to distress you?" Louisa folded both hands, pressed them to her eyes, and slightly shook her head-"God has so willed," said she; "you also have been sent hither; good heavens! all was so well-so tranquil-now all my afflictions are renewed!"? She made signs to Wolfe that he must not follow her ; wiped the tears with her apron from her eyes; and went silently down the steps.

Wolfe having returned to his room, sat for a long time right opposite to the candle, leaning his head on his hands; and, without being able to account for the extraordinary and mysterious emotion by which he was overwhelmed, all his thoughts involuntarily became more and more dark and melancholy, just as if some fearful and

heavy misfortune were about to fall upon him. He could not prevail over his reflections so as to bring them into any regular order; so deeply had the voice of the weeping Louisa penetrated into his heart. Her accents were now inwardly renewed, and divided, as it were, into a thousand echoes. In listening to her, it had not been without difficulty that he had refrained from tears; her touching sorrow almost broke his heart; and his own fate seemed unaccountably involved with her misfortunes.

Thus wholly occupied and lost in deep thought, he began, absently, to engrave with a penknife, (which lay near his tobacco-pouch, and had served for clearing his pipe), all sorts of lines and angles on the crazy old wooden table at which he sat. Without knowing or intending it, he had engraven on the already hacked and disfigured boards Louisa's name, which he had overheard frequently called aloud through the house. On observing what he had done, he almost started, and then drew the knife several times across the letters to obliterate the name. As he was then more fully made aware of what he had done, all at once there appeared to him, clearly and undeniably, traces of the very same name, and in his own hand-writing, on several corners of the table. Wolfe again started, rubbed his eyes, and stared at these characters, comparing in them the well-known difficultly-formed great L, and the other letters, with his own writing; " Am I bewitched?" cried he, trying to recollect whether he had not absolutely and really written

these other inscriptions himself-but his arms could not have reached so far, and as yet he had not sat at any other side of the table.

"

Yet all this must be d- -d nonsense!" muttered he, at the same time looking about rather timidly through the obscure chamber. The fallen down broken places in the wall, especially near the bed, diversifying the black distorted faces traced with charcoal-the general uncouth desolation of the visibly neglected apartment appeared, in the uncertain scanty light, in a high degree disquieting and formidable. To Wolfe it seemed even as if the rudely-traced caricature faces were known to him. He shuddered involuntarily, and hastily extinguished the light, in order to escape, if possible, from such hobgoblins and preternatural impressions. Besides, it had become too late to think of writing any more. For a moment he wished to breathe the free air, for without he thought it would be cool and refreshing. He opened the window again therefore. All appeared still and slumbering, and the cool breath of night saluted him. From a neighbouring cellar, however, even now, rays of light were shining forth; and soon after Wolfe heard the hammers ringing loudly on the anvil. "Poor soul," thought he,

thou art already making the most of these midnight hours, which to thee begin a week of hard labour." The glowing iron now brightly scattered its sparks, as if from the bowels of the earth, into the lonely gloom of the night. He probably sharpens knives and hatchets.

"that

for the butcher," continued Wolfe to himself; suits Mein-herr John exactly, and is quite convenient and useful for both. How all trades assist one another, and depend on each other, in this world !”

He had once more become tranquil, and looked for a long time into the beautiful garden, which at night appeared for the first time inhabited, for Wolfe now plainly marked some one slowly moving up and down through the obscure walks. Sometimes the form stood still, and lifted its arm, as if beckoning to some one to follow. Wolfe could not distinguish the figure narrowly enough -for the rising veil of vapours often concealed it, as if in long white robes; and the more anxiously he fixed his eyes upon it, the more faintly and glimmeringly one object, as it were, melted into another. At last Wolfe came from the window, and, leaving it open, threw himself into bed. The now dry leaves of his cypress wreath, which hung upon the wall, fluttered, and rustled over him in the draught of the window. Wolfe started up at the sound, calling out, Who's there?" and he bethought himself, but half awake, where he was. His eyes now chanced to rest upon the window, and there he could not help believing that he beheld the same form that had before appeared in the garden looking in upon him. Devil take your jokes!" cried our hero, becoming quite angry, not only with this intruder, but still more with himself, for the death-like tremour which came over him. He then drew his head hastily under the

clothes, and from fatigue fell asleep under a loud audible beating of his heart.

One hour, as he believed, (but a longer interval, perhaps, in reality), had the mysterious influences of the world of dreams reigned over his senses, when a strange noise once more alarmed him. The moon was still contending with the light of day, of which the faint gray dawn was visible; and now a low moaning sound was again heard close to our hero. He instantly tore the clothes from his face, and set both his arms at liberty. Then with one hand stretched out, and the other lifted and stared wide eyes up for combat, he forced his open, about him. He was at first not a little terrified, on beholding a great white dog, with his two fore-feet placed upon the bed, and stretching up his head, with large round eyes fixed upon him, and gleaming in the twilight. This unexpected guest, however, wagged his tail, and licked the hand that was stretched out to drive him away so that Wolfe could not find in his heart to fulfil his intention; the dog fawning, always came nearer and nearer; and, as if through customary right, remained at last quietly in the same position. Probably he must belong to some one here," thought our hero, stroking him on the back;" and now believes that I am his master. Who knows what inhabitant may have left this apartment to make room for me?" Scarcely had he said these last words, when the dreams, out of which he had just awoke, regained all their influence, and he could not