CHAPTER IV

In truth he was a strange and wayward wight,

Fond of each gentle, and each dreadful scene,

In darkness, and in storm he found delight;

Nor less than when on ocean-wave serene

The southern sun diffus’d his dazzling sheen.

Even sad vicissitude amus’d his soul;

And if a sigh would sometimes intervene,

And down his cheek a tear of pity roll,

A sigh, a tear, so sweet, he wish’d not to control.

THE MINSTREL

St. Aubert awoke at an early hour, refreshed by sleep, and desirous to

set forward. He invited the stranger to breakfast with him; and,

talking again of the road, Valancourt said, that, some months past, he

had travelled as far as Beaujeu, which was a town of some consequence

on the way to Rousillon. He recommended it to St. Aubert to take that

route, and the latter determined to do so.

“The road from this hamlet,” said Valancourt, “and that to Beaujeu,

part at the distance of about a league and a half from hence; if you

will give me leave, I will direct your muleteer so far. I must wander

somewhere, and your company would make this a pleasanter ramble than

any other I could take.”

St. Aubert thankfully accepted his offer, and they set out together,

the young stranger on foot, for he refused the invitation of St. Aubert

to take a seat in his little carriage.

The road wound along the feet of the mountains through a pastoral

valley, bright with verdure, and varied with groves of dwarf oak, beech

and sycamore, under whose branches herds of cattle reposed. The

mountain-ash too, and the weeping birch, often threw their pendant

foliage over the steeps above, where the scanty soil scarcely concealed

their roots, and where their light branches waved to every breeze that

fluttered from the mountains.

The travellers were frequently met at this early hour, for the sun had

not yet risen upon the valley, by shepherds driving immense flocks from

their folds to feed upon the hills. St. Aubert had set out thus early,

not only that he might enjoy the first appearance of sunrise, but that

he might inhale the first pure breath of morning, which above all

things is refreshing to the spirits of the invalid. In these regions it

was particularly so, where an abundance of wild flowers and aromatic

herbs breathed forth their essence on the air.

The dawn, which softened the scenery with its peculiar grey tint, now

dispersed, and Emily watched the progress of the day, first trembling

on the tops of the highest cliffs, then touching them with splendid

light, while their sides and the vale below were still wrapt in dewy

mist. Meanwhile, the sullen grey of the eastern clouds began to blush,

then to redden, and then to glow with a thousand colours, till the

golden light darted over all the air, touched the lower points of the

mountain’s brow, and glanced in long sloping beams upon the valley and

its stream. All nature seemed to have awakened from death into life;

the spirit of St. Aubert was renovated. His heart was full; he wept,

and his thoughts ascended to the Great Creator.

Emily wished to trip along the turf, so green and bright with dew, and

to taste the full delight of that liberty, which the izard seemed to

enjoy as he bounded along the brow of the cliffs; while Valancourt

often stopped to speak with the travellers, and with social feeling to

point out to them the peculiar objects of his admiration. St. Aubert

was pleased with him: “Here is the real ingenuousness and ardour of

youth,” said he to himself; “this young man has never been at Paris.”

He was sorry when they came to the spot where the roads parted, and his

heart took a more affectionate leave of him than is usual after so

short an acquaintance. Valancourt talked long by the side of the

carriage; seemed more than once to be going, but still lingered, and

appeared to search anxiously for topics of conversation to account for

his delay. At length he took leave. As he went, St. Aubert observed him

look with an earnest and pensive eye at Emily, who bowed to him with a

countenance full of timid sweetness, while the carriage drove on. St.

Aubert, for whatever reason, soon after looked from the window, and saw

Valancourt standing upon the bank of the road, resting on his pike with

folded arms, and following the carriage with his eyes. He waved his

hand, and Valancourt, seeming to awake from his reverie, returned the

salute, and started away.

The aspect of the country now began to change, and the travellers soon

found themselves among mountains covered from their base nearly to

their summits with forests of gloomy pine, except where a rock of

granite shot up from the vale, and lost its snowy top in the clouds.

The rivulet, which had hitherto accompanied them, now expanded into a

river; and, flowing deeply and silently along, reflected, as in a

mirror, the blackness of the impending shades. Sometimes a cliff was

seen lifting its bold head above the woods and the vapours, that

floated mid-way down the mountains; and sometimes a face of

perpendicular marble rose from the water’s edge, over which the larch

threw his gigantic arms, here scathed with lightning, and there

floating in luxuriant foliage.

They continued to travel over a rough and unfrequented road, seeing now

and then at a distance the solitary shepherd, with his dog, stalking

along the valley, and hearing only the dashing of torrents, which the

woods concealed from the eye, the long sullen murmur of the breeze, as

it swept over the pines, or the notes of the eagle and the vulture,

which were seen towering round the beetling cliff.

Often, as the carriage moved slowly over uneven ground, St. Aubert

alighted, and amused himself with examining the curious plants that

grew on the banks of the road, and with which these regions abound;

while Emily, wrapt in high enthusiasm, wandered away under the shades,

listening in deep silence to the lonely murmur of the woods.

Neither village nor hamlet was seen for many leagues; the goat-herd’s

or the hunter’s cabin, perched among the cliffs of the rocks, were the

only human habitations that appeared.

The travellers again took their dinner in the open air, on a pleasant

spot in the valley, under the spreading shade of cedars; and then set

forward towards Beaujeu.

The road now began to descend, and, leaving the pine forests behind,

wound among rocky precipices. The evening twilight again fell over the

scene, and the travellers were ignorant how far they might yet be from

Beaujeu. St. Aubert, however, conjectured that the distance could not

be very great, and comforted himself with the prospect of travelling on

a more frequented road after reaching that town, where he designed to

pass the night. Mingled woods, and rocks, and heathy mountains were now

seen obscurely through the dusk; but soon even these imperfect images

faded in darkness. Michael proceeded with caution, for he could

scarcely distinguish the road; his mules, however, seemed to have more

sagacity, and their steps were sure.

On turning the angle of a mountain, a light appeared at a distance,

that illumined the rocks, and the horizon to a great extent. It was

evidently a large fire, but whether accidental, or otherwise, there

were no means of knowing. St. Aubert thought it was probably kindled by

some of the numerous banditti, that infested the Pyrenees, and he

became watchful and anxious to know whether the road passed near this

fire. He had arms with him, which, on an emergency, might afford some

protection, though certainly a very unequal one, against a band of

robbers, so desperate too as those usually were who haunted these wild

regions. While many reflections rose upon his mind, he heard a voice

shouting from the road behind, and ordering the muleteer to stop. St.

Aubert bade him proceed as fast as possible; but either Michael, or his

mules were obstinate, for they did not quit the old pace. Horses’ feet

were now heard; a man rode up to the carriage, still ordering the

driver to stop; and St. Aubert, who could no longer doubt his purpose,

was with difficulty able to prepare a pistol for his defence, when his

hand was upon the door of the chaise. The man staggered on his horse,

the report of the pistol was followed by a groan, and St. Aubert’s

horror may be imagined, when in the next instant he thought he heard

the faint voice of Valancourt. He now himself bade the muleteer stop;

and, pronouncing the name of Valancourt, was answered in a voice, that

no longer suffered him to doubt. St. Aubert, who instantly alighted and

went to his assistance, found him still sitting on his horse, but

bleeding profusely, and appearing to be in great pain, though he

endeavoured to soften the terror of St. Aubert by assurances that he

was not materially hurt, the wound being only in his arm. St. Aubert,

with the muleteer, assisted him to dismount, and he sat down on the

bank of the road, where St. Aubert tried to bind up his arm, but his

hands trembled so excessively that he could not accomplish it; and,

Michael being now gone in pursuit of the horse, which, on being

disengaged from his rider, had galloped off, he called Emily to his

assistance. Receiving no answer, he went to the carriage, and found her

sunk on the seat in a fainting fit. Between the distress of this

circumstance and that of leaving Valancourt bleeding, he scarcely knew

what he did; he endeavoured, however, to raise her, and called to

Michael to fetch water from the rivulet that flowed by the road, but

Michael was gone beyond the reach of his voice. Valancourt, who heard

these calls, and also the repeated name of Emily, instantly understood

the subject of his distress; and, almost forgetting his own condition,

he hastened to her relief. She was reviving when he reached the

carriage; and then, understanding that anxiety for him had occasioned

her indisposition, he assured her, in a voice that trembled, but not

from anguish, that his wound was of no consequence. While he said this

St. Aubert turned round, and perceiving that he was still bleeding, the

subject of his alarm changed again, and he hastily formed some

handkerchiefs into a bandage. This stopped the effusion of the blood;

but St. Aubert, dreading the consequence of the wound, enquired

repeatedly how far they were from Beaujeu; when, learning that it was

at two leagues’ distance, his distress increased, since he knew not how

Valancourt, in his present state, would bear the motion of the

carriage, and perceived that he was already faint from loss of blood.

When he mentioned the subject of his anxiety, Valancourt entreated that

he would not suffer himself to be thus alarmed on his account, for that

he had no doubt he should be able to support himself very well; and

then he talked of the accident as a slight one. The muleteer being now

returned with Valancourt’s horse, assisted him into the chaise; and, as

Emily was now revived, they moved slowly on towards Beaujeu.

St. Aubert, when he had recovered from the terror occasioned him by

this accident, expressed surprise on seeing Valancourt, who explained

his unexpected appearance by saying, “You, sir, renewed my taste for

society; when you had left the hamlet, it did indeed appear a solitude.

I determined, therefore, since my object was merely amusement, to

change the scene; and I took this road, because I knew it led through a

more romantic tract of mountains than the spot I have left. Besides,”

added he, hesitating for an instant, “I will own, and why should I not?

that I had some hope of overtaking you.”

“And I have made you a very unexpected return for the compliment,” said

St. Aubert, who lamented again the rashness which had produced the

accident, and explained the cause of his late alarm. But Valancourt

seemed anxious only to remove from the minds of his companions every

unpleasant feeling relative to himself; and, for that purpose, still

struggled against a sense of pain, and tried to converse with gaiety.

Emily meanwhile was silent, except when Valancourt particularly

addressed her, and there was at those times a tremulous tone in his

voice that spoke much.

They were now so near the fire, which had long flamed at a distance on

the blackness of night, that it gleamed upon the road, and they could

distinguish figures moving about the blaze. The way winding still

nearer, they perceived in the valley one of those numerous bands of

gipsies, which at that period particularly haunted the wilds of the

Pyrenees, and lived partly by plundering the traveller. Emily looked

with some degree of terror on the savage countenances of these people,

shown by the fire, which heightened the romantic effects of the

scenery, as it threw a red dusky gleam upon the rocks and on the

foliage of the trees, leaving heavy masses of shade and regions of

obscurity, which the eye feared to penetrate.

They were preparing their supper; a large pot stood by the fire, over

which several figures were busy. The blaze discovered a rude kind of

tent, round which many children and dogs were playing, and the whole

formed a picture highly grotesque. The travellers saw plainly their

danger. Valancourt was silent, but laid his hand on one of St. Aubert’s

pistols; St. Aubert drew forth another, and Michael was ordered to

proceed as fast as possible. They passed the place, however, without

being attacked; the rovers being probably unprepared for the

opportunity, and too busy about their supper to feel much interest, at

the moment, in anything besides.

After a league and a half more, passed in darkness, the travellers

arrived at Beaujeu, and drove up to the only inn the place afforded;

which, though superior to any they had seen since they entered the

mountains, was bad enough.

The surgeon of the town was immediately sent for, if a surgeon he could

be called, who prescribed for horses as well as for men, and shaved

faces at least as dexterously as he set bones. After examining

Valancourt’s arm, and perceiving that the bullet had passed through the

flesh without touching the bone, he dressed it, and left him with a

solemn prescription of quiet, which his patient was not inclined to

obey. The delight of ease had now succeeded to pain; for ease may be

allowed to assume a positive quality when contrasted with anguish; and,

his spirits thus reanimated, he wished to partake of the conversation

of St. Aubert and Emily, who, released from so many apprehensions, were

uncommonly cheerful. Late as it was, however, St. Aubert was obliged to

go out with the landlord to buy meat for supper; and Emily, who, during

this interval, had been absent as long as she could, upon excuses of

looking to their accommodation, which she found rather better than she

expected, was compelled to return, and converse with Valancourt alone.

They talked of the character of the scenes they had passed, of the

natural history of the country, of poetry, and of St. Aubert; a subject

on which Emily always spoke and listened to with peculiar pleasure.

The travellers passed an agreeable evening; but St. Aubert was fatigued

with his journey; and, as Valancourt seemed again sensible of pain,

they separated soon after supper.

In the morning St. Aubert found that Valancourt had passed a restless

night; that he was feverish, and his wound very painful. The surgeon,

when he dressed it, advised him to remain quietly at Beaujeu; advice

which was too reasonable to be rejected. St. Aubert, however, had no

favourable opinion of this practitioner, and was anxious to commit

Valancourt into more skilful hands; but learning, upon enquiry, that

there was no town within several leagues which seemed more likely to

afford better advice, he altered the plan of his journey, and

determined to await the recovery of Valancourt, who, with somewhat more

ceremony than sincerity, made many objections to this delay.

By order of his surgeon, Valancourt did not go out of the house that

day; but St. Aubert and Emily surveyed with delight the environs of the

town, situated at the feet of the Pyrenean Alps, that rose, some in

abrupt precipices, and others swelling with woods of cedar, fir, and

cypress, which stretched nearly to their highest summits. The cheerful

green of the beech and mountain-ash was sometimes seen, like a gleam of

light, amidst the dark verdure of the forest; and sometimes a torrent

poured its sparkling flood, high among the woods.

Valancourt’s indisposition detained the travellers at Beaujeu several

days, during which interval St. Aubert had observed his disposition and

his talents with the philosophic inquiry so natural to him. He saw a

frank and generous nature, full of ardour, highly susceptible of

whatever is grand and beautiful, but impetuous, wild, and somewhat

romantic. Valancourt had known little of the world. His perceptions

were clear, and his feelings just; his indignation of an unworthy, or

his admiration of a generous action, were expressed in terms of equal

vehemence. St. Aubert sometimes smiled at his warmth, but seldom

checked it, and often repeated to himself, “This young man has never

been at Paris.” A sigh sometimes followed this silent ejaculation. He

determined not to leave Valancourt till he should be perfectly

recovered; and, as he was now well enough to travel, though not able to

manage his horse, St. Aubert invited him to accompany him for a few

days in the carriage. This he the more readily did, since he had

discovered that Valancourt was of a family of the same name in Gascony,

with whose respectability he was well acquainted. The latter accepted

the offer with great pleasure, and they again set forward among these

romantic wilds about Rousillon.

They travelled leisurely; stopping wherever a scene uncommonly grand

appeared; frequently alighting to walk to an eminence, whither the

mules could not go, from which the prospect opened in greater

magnificence; and often sauntering over hillocks covered with lavender,

wild thyme, juniper, and tamarisc; and under the shades of woods,

between those boles they caught the long mountain-vista, sublime beyond

anything that Emily had ever imagined.

St. Aubert sometimes amused himself with botanizing, while Valancourt

and Emily strolled on; he pointing out to her notice the objects that

particularly charmed him, and reciting beautiful passages from such of

the Latin and Italian poets as he had heard her admire. In the pauses

of conversation, when he thought himself not observed, he frequently

fixed his eyes pensively on her countenance, which expressed with so

much animation the taste and energy of her mind; and when he spoke

again, there was a peculiar tenderness in the tone of his voice, that

defeated any attempt to conceal his sentiments. By degrees these silent

pauses became more frequent; till Emily, only, betrayed an anxiety to

interrupt them; and she; who had been hitherto reserved, would now talk

again, and again, of the woods and the valleys and the mountains, to

avoid the danger of sympathy and silence.

From Beaujeu the road had constantly ascended, conducting the

travellers into the higher regions of the air, where immense glaciers

exhibited their frozen horrors, and eternal snow whitened the summits

of the mountains. They often paused to contemplate these stupendous

scenes, and, seated on some wild cliff, where only the ilex or the

larch could flourish, looked over dark forests of fir, and precipices

where human foot had never wandered, into the glen—so deep, that the

thunder of the torrent, which was seen to foam along the bottom, was

scarcely heard to murmur. Over these crags rose others of stupendous

height, and fantastic shape; some shooting into cones; others impending

far over their base, in huge masses of granite, along whose broken

ridges was often lodged a weight of snow, that, trembling even to the

vibration of a sound, threatened to bear destruction in its course to

the vale. Around, on every side, far as the eye could penetrate, were

seen only forms of grandeur—the long perspective of mountain-tops,

tinged with ethereal blue, or white with snow; valleys of ice, and

forests of gloomy fir. The serenity and clearness of the air in these

high regions were particularly delightful to the travellers; it seemed

to inspire them with a finer spirit, and diffused an indescribable

complacency over their minds. They had no words to express the sublime

emotions they felt. A solemn expression characterised the feelings of

St. Aubert; tears often came to his eyes, and he frequently walked away

from his companions. Valancourt now and then spoke, to point to Emily’s

notice some feature of the scene. The thinness of the atmosphere,

through which every object came so distinctly to the eye, surprised and

deluded her; who could scarcely believe that objects, which appeared so

near, were, in reality, so distant. The deep silence of these solitudes

was broken only at intervals by the scream of the vultures, seen

cowering round some cliff below, or by the cry of the eagle sailing

high in the air; except when the travellers listened to the hollow

thunder that sometimes muttered at their feet. While, above, the deep

blue of the heavens was unobscured by the lightest cloud, half way down

the mountains, long billows of vapour were frequently seen rolling, now

wholly excluding the country below, and now opening, and partially

revealing its features. Emily delighted to observe the grandeur of

these clouds as they changed in shape and tints, and to watch their

various effect on the lower world, whose features, partly veiled, were

continually assuming new forms of sublimity.

After traversing these regions for many leagues, they began to descend

towards Rousillon, and features of beauty then mingled with the scene.

Yet the travellers did not look back without some regret to the sublime

objects they had quitted; though the eye, fatigued with the extension

of its powers, was glad to repose on the verdure of woods and pastures,

that now hung on the margin of the river below; to view again the

humble cottage shaded by cedars, the playful group of

mountaineer-children, and the flowery nooks that appeared among the

hills.

As they descended, they saw at a distance, on the right, one of the

grand passes of the Pyrenees into Spain, gleaming with its battlements

and towers to the splendour of the setting rays, yellow tops of woods

colouring the steeps below, while far above aspired the snowy points of

the mountains, still reflecting a rosy hue.

St. Aubert began to look out for the little town he had been directed

to by the people of Beaujeu, and where he meant to pass the night; but

no habitation yet appeared. Of its distance Valancourt could not assist

him to judge, for he had never been so far along this chain of Alps

before. There was, however, a road to guide them; and there could be

little doubt that it was the right one; for, since they had left

Beaujeu, there had been no variety of tracks to perplex or mislead.

The sun now gave his last light, and St. Aubert bade the muleteer

proceed with all possible dispatch. He found, indeed, the lassitude of

illness return upon him, after a day of uncommon fatigue, both of body

and mind, and he longed for repose. His anxiety was not soothed by

observing a numerous train, consisting of men, horses, and loaded

mules, winding down the steeps of an opposite mountain, appearing and

disappearing at intervals among the woods, so that its numbers could

not be judged of. Something bright, like arms, glanced in the setting

ray, and the military dress was distinguishable upon the men who were

in the van, and on others scattered among the troop that followed. As

these wound into the vale, the rear of the party emerged from the

woods, and exhibited a band of soldiers. St. Aubert’s apprehensions now

subsided; he had no doubt that the train before him consisted of

smugglers, who, in conveying prohibited goods over the Pyrenees, had

been encountered, and conquered by a party of troops.

The travellers had lingered so long among the sublimer scenes of these

mountains, that they found themselves entirely mistaken in their

calculation that they could reach Montigny at sunset; but, as they

wound along the valley, the saw, on a rude Alpine bridge, that united

two lofty crags of the glen, a group of mountaineer-children, amusing

themselves with dropping pebbles into a torrent below, and watching the

stones plunge into the water, that threw up its white spray high in the

air as it received them, and returned a sullen sound, which the echoes

of the mountains prolonged. Under the bridge was seen a perspective of

the valley, with its cataract descending among the rocks, and a cottage

on a cliff, overshadowed with pines. It appeared, that they could not

be far from some small town. St. Aubert bade the muleteer stop, and

then called to the children to enquire if he was near Montigny; but the

distance, and the roaring of the waters, would not suffer his voice to

be heard; and the crags, adjoining the bridge, were of such tremendous

height and steepness, that to have climbed either would have been

scarcely practicable to a person unacquainted with the ascent. St.

Aubert, therefore, did not waste more moments in delay. They continued

to travel long after twilight had obscured the road, which was so

broken, that, now thinking it safer to walk than to ride, they all

alighted. The moon was rising, but her light was yet too feeble to

assist them. While they stepped carefully on, they heard the

vesper-bell of a convent. The twilight would not permit them to

distinguish anything like a building, but the sounds seemed to come

from some woods, that overhung an acclivity to the right. Valancourt

proposed to go in search of this convent. “If they will not accommodate

us with a night’s lodging,” said he, “they may certainly inform us how

far we are from Montigny, and direct us towards it.” He was bounding

forward, without waiting St. Aubert’s reply, when the latter stopped

him. “I am very weary,” said St. Aubert, “and wish for nothing so much

as for immediate rest. We will all go to the convent; your good looks

would defeat our purpose; but when they see mine and Emily’s exhausted

countenances, they will scarcely deny us repose.”

As he said this, he took Emily’s arm within his, and, telling Michael

to wait awhile in the road with the carriage, they began to ascend

towards the woods, guided by the bell of the convent. His steps were

feeble, and Valancourt offered him his arm, which he accepted. The moon

now threw a faint light over their path, and, soon after, enabled them

to distinguish some towers rising above the tops of the woods. Still

following the note of the bell, they entered the shade of those woods,

lighted only by the moonbeams, that glided down between the leaves, and

threw a tremulous uncertain gleam upon the steep track they were

winding. The gloom and the silence that prevailed, except when the bell

returned upon the air, together with the wildness of the surrounding

scene, struck Emily with a degree of fear, which, however, the voice

and conversation of Valancourt somewhat repressed. When they had been

some time ascending, St. Aubert complained of weariness, and they

stopped to rest upon a little green summit, where the trees opened, and

admitted the moonlight. He sat down upon the turf, between Emily and

Valancourt. The bell had now ceased, and the deep repose of the scene

was undisturbed by any sound, for the low dull murmur of some distant

torrents might be said to sooth, rather than to interrupt, the silence.

Before them, extended the valley they had quitted; its rocks, and woods

to the left, just silvered by the rays, formed a contrast to the deep

shadow, that involved the opposite cliffs, whose fringed summits only

were tipped with light; while the distant perspective of the valley was

lost in the yellow mist of moonlight. The travellers sat for some time

wrapt in the complacency which such scenes inspire.

“These scenes,” said Valancourt, at length, “soften the heart, like the

notes of sweet music, and inspire that delicious melancholy which no

person, who had felt it once, would resign for the gayest pleasures.

They waken our best and purest feelings, disposing us to benevolence,

pity, and friendship. Those whom I love—I always seem to love more in

such an hour as this.” His voice trembled, and he paused.

St. Aubert was silent; Emily perceived a warm tear fall upon the hand

he held; she knew the object of his thoughts; hers too had, for some

time, been occupied by the remembrance of her mother. He seemed by an

effort to rouse himself. “Yes,” said he, with a half-suppressed sigh,

“the memory of those we love—of times for ever past! in such an hour as

this steals upon the mind, like a strain of distant music in the

stillness of night;—all tender and harmonious as this landscape,

sleeping in the mellow moonlight.” After the pause of a moment, St.

Aubert added, “I have always fancied, that I thought with more

clearness, and precision, at such an hour than at any other, and that

heart must be insensible in a great degree, that does not soften to its

influence. But many such there are.”

Valancourt sighed.

“Are there, indeed, many such?” said Emily.

“A few years hence, my Emily,” replied St. Aubert, “and you may smile

at the recollection of that question—if you do not weep to it. But

come, I am somewhat refreshed, let us proceed.”

Having emerged from the woods, they saw, upon a turfy hillock above,

the convent of which they were in search. A high wall, that surrounded

it, led them to an ancient gate, at which they knocked; and the poor

monk, who opened it, conducted them into a small adjoining room, where

he desired they would wait while he informed the superior of their

request. In this interval, several friars came in separately to look at

them; and at length the first monk returned, and they followed him to a

room, where the superior was sitting in an arm-chair, with a large

folio volume, printed in black letter, open on a desk before him. He

received them with courtesy, though he did not rise from his seat; and,

having asked them a few questions, granted their request. After a short

conversation, formal and solemn on the part of the superior, they

withdrew to the apartment where they were to sup, and Valancourt, whom

one of the inferior friars civilly desired to accompany, went to seek

Michael and his mules. They had not descended half way down the cliffs,

before they heard the voice of the muleteer echoing far and wide.

Sometimes he called on St. Aubert, and sometimes on Valancourt; who

having, at length, convinced him that he had nothing to fear either for

himself, or his master; and having disposed of him, for the night, in a

cottage on the skirts of the woods, returned to sup with his friends,

on such sober fare as the monks thought it prudent to set before them.

While St. Aubert was too much indisposed to share it, Emily, in her

anxiety for her father, forgot herself; and Valancourt, silent and

thoughtful, yet never inattentive to them, appeared particularly

solicitous to accommodate and relieve St. Aubert, who often observed,

while his daughter was pressing him to eat, or adjusting the pillow she

had placed in the back of his arm-chair, that Valancourt fixed on her a

look of pensive tenderness, which he was not displeased to understand.

They separated at an early hour, and retired to their respective

apartments. Emily was shown to hers by a nun of the convent, whom she

was glad to dismiss, for her heart was melancholy, and her attention so

much abstracted, that conversation with a stranger was painful. She

thought her father daily declining, and attributed his present fatigue

more to the feeble state of his frame, than to the difficulty of the

journey. A train of gloomy ideas haunted her mind, till she fell

asleep.

In about two hours after, she was awakened by the chiming of a bell,

and then heard quick steps pass along the gallery, into which her

chamber opened. She was so little accustomed to the manners of a

convent, as to be alarmed by this circumstance; her fears, ever alive

for her father, suggested that he was very ill, and she rose in haste

to go to him. Having paused, however, to let the persons in the gallery

pass before she opened her door, her thoughts, in the mean time,

recovered from the confusion of sleep, and she understood that the bell

was the call of the monks to prayers. It had now ceased, and, all being

again still, she forbore to go to St. Aubert’s room. Her mind was not

disposed for immediate sleep, and the moonlight, that shone into her

chamber, invited her to open the casement, and look out upon the

country.

It was a still and beautiful night, the sky was unobscured by any

cloud, and scarce a leaf of the woods beneath trembled in the air. As

she listened, the midnight hymn of the monks rose softly from a chapel,

that stood on one of the lower cliffs, a holy strain, that seemed to

ascend through the silence of night to heaven, and her thoughts

ascended with it. From the consideration of His works, her mind arose

to the adoration of the Deity, in His goodness and power; wherever she

turned her view, whether on the sleeping earth, or to the vast regions

of space, glowing with worlds beyond the reach of human thought, the

sublimity of God, and the majesty of His presence appeared. Her eyes

were filled with tears of awful love and admiration; and she felt that

pure devotion, superior to all the distinctions of human system, which

lifts the soul above this world, and seems to expand it into a nobler

nature; such devotion as can, perhaps, only be experienced, when the

mind, rescued, for a moment, from the humbleness of earthly

considerations, aspires to contemplate His power in the sublimity of

His works, and His goodness in the infinity of His blessings.

Is it not now the hour,

The holy hour, when to the cloudless height

Of yon starred concave climbs the full-orbed moon,

And to this nether world in solemn stillness,

Gives sign, that, to the list’ning ear of Heaven

Religion’s voice should plead? The very babe

Knows this, and, chance awak’d, his little hands

Lifts to the gods, and on his innocent couch

Calls down a blessing.

CARACTACUS

The midnight chant of the monks soon after dropped into silence; but

Emily remained at the casement, watching the setting moon, and the

valley sinking into deep shade, and willing to prolong her present

state of mind. At length she retired to her mattress, and sunk into

tranquil slumber.