give her daughter an opportunity of informing him how she was situated, should he continue at all particular in his conduct to her.

He received this permission with sparkling eyes, and a glance at Elizabeth, which convinced her he augured favourably from the circumstance; she sighed at the idea, well knowing, that in proportion to the sanguineness of hope is the bitterness of disappointment.

As soon as the agitation of Mrs. Munro had somewhat subsided, she enquired to what was owing his hav ing so fortunately discovered their danger? and, in reply, learnt, entirely to his being tempted to stay out beyond the usual hour by the fineness of the night.

At length he departed, but not without repeating his intention of waiting on them the next day.

Neither mother nor daughter could think of rest any more that night....the danger they had so narrowly escaped, the horror with which their minds were impressed, by the idea of having a secret enemy, totally precluded sleep; in vain they endeavoured to conjecture who this enemy could be....they could not recollect a being from whom they deserved aught but kindness and goodwill.... 'Let the consciousness of this, therefore, my dear mother, tranquillize your spirits,' said Elizabeth, at length making an effort to conquer her own agitation, for the purpose of endeavouring to calm her mother's: 'those who have nothing to reproach themselves with, may surely rely with confidence on the protection of Heaven.'

No doubt,' returned her mother; it would however, I confess, be a satisfaction to me, to know exactly the quarter in which we have cause for apprehension.'

If you accepted the services of the stranger, I think it probable you shortly would,' said Elizabeth, for he appears to be one of those characters whom neither trouble nor difficulty can deter from persevering in any cause they undertake.'

'He does; I shall, however rest satisfied with those of Mr. Eaton on this occasion, (Mrs. Munro always seemed to make it a point to mention this gentleman whenever the young stranger was spoken of)....Poor man, how greatly will he be affected when he hears the danger we were in !?

"Yes," replied Elizabeth; but so must every one possessed of humanity.'

The next morning, just as they were dressing for breakfast, a letter directed, in an unknown hand, was brought from the post-office to Mrs. Munro.

She de

sired Elizabeth to open it. Accordingly breaking the seal, she read aloud as follows:

MADAM,

'The lines that now meet your eye are the dictates of a heart fervent in its devotion to virtue, zealous in the cause of innocence; let this assurance, therefore, induce you to pay attention to the warning they convey. One of the most artful, the most unprincipled of men, has found means of introducing himself to your notice....introducing himself for the diabolical purpose of ensnaring the innocence of your daughter : as you value the preservation of that innocence, as you wish to retain the applauding testimony of your own conscience, let not your door again be opened to the traitor....let not his pestilential breath again approach the flower, whose sweetness he would rifle; his licentious eye again gaze upon the cheek, whose virgin blush he would annihilate; his treacherous tongue again pour poison into the ear of purity. That his nefarious schemes may in every other instance, as in this, be disappointed, the domestic happiness he now aims to destroy, continue unimpaired, is the sincere wish of one, who, in avowing himself the friend of innocencé and virtue, avows himself the friend of Mrs. Munro and her lovely daughter.'

Good Heavens!' exclaimed Mrs. Munro, eagerly grasping the letter, who could have imagined such a thing! Who could have thought him such a villain!' Who, mother?' tremblingly, and, pale as death, asked Elizabeth.

The stranger....who else could you suppose?'

Why, I think one cannot be certain that it alludes to him,' replied Elizabeth, but in tremulous accents and with downcast eyes.... one may just as well imagine that it alludes to....to........'

'Mr. Eaton, I suppose you would say....oh, my dear girl (in a reproachful tone,) how could you admit such an idea?"

'I should be sorry to do injustice to any one,' returned Elizabeth ; but, in reality, Mr. Eaton is almost as great a stranger to us as him we style so.'

'But his age, his manners, his conversation, above all, the testimonial he has promised to produce from Lord O'Sinister, of being what he has represented himself, convince me he is not the person alluded to in this letter.... no, no, 'tis the stranger I am certain ; and we need give ourselves no further trouble about the affair of last night, since I have not a doubt of his being the incendiary.'

'And to what motive can you ascribe such wickedness?' asked Elizabeth.

Entirely to his wishing to obtain an opportunity of doing something which should lead us to believe we owed him an obligation, in consequence of his despairing, from your manner, of otherwise receiving permission to visit here; but he shall find, from this being denied him, that he has no cause to triumph in his villainy....that if not absolutely detected, 'tis at least suspected.'

Elizabeth sighed....she could not deny that circumstances made against him : still however, the reflection that he might be innocent, and, if so, of the ingratitude he must accuse them of, on finding their door closed against him, without any reason for its being so assigned....the indignation with which, in that case, such conduct must inspire him, made her wish that her mother would not give way entirely to the supposition of his being guilty.

At length, by dint of supplication, she prevailed on her to let her not seeing him be excused by the plea of indisposition. Scarcely had she gained this point, when she saw him approaching the house; in a few minutes after, the servant entered the chamber with a card, on which were written the following lines with a pencil :

H

THE disappointment of Captain Delacour, at not obtaining a personal opportunity of paying his respects to Mrs. and Miss Munro, is not a little aggravated by the cause of it; but, though denied the plea sure of an immediate interview with them, he trusts he shall not be denied the pleasure of immediately employing himself in their service.'

To this address Mrs. Munro, after a little hesitation, returned the following answer :

'MRS. and Miss Munro unite in re

questing Capt. Delacour to accept their thanks for his politeness, which, however, they must positively decline putting to any further test.'

Well, if any circumstance occurs to prove him the wretch, he is now suspected of being, never' said Elizabeth with solemn earnestness, as she beheld him with an air of disappointment quitting the house, never, never her fancy still dwelling on the noble expression of his countenance, the candour, sweetness, and sensibility of which it was indicative, will I again place faith in appearances.'

6

Her mother acknowledged, that, to have judged of him from his looks, she should have considered him one of the most amiable of human beings; but, notwithstanding their testimony in his favour, avowed her belief of his being one of the most worthless.

The conversation relative to him was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Mr. Eaton, who seldom called of a morning. The occurrence of the preceding

night Mrs. Munro conceived she could not keep from his knowledge; but with regard to the anonymous letter she resolved to be silent, lest the disclosure of, it should be the means of involving him in danger. He hearkened to the particulars she communicated with an agitated air, and a varying countenance; and scarcely suffered her to conclude, ere he made an effort to depart, for the purpose, he said, of enquiring into the affair. This intention Mrs. Munro strongly opposed, but without saying why; and, at length, prevailed on him to relinquish it. By degrees he became tranquillized; and, as he recovered his tranquillity, grew extremely inquisitive about the young man (so Mrs. Munro styled Captain Delacour) who had been so instrumental to her preservation. His enquiries, however, relative to him remained unanswered; and, but whether owing to this circumstance, or to any other secret cause of uneasiness, he suddenly became gloomy and abstracted, and abruptly departed; not, however, without first signifying his intention of returning in the evening, and expressing a hope of then having the letter, he was now in daily expectation of receiving from his friend in London, to produce.

The mention of this letter, or rather the idea of the event she expected it to lead to, sickened the heart of Elizabeth. Pale, melancholy, desponding, she continued leaning against a window after the departure of Mr. Eaton, lost to external objects, till the trampling of horses roused her from her reverie; when, raising her eyes, she beheld Captain Delacour riding across the heath, attended by a groom. It instantly occured to her that he was quitting the neighbourhood, an idea which occasioned her a pang, that excited self-reproaches sufficiently severe to draw a flood of tears from her. To conceal these from observation, aware that if noticed they would lead to enquiries she could not answer, she fled to the garden; but had not been long there, when the sound of a carriage stopping at the house made her hasten back through curiosity; and, to her unutterable astonishment, the first object that met her eyes, on entering the hall, was her father.