to my understanding. At
length, it occurred to me, that though the information I possessed
was, in one sense, sufficient, yet if more could be obtained, more was
desirable. This passage was copied from a British paper; part of it
only, perhaps, was transcribed. The printer was in possession of the
original.

"Towards his house I immediately turned my horse's head. He produced the
paper, but I found nothing more than had already been seen. While busy
in perusing it, the printer stood by my side. He noticed the object
of which I was in search. "Aye," said he, "that is a strange affair. I
should never have met with it, had not Mr. Hallet sent to me the paper,
with a particular request to republish that advertisement."

"Mr. Hallet! What reasons could he have for making this request? Had
the paper sent to him been accompanied by any information respecting
the convict? Had he personal or extraordinary reasons for desiring its
republication? This was to be known only in one way. I speeded to
his house. In answer to my interrogations, he told me that Ludloe had
formerly been in America, and that during his residence in this
city, considerable intercourse had taken place between them. Hence a
confidence arose, which has since been kept alive by occasional letters.
He had lately received a letter from him, enclosing the newspaper from
which this extract had been made. He put it into my hands, and pointed
out the passages which related to Carwin.

"Ludloe confirms the facts of his conviction and escape; and adds, that
he had reason to believe him to have embarked for America. He describes
him in general terms, as the most incomprehensible and formidable among
men; as engaged in schemes, reasonably suspected to be, in the highest
degree, criminal, but such as no human intelligence is able to unravel:
that his ends are pursued by means which leave it in doubt whether he be
not in league with some infernal spirit: that his crimes have hitherto
been perpetrated with the aid of some unknown but desperate accomplices:
that he wages a perpetual war against the happiness of mankind, and sets
his engines of destruction at work against every object that presents
itself.

"This is the substance of the letter. Hallet expressed some surprize
at the curiosity which was manifested by me on this occasion. I was too
much absorbed by the ideas suggested by this letter, to pay attention to
his remarks. I shuddered with the apprehension of the e