t wickedness of which
human nature is capable; they doom me to death and infamy. Have I power
to escape this evil? If I have, be sure I will exert it. I will not
accept evil at their hand, when I am entitled to good; I will suffer
only when I cannot elude suffering.

"You say that I am guilty. Impious and rash! thus to usurp the
prerogatives of your Maker! to set up your bounded views and halting
reason, as the measure of truth!

"Thou, Omnipotent and Holy! Thou knowest that my actions were
conformable to thy will. I know not what is crime; what actions are
evil in their ultimate and comprehensive tendency or what are good. Thy
knowledge, as thy power, is unlimited. I have taken thee for my guide,
and cannot err. To the arms of thy protection, I entrust my safety. In
the awards of thy justice, I confide for my recompense.

"Come death when it will, I am safe. Let calumny and abhorrence pursue
me among men; I shall not be defrauded of my dues. The peace of virtue,
and the glory of obedience, will be my portion hereafter."

Here ended the speaker. I withdrew my eyes from the page; but before I
had time to reflect on what I had read, Mr. Cambridge entered the
room. He quickly perceived how I had been employed, and betrayed some
solicitude respecting the condition of my mind.

His fears, however, were superfluous. What I had read, threw me into a
state not easily described. Anguish and fury, however, had no part in
it. My faculties were chained up in wonder and awe. Just then, I was
unable to speak. I looked at my friend with an air of inquisitiveness,
and pointed at the roll. He comprehended my inquiry, and answered me
with looks of gloomy acquiescence. After some time, my thoughts found
their way to my lips.

Such then were the acts of my brother. Such were his words. For this
he was condemned to die: To die upon the gallows! A fate, cruel and
unmerited! And is it so? continued I, struggling for utterance, which
this new idea made difficult; is he--dead!

"No. He is alive. There could be no doubt as to the cause of these
excesses. They originated in sudden madness; but that madness continues.
and he is condemned to perpetual imprisonment."

"Madness, say you? Are you sure? Were not these sights, and these
sounds, really seen and heard?"

My uncle was surprized at my question. He looked at me with apparent
inquietude. "Can you doubt," said he, "that these were illusions? Does
heaven, think you, interfere for suc