e neck and cheeks of the marble beauty. But she held it fast by
the hair, and in the other hand a silver basin. Then the old woman gave
a growl, and pulled out a long knife, and drew it across the white neck
of the child. Here something wound forth from behind them, which they
seemed not to perceive; or it must have produced in them the same deep
horror as in Emilius. The ghastly neck of a serpent curled forth, scale
after scale, lengthening and ever lengthening out of the darkness, and
stooped down between them over the child, whose lifeless limbs hung from
the old woman's arms; its black tongue licked up the spirting red blood,
and a green sparkling eye shot over into Emilius's eye, and brain, and
heart, so that he fell at the same instant to the ground.

He was senseless when found by Roderick some hours after.

* * * * *

A party of friends was sitting, on the brightest summer morning, in a
green arbour, assembled round an excellent breakfast. Laughter and jests
passed round, and many a time did the glasses kiss with a merry health
to the youthful couple, and a wish that they might be the happiest of
the happy. The bride and bridegroom were not present; the fair one being
still busied about her dress, while the young husband was sauntering
alone in a distant avenue, musing upon his happiness.

'What a pity,' said Anderson, 'that we are to have no music. All our
ladies are beclouded at the thought, and never in their whole lives
longed for a dance so much as to-day, when to have one is quite out of
the question. It is far too painful to his feelings.'

'I can tell you a secret though,' said a young officer; 'which is, that
we are to have a dance after all, and a rare madcap and riotous one it
will he. Everything is already arranged; the musicians are come
secretly, and quartered out of sight. Roderick has managed it all; for
he says, one ought not to let him have his own way, or to humour his
strange prejudices over-much, especially on such a day as this. Besides,
he is already grown far more like a human being, and is much more
sociable than he used to be; so that I think even he will not dislike
this alteration. Indeed, the whole wedding has been brought about all of
a sudden, in a way that nobody could have expected.'

'His whole life,' said Anderson, 'is no less singular than his
character. You must all remember how, being engaged on his travels, he
arrived last autumn in our c