loor, the few and miserable pieces of furniture, when
suddenly my attention was called to another and a sadder spectacle. In
one corner of the hovel, stretched upon a bed whose poverty might have
made it unworthy of a dog to lie in, lay the figure of a large and
powerfully-built man, stone dead. His eyes were dosed, his chin bound
up with a white cloth, and a sheet, torn and ragged, was stretched above
his cold limbs, while on either side of him two candles were burning.
His features, though rigid and stiffened, were manly and even
handsome--the bold character of the face heightened in effect by his
beard and moustache, which appeared to have been let grow for some time
previous, and whose black and waving curl looked darker from the pallor
around it.

Some lines there were about the mouth that looked like harshness and
severity, but the struggle of departing life might have caused them.

Gently withdrawing the sheet that covered him, the priest placed his
hand upon the man's heart. It was evident to me, from the father's
manner, that he still believed the man living; and as he rolled back the
covering, he felt for his hand. Suddenly starting, he fell back for an
instant; and as he moved his fingers backwards and forwards, I saw that
they were covered with blood. I drew near, and now perceived that the
dead man's chest was laid open by a wound of several inches in extent.
The ribs had been cut across, and some portion of the heart or lung
seemed to protrude. At the slightest touch of the body, the blood gushed
forth anew, and ran in streams upon him. His right hand, too, was cut
across the entire palm, the thumb nearly severed at the joint. This
appeared to have been rudely bound together; but it was evident, from
the nature and the size of the other wound, that he could not have
survived it many hours.

As I looked in horror at the frightful spectacle before me, my foot
struck at something beneath the bed. I stooped down to examine, and
found it was a carbine, such as dragoons usually carry. It was broken
at the stock and bruised in many places, but still seemed not
unserviceable. Part of the butt-end was also stained with blood. The
clothes of the dead man, clotted and matted with gore, were also there,
adding by their terrible testimony to the dreadful fear that haunted me.
Yes, everything confirmed it--murder had been there.

A low, muttering sound near made me turn my head, and I saw the priest
kneeling beside