n-knife he had in his pocket,
and saying, "This will I stick into the earth, and leave it there; and
if you do not find it in the inside of the vault, I will own the wager
lost." These words left them nothing to suspect; and they agreed to wait
at the door his coming out, believing he had no less stock of resolution
than he had pretended: it is possible, the opinion they had of him was
no more than justice.

But, whatever stock of courage he had, on his entrance into that antique
and reverend pile, he no sooner found himself shut alone in it, than, as
he afterwards confessed, he found a kind of shuddering all over him,
which, he was sensible, proceeded from something more than the coldness
of the night. Every step he took was echoed by the hollow ground; and,
though it was not altogether dark, the verger having left a lamp burning
just before the door that led to the chapel (otherwise it would have
been impossible for him to have found the place), yet did the glimmering
it gave, rather add to, than diminish, the solemn horror of every thing
around.

He passed on, however; but protested, had not the shame of being laughed
at, prevented him, he would have forfeited more than twice the sum he
had staked to have been safe out again. At length he reached the
entrance of the vault: his inward terror increased; yet, determined not
to be overpowered by fear, he descended; and being come to the last
stair, stooped forwards, and struck the pen-knife with his whole force
into the earth. But, as he was rising in order to quit so dreadful a
place, he felt something pluck him forward; the apprehension he before
was in, made an easy way for surprise and terror to seize on all his
faculties: he lost in one instant every thing that could support him,
and fell into a swoon, with his head in the vault, and part of his body
on the stairs.

Till after one o'clock his friends waited with some degree of patience,
though they thought he paid the titled dead a much longer visit than a
living man could choose. But, finding he did not come, they began to
fear some accident: the verger, they found, though accustomed to the
place, did not choose to go alone; they therefore went with him,
preceded by a torch, which a footman belonging to one of the company had
with him. They all went into the Abbey, calling, as they went, as loud
as they could: no answer being made, they moved on till they came to the
vault; where, looking down, they soon perceiv