have
never been thoroughly at home there. Two days ago I discovered that
the place was _boring_ me. So I determined to escape; and this to a
man of my resources presented few difficulties. I borrowed this pony
from a stable not many yards from the madhouse wall; he belongs, I
think, to a chimney-sweep, and I trust that, after serving my
purpose, he may find a way back to his master."

I suppose at this point he must have detected the question in my
eyes, for he cried sharply.

"You wish to know my purpose? It is simple." He passed a thin hand
over his forehead. "I have been shut up, as I say, for twenty-nine
years, and I now discover that the madhouse bores me. If they
re-take me--and the hue and cry must be out long before this--I shall
be dragged back. What, then, is my proposal? I ride to Bleakirk and
out along the summit of Woeful Ness. There I dismount, turn my pony
loose, and, descending along the ridge, step into the sand that
swallowed Lydia. Simple, is it not? _Excessi, evasi, evanui_.
I shall be there before sunset--which reminds me," he added, pulling
out his watch, "that my time is nearly up. I regret to leave you in
this plight, but you see how I am placed. I felt, when I saw you, a
sudden desire to unbosom myself of a secret which, until the past
half-hour, I have shared with no man. I see by your eyes again that
if set at liberty you would interfere with my purpose. It is
unfortunate that scarcely a soul ever rides this way--I know the road
of old. But to-morrow is Sunday: I will scribble a line and fix it
on the church-door at Bleakirk, so that the parish may at least know
your predicament before twenty-four hours are out. I must now be
going. The bandanna about your mouth I entreat you to accept as a
memento. With renewed apologies, sir, I wish you good-day; and count
it extremely fortunate that you did not bleed."

He nodded in the friendliest manner, turned on his heel, and walked
quietly towards the bridge. As he untethered his pony, mounted, and
ambled quietly off in the direction of the coast, I lay stupidly
watching him. His black coat for some time lay, a diminishing blot,
on the brown of the moors, stood for a brief moment on the sky-line,
and vanished.

I must have lain above an hour in this absurd and painful position,
wrestling with my bonds, and speculating on my chances of passing the
night by the beck-side. My ankles were tied with my own
handkerchief, my wr