so sad, one would almost think the
woods were haunted.' 'They certainly are haunted,' said St. Aubert with
a smile, 'but I believe it is by mortals.' 'I have sometimes heard it
at midnight, when I could not sleep,' rejoined La Voisin, not seeming to
notice this remark, 'almost under my window, and I never heard any music
like it. It has often made me think of my poor wife till I cried. I have
sometimes got up to the window to look if I could see anybody, but as
soon as I opened the casement all was hushed, and nobody to be seen; and
I have listened, and listened till I have been so timorous, that even
the trembling of the leaves in the breeze has made me start. They say
it often comes to warn people of their death, but I have heard it these
many years, and outlived the warning.'

Emily, though she smiled at the mention of this ridiculous superstition,
could not, in the present tone of her spirits, wholly resist its
contagion.

'Well, but, my good friend,' said St. Aubert, 'has nobody had courage to
follow the sounds? If they had, they would probably have discovered who
is the musician.' 'Yes, sir, they have followed them some way into the
woods, but the music has still retreated, and seemed as distant as ever,
and the people have at last been afraid of being led into harm, and
would go no further. It is very seldom that I have heard these sounds so
early in the evening. They usually come about midnight, when that bright
planet, which is rising above the turret yonder, sets below the woods on
the left.'

'What turret?' asked St. Aubert with quickness, 'I see none.'

'Your pardon, monsieur, you do see one indeed, for the moon shines full
upon it;--up the avenue yonder, a long way off; the chateau it belongs
to is hid among the trees.'

'Yes, my dear sir,' said Emily, pointing, 'don't you see something
glitter above the dark woods? It is a fane, I fancy, which the rays fall
upon.'

'O yes, I see what you mean; and who does the chateau belong to?'

'The Marquis de Villeroi was its owner,' replied La Voisin,
emphatically.

'Ah!' said St. Aubert, with a deep sigh, 'are we then so near Le-Blanc!'
He appeared much agitated.

'It used to be the Marquis's favourite residence,' resumed La Voisin,
'but he took a dislike to the place, and has not been there for many
years. We have heard lately that he is dead, and that it is fallen into
other hands.' St. Aubert, who had sat in deep musing, was roused by the
last words. '