'I hope that demon has not hurt you?'

I made some answer, I forget what, and he entered the chamber, the door
of which he locked upon the inside. What passed within I know not; but
I heard the voices of the two speakers raised in loud and angry
altercation.

I thought I heard the shrill accents of the woman repeat the words,
'Let her look to herself;' but I could not be quite sure. This short
sentence, however, was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful
meaning.

The storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference
of more than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and
agitated.

'That unfortunate woman,' said he, 'is out of her mind. I daresay she
treated you to some of her ravings; but you need not dread any further
interruption from her: I have brought her so far to reason. She did not
hurt you, I trust.'

'No, no,' said I; 'but she terrified me beyond measure.'

'Well,' said he, 'she is likely to behave better for the future; and I
dare swear that neither you nor she would desire, after what has passed,
to meet again.'

This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery,
and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very
agreeable food for rumination.

All attempts on my part to arrive at the truth were baffled; Lord
Glenfallen evaded all my inquiries, and at length peremptorily forbid
any further allusion to the matter. I was thus obliged to rest satisfied
with what I had actually seen, and to trust to time to resolve the
perplexities in which the whole transaction had involved me.

Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits gradually underwent a complete and
most painful change; he became silent and abstracted, his manner to me
was abrupt and often harsh, some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to
his mind; and under its influence his spirits sunk and his temper became
soured.

I soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and
excitement of society produce, than the result of a healthy habit
of mind; every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate
good-nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than
a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind,
open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, was
rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly selfish
man. This was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it from myself
as long as