ight mislead her pliant mind! And
yet in this, the most determinate act of her life, that which is to give
the hue to the whole of her coming fortune, the only truly momentous
event in her history--how strangely has it befallen!"

In such a strain did his thoughts pursue this harassing subject. The
window of his study was open, and he sat near it, looking out upon the
night. The scene around him was of a nature to awaken his imagination
and lead his musings towards the preternatural and invisible world. It
was past midnight, and the bright moon was just sinking down the western
slope of the heavens, journeying through the fantastic and gorgeous
clouds, that, as they successively caught her beam, stood like
promontories jutting upon a waveless ocean, their rich profiles tipped
with burnished silver. The long black shadows of the trees slept in
enchanted stillness upon the earth: the night-wind breathed through the
foliage, and brought the distant gush of the river fitfully upon his
ear. There was a witching harmony and music in the landscape that sorted
with the solitary hour, and conjured up thoughts of the world of
shadows. Lindsay's mind began to run upon the themes of his favorite
studies: the array of familiar spirits rose upon his mental vision; the
many recorded instances of what was devoutly believed the interference
of the dead in the concerns of the living, came fresh, at this moment,
to his memory, and made him shudder at his lonesomeness. Struggling with
this conception, it struck him with an awe that he was unable to master:
"some invisible counsellor," he muttered, "some mysterious intelligence,
now holds my daughter in thrall, and flings his spell upon her
existence. The powers that mingle unseen in the affairs of mortals, that
guide to good or lead astray, have wafted this helpless bark into the
current that sweeps onward, unstayed by man. I cannot contend with
destiny. She is thy child, Gertrude," he exclaimed, apostrophizing the
spirit of his departed wife. "She is thine, and thou wilt hover near her
and protect her from those who contrive against her peace: thou wilt
avert the ill and shield thy daughter!"

Excited almost to phrensy, terrified and exhausted in physical energy,
Lindsay threw his head upon his hand and rested it against the
window-sill. A moment elapsed of almost inspired madness, and when he
raised his head and looked outward upon the lawn, he beheld the pale
image of the being he had