foolish.

"Certainly," said Walter, soliloquizing, "certainly the man is a rascal:
yet he was evidently sincere in his emotion. Certainly he was one of the
men who robbed me; yet, if so, he was also the one who interceded for
my life. If I should now have given strength to a villain;--if I should
have assisted him to an outrage against myself! What more probable? Yet,
on the other hand, if his story be true;--if his child be dying,--and
if, through my means, he obtain a last interview with her! Well, well,
let me hope so!"

Here he was joined by the Corporal, who, angry as he was, judged it
prudent to smother his rage for another opportunity; and by favoring his
master with his company, to procure himself an ally immediately at hand,
should his suspicions prove true. But for once, his knowledge of the
world deceived him: no sign of living creature broke the loneliness of
the way. By and by the lights of the town gleamed upon them; and, on
reaching the inn, Walter found his horse had been already sent there,
and, covered with dust and foam, was submitting itself to the tutelary
hands of the hostler.

CHAPTER X.

WALTER'S REFLECTIONS.--MINE HOST.--A GENTLE CHARACTER AND A
GREEN OLD AGE.--THE GARDEN, AND THAT WHICH IT TEACHETH.--A
DIALOGUE, WHEREIN NEW HINTS TOWARDS THE WISHED FOR DISCOVERY
ARE SUGGESTED.--THE CURATE.--A VISIT TO A SPOT OF DEEP
INTEREST TO THE ADVENTURER.

I made a posy while the day ran by,
Here will I smell my remnant out, and tie
My life within this band.
--George Herbert.

The time approaches,
That will with due precision make us know,
What--
--Macbeth.

The next morning Walter rose early, and descending into the court-yard
of the inn, he there met with the landlord, who--a hoe in his hand,--was
just about to enter a little gate that led into the garden. He held the
gate open for Walter.

"It is a fine morning, Sir; would you like to look into the garden,"
said mine host, with an inviting smile.

Walter accepted the offer, and found himself in a large and well-stocked
garden, laid out with much neatness and some taste; the Landlord halted
by a parterre which required his attention, and Walter walked on in
solitary reflection.

The morning was serene and clear, but the frost mingled the freshness
with an "eager and nipping air," and Walter unconsciously quickened