on to
blaze forth at once into a devastating insurrectionary flame.

"The most ruthless reprisals were forthwith resorted to on both sides;
assassination, secret and open, became the order of the day; the
Corsicans flew to arms, and the struggle commenced which is now being
waged, and which can never end until the hated French have been
extirpated from off the face of the island."

"And how fared the unhappy Isabel meanwhile?" I inquired.

"She was on her father's arrest brought here at the imminent risk of her
life," replied the count, "and while she still lay delirious, her
father's execution took place; the chateau was then sacked, and when the
soldiers had loaded themselves with every article of value which it was
possible for them to take away, they set fire to the place, and, driving
back at the point of the bayonet all who approached for the purpose of
extinguishing the flames, stood by until it was burned to the ground.
It was late at night before all was done, and the officer in charge of
the troops who had carried through this shameful deed of murder and
spoliation was imprudent enough to camp for the night close to the scene
of the outrage. Sentinels were duly posted, and everything was, as this
man thought, made perfectly secure; but he was fatally mistaken. The
sentinels were surprised in detail, and despatched without having had an
opportunity to give the alarm, and then a band of upwards of 100 armed
Corsicans stole in upon the defenceless camp and slaughtered every one
of the sleeping Frenchmen--not one survived to tell the tale.

"Isabel, contrary to expectation, rapidly recovered both her health and
her reason; but it soon became apparent that a terrible change had been
wrought in her, though _how_ terrible we did not realise until
afterwards.

"Of course it was not to be expected that a girl who had passed through
what she had would ever be the same again, but there was a change in
her, apart from what might reasonably have been expected under the
circumstances. Her reason appeared to be completely restored; she
talked calmly and rationally enough upon all subjects, not excepting
even her misfortunes; but there was a coldness and reserve about her,
even with us, her most intimate friends, which we found it very
difficult to understand. At length one day we missed her, and
apprehensive of a recurrence of the temporary aberration of intellect
from which she had so recently recovered, we search