gloat upon us; she whetteth her insatiate
maw; she leapeth towards us; she fixeth her fangs upon us; and so endeth
my parallel!

* One ought, however, to be very cautious before one condemns a
philosopher. The master's opinions are generally pure: it is the
conclusions and corollaries of his disciples that "draw the honey forth
that drives men mad." Schlegel seems to have studied Spinoza _de fonte_,
and vindicates him very earnestly from the charges brought against
him,--atheism, etc.--ED.

But what has this to do with my tale? Ay, Reader, that is thy question;
and I will answer it by one of mine. When thou hearest a man moralize
and preach of Fate, art thou not sure that he is going to tell thee of
some one of his peculiar misfortunes? Sorrow loves a parable as much as
mirth loves a jest. And thus already and from afar, I prepare thee, at
the commencement of this, the third of these portions into which the
history of my various and wild life will be divided, for that event with
which I purpose that the said portion shall be concluded.

It is now three months after my entire recovery from my wounds, and I
am married to Isora!--married,--yes, but _privately_ married, and the
ceremony is as yet closely concealed. I will explain.

The moment Isora's anxiety for me led her across the threshold of my
house it became necessary for her honour that our wedding should take
place immediately on my recovery: so far I was decided on the measure;
now for the method. During my illness, I received a long and most
affectionate letter from Aubrey, who was then at Devereux Court: _so_
affectionate was the heart-breathing spirit of that letter, so steeped
in all our old household remembrances and boyish feelings, that coupled
as it was with a certain gloom when he spoke of himself and of worldly
sins and trials, it brought tears to my eyes whenever I recurred to
it; and many and many a time afterwards, when I thought his affections
seemed estranged from me, I did recur to it to convince myself that I
was mistaken. Shortly afterwards I received also a brief epistle from
my uncle; it was as kind as usual, and it mentioned Aubrey's return to
Devereux Court. "That unhappy boy," said Sir William, "is more than ever
devoted to his religious duties; nor do I believe that any priest-ridden
poor devil in the dark ages ever made such use of the scourge and the
penance."

Now, I have before stated that my uncle would, I knew, be averse to