he beauteous maiden followed her, pale, stiff; her lovely bosom was
all bared, but her whole form was like a marble statue.

Betwixt them they led the sweet little child, crying and clinging
imploringly to the fair maiden, who lookt not down upon it. The child
lifted up and claspt its little beseeching hands, and stroakt the pale
neck and cheeks of the marble beauty. But she held it fast by the
hair, and in the other hand a silver basin.

Then the old woman growled, and pulled out a long knife, and drew it
across the white neck of the child. Here something crawled forth from
behind that they seemed not to perceive, or it must have struck them
with the same thrilling terrour as Emilius. A serpent curled its
loathsome neck, scale after scale, lengthening and still lengthening,
out of the darkness, and stoopt down over the child, whose lifeless
limbs hung from the old woman's arms: its black tongue lickt up the
spirting red blood, and a green sparkling eye shot over into the eye,
and brain, and heart of Emilius, who instantly dropt on the ground.

He was senseless when found by Roderick some hours after.

* * * * *

A party of friends were sitting on the brightest summer morning in a
green arbour, assembled at an excellent breakfast. Laughter and jests
passed round; and many a time did the glasses kiss with a merry health
to the young couple, and a wish that they might be the happiest of the
happy. The bride and bridegroom were not present; she being still
engaged in dressing, while the young husband was sauntering by himself
down an avenue some way off, musing upon his happiness.

"What a pity it is," said Anderson, "that we are to have no music! All
our ladies are beclouded at the thought, and never in their whole
lives longed for a dance so much as today, when it is quite out of the
question: it is far too painful to his feelings."

"I can tell you a secret though," exclaimed a young officer, "that we
are to have a dance after all; and a rare riotous and madcap one it
will be. Everything is already arranged; the musicians are come
secretly and quartered out of sight. Roderick has managed the whole
business; for he says one ought not to let him always have his own
way, or to humour his strange caprices overmuch, especially on such a
day as this."

"Besides," observed another young man, "he is already become much more
tractable and sociable than he used to be; so that I think he hims