y, over which he seemed to possess no power, and now
trembled in a state of such complete nervous relaxation, as led him to
fear that they were becoming unable to support him longer in his
position.

[We must leave the reader here, although in dire suspense--and we regret
to do so, because a beautiful incident follows--to give the following
exquisite sketch of the heroine--a Swiss maiden. We will endeavour to
connect these passages with our abridgment of the narrative.]

An upper vest, neither so close as to display the person--a habit
forbidden by the sumptuary laws of the canton--nor so loose as to be an
encumbrance in walking or climbing, covered a close tunic of a different
colour, and came down beneath the middle of the leg, but suffered the
ancle, in all its fine proportions, to be completely visible. The foot
was defended by a sandal, the point of which was turned upwards, and the
crossings and knots of the strings which secured it on the front of the
leg were garnished with silver rings. The upper vest was gathered round
the middle by a sash of parti-coloured silk, ornamented with twisted
threads of gold; while the tunic, open at the throat, permitted the
shape and exquisite whiteness of a well-formed neck to be visible at the
collar, and for an inch or two beneath. The small portion of the throat
and bosom thus exposed was even more brilliantly fair than was promised
by the countenance, which last bore some marks of having been freely
exposed to the sun and air--by no means in a degree to diminish its
beauty, but just so far as to show that the maiden possessed the health
which is purchased by habits of rural exercise. Her long, fair hair fell
down in a profusion of curls on each side of a face whose blue eyes,
lovely features, and dignified simplicity of expression, implied at once
a character of gentleness, and of the self-relying resolution of a mind
too virtuous to suspect evil, and too noble to fear it. Above these
locks beauty's natural and most beseeming ornament--or rather, I should
say, amongst them--was placed the small bonnet, which, from its size,
little answered the purpose of protecting the head, but served to
exercise the ingenuity of the fair wearer, who had not failed, according
to the prevailing custom of the mountain maidens, to decorate the tiny
cap with a heron's feather, and the then unusual luxury of a small and
thin chain of gold, long enough to encircle the cap four or five times,
and