was thee, my babe, the child of my beloved mistress.bm bud

J

91 Cospetto di Baccho! exclaimed he, the bantling is dressed, and, as I live, in her haste, she has forgotten to take off the gold necklace and locket which the little witch of Endor brought with the child from Rome'

6

'Tis a pretty bauble, let me examine it more harrowly,' said Harrison. There seem to be cyphers in diamonds and hair there

"Aye, aye!' quoth Antonio, laying it on the bank, to that side of him farthest from his companion, and utterly beyond his reach;

'tis

pretty bauble, but, look here!' said he, holding Jup the babe, look at this young imp, how she smiles!"

She does so, by Heaven!' exclaimed Harrison; and could you have the heart to ask me to murder so sweet an innocent ?'

Heart!' exclaimed Antonio, I don't know what you mean by heart; but I know I have shonour enough never to deceive my employer, and as we are to be paid here for making sure -work on't, by committing it to the deep, I cannot permit my conscience to let you off for less,

though I will not refuse you the gratification of putting it to any easier death you can devise. What think you, ha! ha! ha!' exclaimed he, with a fiend like laugh- what think you of drawing a string tight round its neck first, and then lowering it gently down as a bait for the dog-fish ?'

Gord

“No, Antonio,' said Harrison, shuddering at the wretch's atrocity, I have robbed, and I have 'pshaw! I need not say what I have done, but this I solemnly swear I will not do. I will undertake to see the child so disposed of, as will secure all that her death could effect, but for murdering that innocent, with that smile of Heaher face!no! no! no!-I could not * ifl

ven upon

bring myself to do it.'

"At this moment I crept breathless behind a tree, and resolving to attempt something for the rescue of my mistress's orphan, I glided forward unperceived, and with a long hooked stick, I twitched away the gold chain that lay beside Antonio, and, at the same time, I gave him ia smart blow on the elbow, quickly concealing myself again. The villain started round, and missing the prize he had so artfully set apart for

himself, suddenly exclaimed, Robbers and, laying down the child on the bank, drew his sword, and rushed into the thicket, calling on Harrison to pursue the thieves. I slid round the bole of the tree as they passed me,-snatched up the precious babe,-and, putting her into the bag,-darted away with her.

"Lady Delassaux had providentially heaped money upon me at different times, which now contributed to the safety of her orphan. I hired a felucca, and sailed for Sicily that very night. I need not mention the various difficulties I encountered during my wanderings, but hasten to tell you that I at last arrived at Rotterdam, where I embarked for England, without knowing very well what plan I should afterwards follow. During the voyage, a storm arose that drove us to the north of Scotland. Our vessel struck, and went to pieces. I grasped my babe, and was fortunate enough to cling to a portion of the wreck, and, piloted by the hand of Providence, we alone, of all the souls on board, were safely wafted through the raging billows to the shore. We landed near the mouth of the Cave of Eaglesholme. There I sought a temporary shelter,

66

picking up some of the ship's provisions, and other necessaries, washed ashore by the storm.

"Whilst engaged in looking for these, I was seen accidentally by some of the inhabitants of the neighbouring fishing hamlet, with my hair hanging down. Their superstitious fears led them to fly in the utmost alarm. My figure was thus associated, in their minds, with the storm and wreck. I resolved to avail myself of these circumstances, to make myself the terror, instead of the sport of the vulgar. The discoveries I made in the cavern enabled me to carry my plan into the most perfect execution. I found out a narrow hole immediately over the fallen fragments, heaped up at the further end of the larger outer cave, which, opening at a considerable height, and just over a projecting ledge, so as to be quite unseen from below, led through a series of magnificent natural apartments, and came out through an almost invisible crevice near the sainted well.

"The belief in my being something supernatural became so fixed among the ignorant natives, that, to propitiate my supposed malevolence, they put down fish, and food of all kinds, and coins, and various other articles, by the side of

the well I was supposed to delight in. But something more was necessary for you than mere food; and I began to be unhappy that I had secured no asylum for you, where you might receive education fitted to your birth. Had I then known that your mother was the last remaining child of Lord Eaglesholme's only uncle, I should have thought that the hand of an all-seeing God had led me to him; but I was ignorant of this circumstance, and then looked upon him in no other light, than as a nobleman of whose his tory I knew something, and whose wretched and recluse sort of life, bespoke at least a sincere repentance for the errors he had been led into.

"In the course of a few weeks residence in the cavern, I had various opportunities of gathering more about Lord Eaglesholme, and I finally made up my mind to convert him, by stratagem, into the guardian of my infant treasure. How to effect this, required some previous consideration. To accost him, and to tell him at once who you were, would have been to subject myself to the suspicions of imposture; and ignorant as I was of his connection with your mother, I only antici pated indifference on his part, to the pretensions