We had nine miles to travel, to the inn at which the ftage coaches ftopped; and were very willing, Clarke efpecially, to fhorten the way. The countryman said he was going part of the road; and that the remainder was fo plain it could not be mistaken. Accordingly, we put ourfelves under his guidance.

The fun had been down, by this time, nearly an hour and a half. The moon gave fome light; but the wind was rising, fhe was continually obfcured by thick fwift-flying clouds, and our conductor | advised us to push on, for it was likely to be a very bad night.

In less than a quarter of an hour his prophecy began to be fulfilled. The rain fell, and at intervals the oppofing clouds and currents of air, aided by the impediments of hills and trees, gave us a full variety of that whistling, roaring, and howling, which is heard in high winds.

The darkness thickened upon us, and

I was about to requeft the countryman to lead us to fome village, or even barn, for fhelter, when he suddenly struck into another path; and, bidding us good night, again told us "we could not miss our road." We could not fee where he was gone to; and, though we repeatedly called, we called in vain: he was too anxious to get shelter himself to heed our anxiety, and was foon out of hearing.

So long as we could difcern, the path we were in appeared to be tolerably beaten but we now could no longer trace any path; for it was too dark for the ground to have any distinct colour. We had skirted the foreft; and our only remaining guide was a hedge on our left.

In this hedge we placed our hopes.

We followed its direction, I know not how long, till it fuddenly turned off, at an angle; and we found ourselves, as far as we could conjecture, from the intervening lights and the ftrenuous efforts

.

we made to discover the objects around us, on the edge of fome wild place, probably a heath, with hills, and confequently deep vallies, perhaps fireams of water, and precipices.

We paufed; we knelt down, examined with our eyes, and felt about with our hands, to difcover whether we yet were in a path; but could find none.

We continued our confultation, till we had begun to think it advisable to return, once more guided by the hedge. Yet this was not only very uncertain, but the idea of a retrograde motion was by no means pleasant.

While we were in this irrefolute dilemma, we thought we faw a light; that glimmered for a moment, and as fuddenly disappeared. We watched, I know not how long, and again saw it twinkle, though, as we thought, in fomething of a different direction. Clarke faid it was a Will o'the whifp. I replied, it might

be

be one, but, as it feemed the only chance we had, my advice was to continue our walk in that direction; in hopes that, if it were a light proceeding from any houfe or village, it would become more visible as we approached.

We walked on, I know not how far ; and then paused; but difcovered no more of the light. We walked again; again ftood ftill, and looked on every fide of us, either for the light or any other object; but we could fee nothing diftinctly. The obfcure forms around us had varied their appearance; and whether they were hills, or clouds, or what they were, we could not poffibly discover: though the first we fill thought was the most probable..

By this time, we had no certain recollection of which way we had come; or to what point we were directing our courfe. We were continually in doubt: now paufing; now conjecturing; now proceeding.

We continued to wander, we knew not whither. Sometimes it appeared we went up hill; and fometimes down. We had stepped very cautiously, and therefore very flowly; had warned each other continually to be careful; and had not dared to take twenty fteps at a time, without mutually enquiring to know if all were fafe.

We continued, environed as it were by the objects that most powerfully infpire fear; by the darkness of night, the tumult of the elements, the utter ignorance of where we were or by what objects furrounded, and the dejectedness which our fituation infpired. Thieves and affaffins might be at our back, and we could not hear them: gulphs, rocks, or rivers, in our front, or on either fide, and we could not fee them. The next

ftep might plunge us, headlong, we knew

not whither.

These fears were not all imaginary.

Finding