It; when Adrian called me, and clasping my hand, bade me not leave him. His

mother, apparently inattentive, at once understood what was meant, and

seeing the hold we had upon her, yielded the point to us.

The days that followed were full of pain to me; so that I sometimes

regretted that I had not yielded at once to the haughty lady, who watched

all my motions, and turned my beloved task of nursing my friend to a work

of pain and irritation. Never did any woman appear so entirely made of

mind, as the Countess of Windsor. Her passions had subdued her appetites,

even her natural wants; she slept little, and hardly ate at all; her body

was evidently considered by her as a mere machine, whose health was

necessary for the accomplishment of her schemes, but whose senses formed no

part of her enjoyment. There is something fearful in one who can thus

conquer the animal part of our nature, if the victory be not the effect of

consummate virtue; nor was it without a mixture of this feeling, that I

beheld the figure of the Countess awake when others slept, fasting when I,

abstemious naturally, and rendered so by the fever that preyed on me, was

forced to recruit myself with food. She resolved to prevent or diminish my

opportunities of acquiring influence over her children, and circumvented my

plans by a hard, quiet, stubborn resolution, that seemed not to belong to

flesh and blood. War was at last tacitly acknowledged between us. We had

many pitched battles, during which no word was spoken, hardly a look was

interchanged, but in which each resolved not to submit to the other. The

Countess had the advantage of position; so I was vanquished, though I would

not yield.

I became sick at heart. My countenance was painted with the hues of ill

health and vexation. Adrian and Idris saw this; they attributed it to my

long watching and anxiety; they urged me to rest, and take care of myself,

while I most truly assured them, that my best medicine was their good

wishes; those, and the assured convalescence of my friend, now daily more

apparent. The faint rose again blushed on his cheek; his brow and lips lost

the ashy paleness of threatened dissolution; such was the dear reward of my

unremitting attention--and bounteous heaven added overflowing recompence,

when it gave me also the thanks and smiles of Idris.

After the lapse of a few weeks, we left Dunkeld. Idris and her mother

returned immediately to Windsor, while Adrian and I followed by slow

journies and frequent stoppages, occasioned by his continued weakness. As

we traversed the various counties of fertile England, all wore an

exhilarating appearance to my companion, who had been so long secluded by

disease from the enjoyments of weather and scenery. We passed through busy

towns and cultivated plains. The husbandmen were getting in their plenteous

harvests, and the women and children, occupied by light rustic toils,

formed groupes of happy, healthful persons, the very sight of whom carried

cheerfulness to the heart. One evening, quitting our inn, we strolled down

a shady lane, then up a grassy slope, till we came to an eminence, that

commanded an extensive view of hill and dale, meandering rivers, dark

woods, and shining villages. The sun was setting; and the clouds, straying,

like new-shorn sheep, through the vast fields of sky, received the golden

colour of his parting beams; the distant uplands shone out, and the busy

hum of evening came, harmonized by distance, on our ear. Adrian, who felt

all the fresh spirit infused by returning health, clasped his hands in

delight, and exclaimed with transport:

"O happy earth, and happy inhabitants of earth! A stately palace has God

built for you, O man! and worthy are you of your dwelling! Behold the