coaching, nor any conveyance to be had, except a common
cart, and that with the greatest difficulty, for half the town
was in bed. And a dreary ride we had of it, that last stage
of the journey, cold and weary as we were; sitting on our
boxes, with nothing to cling to, nothing to lean against,
slowly dragged and cruelly shaken over the rough, hilly
roads. But Arthur was asleep in Rachel's lap, and between
us we managed pretty well to shield him from the cold night
air.

At last we began to ascend a terribly steep and stony
lane, which, in spite of the darkness, Rachel said she
remembered well: she had often walked there with me in
her arms, and little thought to come again so many years
after, under such circumstances as the present. Arthur
being now awakened by the jolting and the stoppages, we all
got out and walked. We had not far to go; but what if
Frederick should not have received my letter? or if he
should not have had time to prepare the rooms for our
reception, and we should find them all dark, damp, and
comfortless, destitute of food, fire, and furniture, after all our
toil?

At length the grim, dark pile appeared before us. The
lane conducted us round by the back way. We entered the
desolate court, and in breathless anxiety surveyed the
ruinous mass. Was it all blackness and desolation? No;
one faint red glimmer cheered us from a window where the
lattice was in good repair. The door was fastened, but after
due knocking and waiting, and some parleying with a voice
from an upper window, we were admitted by an old woman
who had been commissioned to air and keep the house till
our arrival, into a tolerably snug little apartment, formerly
the scullery of the mansion, which Frederick had now fitted
up as a kitchen. Here she procured us a light, roused the
fire to a cheerful blaze, and soon prepared a simple repast
for our refreshment; while we disencumbered ourselves of
our travering-gear, and took a hasty survey of our new
abode. Besides the kitchen, there were two bedrooms, a

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