preceding night, and with it all the hideous visions which had haunted his pillow. “Fool,” exclaimed William to himself, “because the mysterious surpasses thy mortal comprehension, art thou therefore to ascribe it to infernal agency? And is what I seek so very much beyond the ordinary course of nature that I must needs crave the assistance of supernatural agents? Man’s master-power controls the brute, may it not also command the obedience of a piece of inert matter? Yes, nature teems with a thousand operations the least of which contains mystery enough to baffle man’s penetration, and shall I now sacrifice my last hope and joy to a foolish reverence of what I cannot comprehend? I will not invoke supernatural agents, but nature and her occult processes I will employ without questioning! Yes, I will go in quest of the old soldier again; and should I not find him, I know what to do; courage, my heart; George of Prague was led on to do what he did by pride, I am impelled by the nobler principles of love and honour!”
Thus did William reason with himself as he roamed through the forest in quest of the old soldier; but his search was fruitless,—he found him not, nor did he meet with any one who had seen him.
The following day was spent in equally fruitless inquiries and vain search.
“Be it so then,” said William internally, “the time is measured to me! This very night will I go to the cross road in the forest. It is a lonely spot; no eye shall witness my deeds, and I will have firmness not to quit the circle till the work is over.”
