vapours, the sullen heralds of the tempest; these have our own likeness cast upon them;—these are nearer to the earth. We read in the aërial struggle the prophecy of our own fate; and as the night-black canopy spreads over the horizon, so darkly does destiny close around ourselves.
Francesca's eye dwelt involuntarily on the graves beside. "Sad witnesses to human happiness!" thought she, and quickened her steps. She needed the relief of Evelyn's presence to banish the melancholy forebodings that came thronging fast to her mind. She started, and suddenly drew back within the shadow thrown out by the church wall. She heard a voice, and in the obscurity saw a group of figures! What could their errand be at that early hour? Surely that sound was familiar to her ear! Once before she had heard the ropes creak as they lowered the coffin into the deep pit; once before she had heard the rattle of the gravel falling on the lid, as if it struck on tho very heart; once before she had heard those words, sanctifying the sod over which they were uttered. Whose funeral rites could they be that needed such mysterious and secret solemnisation? The agony of ages passed within her soul—one dreadful thought flashed upon her. She sprang forward; her light step caught
