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"I stooped over him, and laid my hand over his heart. He still breathed.

"He seemed to me to have been completely run through the body.

"With some difficulty I succeeded in stopping the rapid flow of blood from his breast, intending, as soon as I could do so with safety, to leave him, and call for assistance from the domestics of the palace.

"I raised him into a more convenient posture, and was about to leave him, when he opened his eyes, and said languidly�

" �Stay�stay�I�I am dying. The villain has given me my death-wound.�

"He grasped my arm so tightly that I should have had to use absolute violence to tear myself from him.

" �Listen to me,� he continued. �The Baron Zindorf, leagued with Count Durlack, murdered his cousin, and, I believe, his uncle, to remove all impediments to his possession of the castle of Zindorf.�

"I listened with the greatest attention.

" �The children live,� he continued.

" �What children?� I asked.

" �The children�the twin children of the cousin of the present baron.�

" �And their names?�

" �I�I saved them, " he cried, not heeding my question; �thank Heaven, I saved them. They live�they live!�

"I saw his cheek sinking, and the glaze of death was on his eyes.

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" �The name by which they are known?� I cried; �tell me that.�

"He tried to speak, and I bent over him to catch the last sound the he might find breath to utter.

"A confused murmuring sound came from his throat. He seemed to be struggling with death.

" �The name�the name!� I again cried.

" �Vileroy,� he said.

" �Where are they to be found ?�

"I listened attentively, but I could no longer hear his troubled breathing. I placed my hand upon his heart�it had ceased to beat. The man was dead!

"I stood a short time by the body, deliberating with myself as to what would be the best course to pursue. I was determined that the secret which I had become so strangely possessed of should be a secret no longer, and my only doubt was whether I should go immediately to the palace and denounce the baron and the count in the midst of the gay assemblage, or wait till the morning, and seek an interview with the minister upon the subject.

"Unfortunately, as it turned out, I decided upon the latter course of proceeding, and the consequence, in the sequel, was my own ruin."

"I long to hear," said Frederique, "by what possible train of circumstances you could have acquired anything but honour and credit in the transaction."

"Alas!" said D�Anville, "I knew not the subtlety of the men I had to deal with."

"I pray you proceed, sir," said Frederique.

The chevalier continued�

"As I walked from the body I trod upon something which I at first took for a branch from a tree; but, upon looking down, I saw that it was the scabbard of a sword, and that it belonged to either the count or the baron I could not for an instant doubt.

"I picked it from the ground, rejoicing at its discovery, as it would be a strong corroboration of my singular tale.

"Hardly had I proceeded a dozen paces towards the palace, when I encountered the Baron Zindorf, walking hastily towards the place where lay the murdered man.

"I was carelessly holding the scabbard I had picked from the ground in my hand, and I could see, by his sudden start, that he saw it.

"Without giving me time to address him, he turned, and at a quick pace left me.

"It was a piece of great imprudence in me not now to have at once proceeded to the palace, and given publicity to the whole affair, for the suspicions of the baron were evidently excited.

"By some foul destiny, however, I adhered to my original determination, and retired to my own residence with the resolution of seeing the minister

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the first thing in the morning, by which time I doubted not but some of the servants of the palace would have discovered the corpse of the murdered man.

"I could not have slept above two hours when I was awakened by a great commotion at my chamber door. I arose and opened it, when who can picture my surprise at seeing the staircase lined with guards!

"An officer stood on the threshold of the door; of him I immediately enquired the cause of so unexpected a visit.

"He handed me a paper, which contained an order signed by the king, that I should quit the country within the space of twenty-four hours, on pain of death.

"I could hardly believe my senses when I read it, and stared at the officer in a perfectly bewildered state.

" �What is the meaning of this?� I cried.

" �A carriage waits,� said the officer, �to conduct you to the frontiers.�

" �Oh,� I cried, �this is some mistake. Of what am I accused?�

" �Conspiring against the king�s life. Your accomplice�s body has been found in the palace.�

" �My accomplice�s body!� I cried; �why, that man was slain by Count Durlack and Baron Zindorf.�

" �We know as much,� answered the officer. �You made your escape. His majesty, in consideration of the services of your illustrious family, has adopted the present means of saving your life. He desires that you should be out of the country before the council meets to-morrow.�

"I was now fully aroused to a sense of my situation. I felt that I was involved in a web of artful machinations woven by the baron and the count in order to cover their own guilt, and, get rid of one who, from the circumstance of the scabbard, they no doubt suspected knew their crimes.

"How to extricate myself from the labyrinth of misrepresentation and falsehood in which I saw myself involved, I knew not.

" �I prefer staying,� I cried, �and meeting any charge that may be brought against me. I will not fly.�

" �The king�s orders,� said the officer, �are imperative. We must convey you to the frontiers. At the intercession of the Baron Zindorf, a public trial is not insisted upon, and your life is safe as long as you return not.�

" �Why,� I cried, �I heard the man murdered by my accusers. They did the deed to ensure his silence with regard to a foul crime of which they are guilty.�

"The officer smiled incredulously.

" �Tis true,� I continued; �here is the scabbard of the Baron Zindorf�s sword, which he left on spot.�

" �We know all that,� said the officer; �we are well aware of all the particulars.�

" �And pray may I ask,� said I, �what they are?�

" �Simply these,� replied the officer. �Count Durlack and Baron Zindorf

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heard you and your confederate plotting the assassination of the king. In their indignation they drew their swords, and rushed upon you. You escaped, but your companion was slain by the baron, who dropped his scabbard upon the ground in the heat of the conflict.�

" �Go on, sir,� I said.

" �The count immediately denounced you to the king�the body of man was found, and you had left the palace.�

" �Was there ever,� I said, �such a tissue of falsehoods?�

" �The carriage waits,� said the officer.

" �But my child,� I cried��my Constance?�

" �Concerning her I have no order,� said the officer. �Your house, and all it contains, are confiscated. Take what you please, sir�I see neither money nor jewels.�

"I was so confounded that I knew not what to say or do. I unlocked mechanically a bureau, containing the jewels of my family, and secured them about me. Then proceeding to the chamber of Constance, I desired her to rise and dress herself, for we were going a journey.

"In mute surprise she obeyed me; and, with the scabbard of the Baron Zindorf�s sword in my hand, which, somehow, I did not like to part with, I proceeded to the door of my own house, surrounded by the palace guards.

"I was so thoroughly taken by surprise and astonishment, that we had entered the carriage, and were half way to the frontiers before I could think with any degree of calmness upon my situation."

"It was, indeed," said Frederique, "a monstrous piece of villany."

"True," said the Chevalier D�Anville; "and how to unmask it I could not think. Every word I could say was construed against me, since whatever I stated was admitted, but altogether altered in its complexion."

"With the exception of the difference in the nature of the criminality," said Frederique, "they had contrived to change places with you completely."

"They had, indeed," replied D�Anville. "The whole misfortune arose from my unfortunate delay in making the accusation against the count and the baron.

"We soon arrived at the frontiers, and we were ordered to alight a small village which was in the Austrian dominions.

"I saw that to attempt to exculpate myself in the eyes of the officer, by entering into any detail was useless, for lie was�as doubtless was everybody else,�fatally prejudiced against me.

"When we left the carriage, I stood for a few moments with Constance,�who was a mere child,�in my arms, and I said solemnly:�

" �Sir, whatever you may think of me, I call Heaven to witness, and may it desert me and this child for ever and ever if I speak falsely, �that I am as innocent as you are of what is laid to my charge.�

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"The officer seemed struck by my manner, and looked at Constance with an eye of compassion.

"He presented me with his own cloak to wrap round her.

"I bore all but that;�I had been torn from my home�falsely accused�wrongfully banished�but this one act of kindness subdued me more than all, and I wept.

"The officer took my hand kindly, and said, in his rough way, for he vas a veteran soldier:�

" �Chevalier D�Anville, I believe you. Can I do anything for you?�

" �Yes,� I said. �Tell Sir Gaston de Beauvais what I have said, and when you hear me talked of, say you think I may be innocent.�

" �I will,� he cried. �On the word of a soldier I will. Nay,� he continued, �I will do more. I will place a watch upon your accusers that may bring something to light for your benefit.�

" �God bless you!� I cried.

"He wrung my hand, and bestowing a kiss upon the little Constance, he departed, and we were left alone among strangers."

"Your fate," said Frederique, "was enough to break the strongest mind."

"For a time I suffered much," said D�Anville, "but Constance was my good angel. She saved me from myself. For her I lived, and for her I cherished the hope that one day my name would be cleared from the false imputations which had been cast upon it. The rest of my history you know, Frederique."

"I do," said the young soldier. "Chevalier, from this moment, I dedicate to your service all my energies."

The chevalier grasped Frederique�s hand in silent gratitude.

CHAPTER L.

DESPITE the real interest which Frederique had felt in the narrative of the Chevalier D�Anville still his eyes would wander to the curtains behind the folds of which he felt sure Constance must have retreated from the apartment.

The day was far advanced, and he felt the necessity of returning to the little encampment from which he had already been absent too long a period of time to be compatible with his military duties.

Minute after minute he still lingered with the hope of being blessed once more before he went, by a sight of the lovely Constance; but, to his deep disappointment and chagrin, she came not.

For the twentieth time he bade adieu to the chevalier, and still he lingered.

The evening, however, was at hand, and, at length, he reluctantly de-

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parted from the cavern, which, in his own mind, he likened to a mine that contained the rarest jewel in the whole world.

When Frederique arrived at the mouth of the cavern, he found that the day was more spent than he had imagined. The sun had sunk below the horizon, and a dim and darkening twilight pervaded the forest.

The night breeze swept among the leaves of the trees with a moaning sound, and the paths among the trees looked like so many subterranean passages, so dark and dismal did they appear.

Frederique hurried onward, in the hope of reaching his comrades before the darkness should increase so much as to render his route through the forest dangerous and uncertain, or perhaps confuse his recollection of the way altogether, and force him to wait a full hour for the rising of the moon to light him to the Castle of Zindorf.

Pursuing rapidly the little path which he had traversed with the chevalier, he soon made his way into the forest.

He cast one glance around him, to assure himself that he was proceeding in the proper direction, and then was on the point of plunging among the shadows of the gigantic trees, when he stopped suddenly like one entranced, for he thought he heard a voice behind him, which to his ears was the sweetest of all music, pronounce his name.

"Frederique�Frederique," was softly uttered.

For a moment he stood afraid to move, for fear of dispelling the sweet delusion, if delusion it was.

"Frederique," again said the voice.

He could not be mistaken. It was�yes it was, the voice of Constance; that dear voice, the low cadences of which were enshrined in his heart, like the memory of some delicious dream.

He turned and gazed eagerly around him.

"Constance," he cried; "where are you? Oh, speak again."

From the deep black shadow of a gigantic chesnut tree, that seemed a very monarch of the woods, the light agile figure of the artless and innocent Constance, now slowly emerged.

Frederique was by her side in a moment.

Comrades�duty�Zindorf Castle�Tristram Chablot�night�the forest�all�all�were forgotten in one moment, and the enraptured Frederique only knew that he was by the side of Constance D�Anville, and that he was very happy.

" Frederique," she said, with the most innocent candour; "I have waited for you a long time here."

"Oh, Constance," he cried; "could I have known�could I have guessed that so much happiness awaited me, I would have flown to this spot long ere this. I waited with the dear hope of seeing you in the cavern."

"I am accustomed to the forest," said Constance, with a smile; "and �tis no hardship for me to wait among the old trees."

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"And you have waited for me? For me, dear Constance? Oh, tell me so again. Let me again hear you say so."

"Yes," answered Constance, unhesitatingly; "I waited for you."

"Can I be so blessed?" he cried.

"Can you doubt," answered Caroline; "that I would wait the whole night through for such an object?"

"Then, Constance," said Frederique, "is beyond my wildest hopes."

He seized her hand and covered it with kisses.

She withdrew it hastily and stepped back a pace.

"No more of this, sir," she said; "the feelings that brought me hither to meet you, will admit of no other."

Frederique looked puzzled.

"I feel," he cried, "the deep obligation of this meeting. Do not, Constance, crush the dear hopes that have arisen in my heart."

"I hope I understand you rightly," answered Constance.

"My heart," cried Frederique; "my live�my sword, are all henceforward dedicated to the service of�"

"Enough," interrupted Constance; "I may trust you, Frederique.

"Constance, what can I say to assure you? Language is too weak."

"You will pardon me thus delaying you, Frederique?"

"Pardon? oh Heavens!"

"You�you guess the purpose of my heart?"

"Let me dream that I do, dear Constance. Your dear affectionate�"

"Oh yes, Frederique."

"Your heart�s best love."

"Yes, Frederique, its best, its truest."

"Can I believe my ears? Why should I be so happy?"

"Oh, Frederique, may you make me so," sighed Constance.

"Constance, Constance!" he cried; "how I adore you for that sweet candour, which lends so new a charm to beauty."

"I need not be ashamed of my affection," she said gently.

"How can I admire�love you enough?" cried the enraptured Frederique. "Oh, how unworthy is the object of such artlessness and dear affection!"

"Unworthy?" cried Constance, drawing back.

"Oh, yes," continued Frederique; "most unworthy. A life of devotion to your every will, can alone repay the sweet feelings of your heart."

"Sir," said Constance, in a tone of offended feeling; "my father is a noble gentleman, and worthy of more love than I can, in a lifetime, bestow upon him."

"Your father?"

"Yes sir! my father. In answer to my words of affection for the best of fathers, you tell me he is unworthy. Find, sir, where you can, his equal for fearless honour and dauntless courage."

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Frederique at this moment would willingly have sunk down to the very centre of the world, and there consented to remain till the crack of doom.

He stood glancing at Constance like one just awakened from a deep sleep, who had not yet thoroughly aroused his brain.

"Unworthy!" replied Constance. "I thought my father had told you the history of his wrongs, and when presuming upon your knowledge and conviction of his innocence, I meet you to ask you to represent all that he has said to you, to Sir Gaston de Beauvais, or even the king himself, you tell me with maniacal gestures that he is unworthy."

The Chevalier D�Anville when he was roused from his bed by the officer with the king�s order for his banishment, could not possibly have felt more confounded than did Frederique at the present moment. He looked around in a fearful agony of shame and bewilderment.

What to say or what to do he knew not. His prominent idea was that he should be superlatively easy and comfortable if the earth would but open immediately and swallow him up.

"Farewell, sir," said Constance, with a deep sigh. "I am mistaken and�and my poor father is deceived."

"Good God!" cried Frederique, "where am I?"

"Where are you?" said Constance. "Do not pretend you have lost your way. The same path that led you here will conduct you away again."

"I�m mad!" cried Frederique. "Quite mad�raving mad!"

Constance looked at him in astonishment at his vehemence, and seemed actually to entertain serious doubts of his sanity.

"Don�t go," he cried. "For God�s sake stay! I�I�will do everything�anything."

Constance was rather alarmed, and shrunk back timidly.

Frederique continued speaking with vehemence.

"I am a fool!" he cried. "An ass!�a beast! Mad!�mad�mad!"

"Keep off, sir," cried Constance, really terrified.

"But," said Frederique, "I�I can explain. No I can�t. I thought�I can�t tell you what I thought. I�ll go and kill myself directly."

"He�s certainly mad," thought Constance, her indignation giving way to a feeling of sincere pity.

"I will call my father," she said.

"Call anybody," cried Frederique. "Call the devil�I am going to explain."

Suddenly a figure stepped forward, and a stern voice exclaimed,�

"What is this?"

"Oh, father," cried Constance, rushing into the chevalier�s arms, "I am so glad to see you, dear father."

"Whence this agitation, Constance?" said D�Anville.

"Oh, father, Frederique is mad."

"Mad?" said D�Anville.