her master, or whisper them in the ear of her young mistress, yet they never failed to impress on her me mory a sensation of fear and apprehension, hence accounted for the tremulous motion which pervaded every limb, as they gradually approached the so-muchdreaded apartment of the Captain; to increase which the shades of night were perceptibly drawing on, and the howling of the wind, (for the weather was still unsettled and stormy,) altogether combined to render this place the object of terror and dread to the already alarmed and fearful Claribelle; which, Agatha perceiving, gently reproved her for indulging in such weakness.

"What on earth alarms you thus, Claribelle ?" cried she, as they had almost reached the Captain's door, "what have you to fear? if the living cannot harm you, the silent dead can offer you no injury; be more confident in the goodness and protection of that Power, which you well know is superior to all !".

"That is very true, miss; I know that," answered the more trembling Claribelle, "but-oh, Miss Agatha there! did you see no light there? there, miss just where you are now looking?"

"Where, you silly creature?" cried Agatha, now really angry with her foolish fears, “I see no light but that which proceeds from the lamp which you carry in your hand; but, come, let us have no more of this ridiculous folly; I have thoughts to bestow on more serious things where is the key of my father's chamber? give it to me, and be careful that the lamp does not go out."

Thus commanded by the imperative orders of her young mistress, and encouraged by her fearless look

and manner, Claribelle instantly delivered up the key of the Captain's chamber to Agatha; glad to get it out of her possession, but contriving at the same moment, that Agatha should precede her when the key was applied to unfasten the door, which was presently done, Agatha exclaiming, "Now follow me, Claribelle !"

The attendant obeyed, after shutting her eyes and shrinking behind the back of Agatha, as if to shield her from the sight of any thing that might suddenly appear, so that some minutes elapsed before Claribelle perceived the disorder and agitation, which shook even now the trembling frame of her young lady. For what was the silent and speechless grief, and wonder and astonishment, of the almost broken-hearted daughter, to discover no vestage remaining in the apartment, save alone the bed and furniture, of what had belonged to her father. He had four chests, and other valuable articles, all of which had been removed, it was impossible to guess how, when, or whither the bookcase, which had contained a spacious library, and the drawers, in which his clothes had been deposited, were also quite empty; and nothing remained to prove that such property had once belonged to, or been in the possession of, Captain Singleton, and the first sentence that escaped from the lips of the distracted Agatha, was,

"I have been robbed, Claribelle, basely and cruelly plundered of my father's property; yes, I have been made the dupe of some artful, designing villain ! behold, Claribelle, the chests !-the library!-all-all have been taken away! but how, or by whom, the Power above only knows! Alas! and was this stroke

wanting to complete the misfortunes of a poor unhappy orphan ?—yes,—” repeated Agatha, clasping her hands with firmness, and directing her tearful eyes with a look upwards, "Yes, perhaps it was! and I will yet bear it with patience, without a murmur!"

But the agonizing grief, and the deep and heartfelt concern which the astonished Claribelle now felt for her beloved young mistress, had possessed every faculty, and had rendered her almost incapable of uttering a word to console her; when she could speak, however, she burst out into the most passionate exclamation of,

"Now may Heaven send a vengeance the most awful, terrible and just, on the head of the monster who has done this! My sweetest, dearest, best young lady, how shall I comfort you? yet why do you linger here? we can do no good now, you know, in this horrid place, and the sooner we remove from it the better; not that I shall be afraid of haunted spirits again, Miss Agatha, for, as you say, it is not the dead, but the living that harm us. Come, my dear young lady, look not thus wildly and distractedly, but let us instantly. go in search of justice."

"Justice !" repeated Agatha, as she slowly arose to follow the very fast retreating steps of Claribelle, who had gladly made her way towards the door, "justice, Claribelle, where shall we find it? I have no means, no power to seek it. Men have been deaf, have been blind to justice. I know not who has done this dark deed, and if I did, I cannot prove it,—yet, Paulo,— the dark, silent and mysterious Paulo-"

"Is the perfidious villain who has robbed you of my master's property," answered Claribelle; and returned with the unhappy Agatha back to her own apartment.

CHAPTER V.

-Most ungrateful maid!

Have you conspir'd, have you with these contriv❜a
To bait me with this foul derision?

Is all the counsel that we two have shar'd,

The sisters' vows, the hours that we have spent,
When we have chid the hasty-footed time

For parting us; O, and is all forgot?

All school days' friendship, childhood innocence."

No sooner had Miss Singleton and her attendant quitted the deserted chamber which was now indeed the scene of rapine as well as of gloom and terror, than the former, again seated in her own apartment, began to recal her scattered thoughts together, and to as sume a composure which she did not feel, well knowing that exertion was doubly necessary at this critical moment of her affairs; and the unhappy orphan beheld no safety now, but in the house of the fisher, from further depredations being committed on the little property which still remained, as she hoped, secure from the hands of the rapacious monster who had so basely plundered her. But who was he? she had thought of Paulo, but was willing to banish this thought from her imagination as speedily as it had entered there, were it only on the score of christianity, for could the confidential servant of her father act thus treacherously

by a master who had always treated him with kind. ness, could Paulo be that monster, who had put the finishing stroke to her misfortunes by an act of the greatest atrocity and cruelty at such a period of her sufferings, ere the body of her poor father had scarcely fallen a victim to the angry elements; the treasures of his master were not so great that he should seek to purloin his poor effects, which would add but little to his ambition, while it would certainly seal his own infamy, both here and hereafter, for the commission of so foul a crime; yet who but Paulo could have access to these apartments, who but Paulo knew that he possessed such effects, and who but Paulo, could have contrived it, yet how, when, or by what means, the perplexed Agatha could not guess, unless by false keys some one had gained admission into the apartment, and if Paulo had really not been accessary to the deed, why having been in the chamber, which by Claribelle's confession he had, though only for the space of a few minutes, why had he not, discovering the robbery, informed her of the transaction; had he eyes, he could not have remained ignorant of it, yet accusation, if not well founded, was a dreadful thing, and Agatha paused on what manner she should proceed, determining on sending for the Fisher Blust before she disclosed the affair to any one; but neither so silent or composed were the feelings of the enraged Claribelle, who had employed the whole of her time since they quitted the chamber in bestowing the loudest invectives against Paulo, and although mildly rebuked by her young mistress, she still continued to execrate him as the most perfidious monster in existence. At length Agatha exclaimed,

K