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Show 190 RICHARD IIUHDIS. CHAPTER XXVII. JOY-SOHIIOW. "When Lycnbns his A this thus behel~l, How wns his friendly hcuz·L with sozToW tilled I A youth so noble, to his soul so dcnr, 'l'o sec his shapeless look- his dying gronns to hcnz· !" Ovw- ;lfctamorpltosi:'l, IJ. \ '. JlOUI't after hour rolled ou, niglzt was a pproaclling, :mel yet no aid came. \Vhat could this mean? ·wlwt had become of my Pl:icnd 1 Hnd he gz·ow11 indifferent to my fate 1 did he fcn z· to encounter a second time with tlzc wretches who had punmcd him fOr his life 1 I dismissed tlzis douLt ns soou us it was sug· gested to my mind; but I conceived any but the true occnsion for his dcl:ly. l knew 'Villiam too well to fear that he would desert me. I knew that he had no pusillanimous fears to deter him from a proper risk. H e had pro baLly not been aLle to get assistance readily, and to come without an adequate force wns to commit a raslmcss and incur a danger without any correspomling ndvant:ige. I tried to solace myself with the com·ic· tion that he would not be much longer abset1t, bnt how clJcerless did I feel the while! The very inability under which I laLored to tlo anything for myself, was, to a mind and body like mine-nccustomed to clo for themselves always- eno11gh to discourngc the hope of being effectually rclicvQ{l Ly others. The approach of night did not diminish my apprehensions. '!'he snn had now set, and there W<IS a brief iutervnl of dusk and silence between its disappearance and the rising of the moon, which was particularly gloomy. llow dreadfully activo my imagination grew in that interval, and what effect it }~ad upon my nerves, 1 almost shame to say; but I felt a degree of fear in thnt brief space of time which I had never sufl"ered be- JOY-SOllHOW. 191 fore, and tmst that, in no situation, I shall eYer be compelled to endure again. A state of conscious helplessness st~ggcsts a tl10usand fears and fancies that could not be forced upon the mind under other circumstances. J?orms of danger that would seem impossible C\'en in our dreams, become, at such a period, unquestionable foes i :wd t.he mind, losing its balance after a brief contest, forl'~ ocs nll examination of the danger, and yields up the cont ~st in utter imbecility. But now the moon rose to cheer me. Ligl1t is always cheerful. I could not see her orb where I lay, bHt her smiles, like those of some benign and blessed spirit, streamed through the thousand cracks and openings of the log-liOvcl which was now a prison as secure to keep me as the doujon of the fcu< hl baron. Her bemns fell arouml me in little spots that dimpled the whole apartment with shining and bright glances. Yet even this cheering spect,acle lmpressccl me with addetl disquiet when I found myself so securely fastened to the floor as not to be able with all my writhings to avoid tho occasional rays that fell upon my face and eyes. llow bitterly did this make me feel my incapacity !-nnd when, at moments, I hcnnl the faint but protracted bay of tl10 wolf in his leafy den not far oft', which I did as soon as the night sot in, I could not doubt thnt lH~ would soon make his appearance in the deserted hovel: and I, who could not shelter my face from tho light of the moon, bad still fewer hopes of being able to protect myself from l1im. 'Vith every sound in the neighboring thickets I imagined him approaching, under the instinct of a scent as keen 3 S that of the vulture, to his bloody feast; ancl I vainly asked myself what I should do in my defence, when his gaunt and shnggy body was strctchecl out upon my own, and his slobbering snout was thrust into my face! I strove, but could 110t lift 3n armI could only shout, in the hope to scare him from his prey; and, such was my conscious impotence, that it struck me as not impossible but that I might have lost tl1e usc of my voice also. Such was the vivid force of this childish npprehonsion in my mind, that I actually shouted aloud, to convince myself that it was groundless: I shouted aloud, and, to my great joy-witllout nny such hope or expectation-! heanl my shouts returned. Anotl1cr and another! Never were there sweeter ecllOl'S to tho |