' [Here Ludovico paused a moment, and, looking at his own fire, gave it a
brightening stir.] 'The wind was strong, and the Baron watched his lamp with anxiety,
expecting every moment to see it extinguished; but, though the flame
wavered, it did not expire, and he still followed the stranger, who
often sighed as he went, but did not speak.
'When they reached the borders of the forest, the Knight turned, and
raised his head, as if he meant to address the Baron, but then, closing
his lips in silence, he walked on.
'As they entered, beneath the dark and spreading boughs, the Baron,
affected by the solemnity of the scene, hesitated whether to proceed,
and demanded how much further they were to go. The Knight replied only
by a gesture, and the Baron, with hesitating steps and a suspicious eye,
followed through an obscure and intricate path, till, having proceeded a
considerable way, he again demanded whither they were going, and refused
to proceed unless he was informed. 'As he said this, he looked at his own sword, and at the Knight
alternately, who shook his head, and whose dejected countenance disarmed
the Baron, for a moment, of suspicion.
'"A little further is the place, whither I would lead you," said the
stranger; "no evil shall befall you--I have sworn it on the honour of a
knight." 'The Baron, re-assured, again followed in silence, and they soon arrived
at a deep recess of the forest, where the dark and lofty chesnuts
entirely excluded the sky, and which was so overgrown with underwood,
that they proceeded with difficulty. The Knight sighed deeply as he
passed, and sometimes paused; and having, at length, reached a spot,
where the trees crowded into a knot, he turned, and, with a terrific
look, pointing to the ground, the Baron saw there the body of a man,
stretched at its length, and weltering in blood; a ghastly wound was
on the forehead, and death appeared already to have contracted the
features. 'The Baron, on perceiving the spectacle, started in horror, looked at
the Knight for explanation, and was then going to raise the body and
examine if there were yet any remains of life; but the stranger, waving
his hand, fixed upon him a look so earnest and mournful, as not only
much surprised him, but made him desist.
'But, what were the Baron's emotions, when, on holding the lamp near
the features of the corpse, he discovered the exact resemblance of the
stranger his conductor, to whom he now looked up in astonishment and
enquiry? As he gazed, he perceived the countenance of the Knight change,
and begin to fade, till his whole form gradually vanished from his
astonished sense! While the Baron stood, fixed to the spot, a voice was
heard to utter these words:--'