search of you. Unless we return immediately to the General, I hardly think we shall find him alive."

"Your pardon," said the maniac, still maintaining his position; "I am with friends, who will see justice done me for my wrongs.

Avaunt!"

"Your friends!" said the old man.

you see they are buccaneers ?"

"Don't

At these words the weapons dropped from his hands. With a wild shriek he rushed into the arms of the servants, and in an agony of terror exclaimed, "Save her! save her!"

His fears were evidently real. Every limb shook; and still, as he clung round the men he ejaculated in the same tone of dismay"Save her! save her! Tell them to spare her!"

At length the former whispered something which had the effect of calming his agitation; for turning towards Aston and Cameron, he took off his hat, and with a vacant smile bowed to them. They returned the salutation, which seemed still further to tranquillise him.

The two domestics now consulted together, and as it appeared there was a market town not more than a mile on, where they could procure some kind of vehicle to convey their charge back to his father, it was determined to proceed thither. With considerable difficulty the maniac was prevailed upon to mount one of the horses, (which the younger servant led on foot,) and the whole party proceeded onwards; Cameron and Aston falling back a little, to engage the old man in conversation.

CHAPTER XV.

How willingly, like Cato,

Could I tear out my bowels, rather than
Look on his conqueror's insulting face.

MASSINGER'S" Maid of Honour."

He

"You will pardon me, gentlemen," said he, "for calling you buccaneers, but I knew that would make him reasonable in a moment. would never have given up these swords, or done what he is now doing, if I had not horrified him. And see what a jack-pudding he has made of himself since yesterday! I declare I could hardly help laughing in his face, when I saw him in those gimcracks, instead of his own handsome suit of white and silver. Poor fellow! He must be foot-sore; for, as I reckon, he has tramped a long thirty miles without sleeping by the way."

It was not very difficult to extract from this garrulous personage the history of his young master, though with much tedious circumlocution. It appeared he was the only son of a General Neville, who had recently arrived in England from India, and that on their voyage, the ship was attacked, off the coast of South America, by a crew of desperadoes, who infested these latitudes, under the name of buccaneers. The General's son had married a young lady of great beauty, just before their departure for England, and it was his fate to see her butchered before his eyes, under circumstances of the most revolting barbarity. His reason sunk beneath the blow! Every effort to restore it had hitherto proved unsuccessful; but his father was now on his way down to Gloucester, to place him under the medical care of a gentleman, of high professional celebrity in the treatment of insanity, when he contrived to make his escape, the preceding day, from the inn where they stopped to dine.

"And how did you chance to discover the road he had taken ?" inquired Cameron.

"In the strangest way, I think, that ever happened," replied the old man. "Persons were despatched in every direction, and I and my fellow-servant among the rest. But it was all random work till this morning, just at daybreak, when we overtook a company of strolling play folks, in a sort of open waggon, and there was a little, ill-looking fellow, sitting in front, with a yellow, dirty face, that had not been shaved for a week. The moment I clapped my eyes upon him, I thought there was something about him that was familiar to me, and sure enough there was; for, lo! and behold! he was dressed in my young master's clothes-in his very suit of white and silver! I made no more ado, but taxed him at once with murder; because, what less could have happened, I thought to myself. Ecod! the dingy vagabond rated me soundly, as well he might, indeed, when all things came to be known. But to make my story short, (for we had a great many pros and cons about my swearing he had committed murder,) it turned out that Mr. Charles had been to see those