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Speaker 1: The Miniature by J. Y Akerman. Calling one day on

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a friend who had amassed a large collection of autographs

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and other manuscript curiosities, he showed me a small quarto

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volume which had been bequeathed to him by a relative,

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a physician who for many years had been an extensive

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practice in London. He attended the patients at a private

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asylum for insane persons of the better classes. Said my friend,

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and I have often heard him speak of the writer

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of that beautiful manuscript, a gentleman of good family, who

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had been an inmate of Blank House upwards of thirty

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years at the time he was first called to attend him.

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On looking over the volume, I found it filled with

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scraps of poetry, extracts from classic authors and even from

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the Talmudic writers. But what interested me most was a

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narrative of several pages which appeared so circumstantially related as

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to leave little doubt of its being partly, if not wholly,

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founded on fat. I beg permission to make a transcript,

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which was readily granted, and the result is before the reader.

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We laugh at what we call the folly of our

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ancestors and their notions of destiny and the malignant influences

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of the stars. For what will our children deride us?

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Perhaps for dreaming that friendship was a reality, and that

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constant love dwelt upon earth. I once believed that friendship

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was not a vain name, and thought, with the antique

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sage that one mind sometimes dwelt in two bodies. I

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dreamt and woke to find that I had been dreaming.

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George s was my chum at school and my inseparable

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companion at college. We quitted it at the same time,

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he to proceed to London, where he was in expectation

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of obtaining a lucrative appointment in one of the English colonies,

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and I to return for a short period to the

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family mansion. When I reached Blank Hall, I found several visitors,

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among whom was my cousin Maria d. She had grown

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a woman since I had last met her, and I

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now thought I had never seen a more perfect figure

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or a more bewitching countenance. Then she sang like a

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siren and was an elegant horsewoman. Will those who read

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this wonder that I fell in love with her, that

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I spent nearly the whole of the day in her company,

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and that I could think of nothing in the world. Besides,

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something occurred to delay my friend George's departure from England,

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and as he was idling about town, I invited him

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to Blank Hall. Great as was my regard for him,

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I now, however, discovered that I could live less in

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his company no marvel. I preferred the society of my

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lovely cousin, upon whose art I had had the happiness

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to learn My constant attentions had already made a sensible impression.

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I hesitated to make her an offer, though I had

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every reason to believe our attachment was mutual, partly perhaps

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from that excessive delicacy which constantly attends on true love,

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and partly because I wished to do so. When my

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friend should have left us less exposed to intrusion, would

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that the deep sea had swallowed him up, or that

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he had wrought it under a tropical sun. Ere he

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had come to Blank Hall one morning, I rose earlier

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than usual, and was looking from my chamber window on

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the beautiful prospect which the house commanded wrapped in a

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delightful reverie of which my lovely cousin was the principal subject.

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I paid, but little attention to the sound of voices below. Suddenly, however,

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I awoke to consciousness for the sweet tones of a

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woman in earnest conversation struck on my ear. Yes, it

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was hers. It was Maria's. Who could have called her

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forth at so early an hour. As I looked earnestly

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towards the walk which ran through the plantation, I saw

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emerge from it my cousin and my friend. My heart

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rose to my lips and choked my utterance, or I

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should have cried out at the sight, I withdrew from

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the window and threw myself on the sofa, tormented with

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surmises a thousand times more painful even than realities. At

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the breakfast table, I was moody and thoughtful, which my friend,

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perceiving attempted a joke, but I was in no humor

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to receive it. When Maria, in a compassionating tone, remarked

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that I looked unwell and that I should take a

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walk or a ride before breakfast, adding that she and

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George had walked for an hour and more in a

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plantation near the house. Though this announcement was certainly but

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ill calculated to afford perfect ease to my mind. It

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was yet made with such an artless air that my

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more gloomy surmises vanished, and I rallied. But I wish

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my friend would take his departure right, truly, says the

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Italian proverb love's girden is jealousy. After breakfast, George proposed

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a stroll on foot to the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey,

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about a mile distant from the hall, to which I

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at once assented. As we walked along the beautiful and

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shady lane which led to the ruin, George was as

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loquacious as ever, talked of everybody and everything, and of

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his confident expectation of realizing a fortune abroad. I was, however,

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in no humor for talking, and made few remarks in reply.

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But he appeared not to heed my taciturnity, and when

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he arrived at the spot, broke forth into raptures at

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the sight of the noble ruin. And truly it was

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a scene, the contemplation of which might have lulled the

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mines of most men. A thousand birds were caroling around us.

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The grass near the ruin was not long in rank,

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but short, close studded with trefoil and soft as a

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rich carpet. Luxuriant Ivy climbed the shattered walls bleached by

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the winds of centuries, and the lizards basking in the

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sun darted beneath the fallen fragments at the sound of

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our footsteps. As we approached the spot. We both sat

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down on a large stone and surveyed the noble Oriole.

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I was passionately fond of Gothic architecture and had often

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admired this window, But I thought I had never seen

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it look so beautiful before. My moody thoughts fled, and

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I was wrapped in the contemplation of the exquisite tracery

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when I was suddenly roused by my friend, who, patting

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me familiarly on the back, exclaimed, it is a beautiful

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ruined dick. How I wish thy sweet cousin Maria had

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accompanied us. I was struck dumb by this declaration, but

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my look was sufficiently eloquent to be understood by him,

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and he did not fail to interpret it aright. He

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appeared confused, and I, regaining my self possession, arose from

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my seat with the laconic remark. Indeed, George attempted a laugh,

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but it failed. It was evidently as much disconcerted and

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disquieted as myself. How Lynx is love. We mutually read

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each other's hearts at the same moment. I am sorry

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for you, Dick, said he, after a short pause, affecting

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very awkwardly an air of indifference one my soul. I am,

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but I'm over head and ears in love with the girl,

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and should die at the bare thought of her encouraging another.

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I wished, for the strength of Milo that I might

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have dashed out his brains against the huge stone on

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which she had been sitting. I felt my very blood

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seethe and simmer at the declaration, and with my clenched fist,

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I struck him a violent and stunning blow, which, though

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it did not beat him to the ground, sent him

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staggering several paces backward. Liar, I screamed, frantically, take that

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you dare not proceed with your folly. Recovering his feet,

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George laid his hand on his sword, which he half unsheathed,

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But as if conscious of there being no witness present,

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or wishing perhaps still further to convince me of the

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bandage he possessed, he did not draw nay, said I

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out with your weapon. Nothing less will do. I would

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rather lose my birthright than yield to thee one without

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whom life would be valueless. He smiled, bitterly, wiped his

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bruised and bloody face, and slowly drew from his bosom

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a small miniature encircled with diamonds, which he held before

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my eyes. One glance was sufficient. It was a portrait

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of Maria. It was that face which, sleeping or waking,

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has haunted me these thirty years. Pasted villain, I cried,

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clutching at the portrait with my left hand, while I

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snatched with my right hand my sword from its sheath.

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You have stolen it with assumed coolness, which it was

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impossible he could feel. He smiled again, put the miniature

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in his bosom, and drew his sword. The next moment

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our weapons crossed with an angry clash, and were flashing

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in the morning sun. My adversary was a perfect master

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of his weapon, and he pressed upon me with a

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vigor which any attempt to retaliate would have rendered dangerous

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in one so much inferior to him in skill. Maddened

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as I was, I yet restrained myself and stood on

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my guard, my eyes fixed on his and watching every glance.

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My desire to destroy him was intense. The fiend nerved

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my arm, and while he warned with the conflict, I

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became more cool and vigilant. At length he appeared to

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grow weary, and then I pressed upon him with the

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fixed determination of taking his life. But he rallied instantly,

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and in returning a thrust which I intended for his heart,

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and which he parried scarcely in time, his foot slipped

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and he fell on one knee, the point of my

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sword entering the left breast by accident. It was not

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a deep wound, and perhaps he felt it not, for

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he attempted to master my sword with his left hand,

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while he shortened his own weapon and thrust fiercely at

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my throat, making at the same time a spring to

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regain his feet. But his his fate was sealed. As

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he rose. I dashed aside the thrust intented for me,

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and sheathed my weapon in his left breast. I believe

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I must have pierced his heart, for he sank on

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his knees with a gasp, and the next moment fell

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heavily on his face with his sword still clutched tightly

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in his hand. Wearied and panting from the efforts of

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the violent struggle, I threw myself on the large stone

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which had so recently served us for a seat, and

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looked on the body of my adversary. He was dead.

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That fatal thrust had destroyed all rivalry, but at the

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price of a murder, the murder of one who had

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been my friend from boyhood upwards. A thousand conflicting emotions

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rapped me as I beheld the piteous sight. Hatrede was extinguished,

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and remorse succeeded. Yet I still thought of the audacity

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of him who had provoked such deadly resentment. Fear, too,

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fear of the consequences of this fatal encounter in a

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solitary spot without witnesses, added to the intensity of my misery,

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and I groaned in anguish. What was to be done.

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Should I go and deliver myself up to justice and

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declare the whole truth? Should I fly and leave the

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body of my friend to tell the dismal tale? Or

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should I bury him secretly and leave it to be

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supposed that he had been robbed and murdered? As each

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suggestion was canvassed and rejected. In my despair, I even

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thought of dying by my own hand. A miserable wretch,

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I exclaimed, what hast thou done? To what dire necessity?

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Has a fair and false face driven me? Yet? I

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will look once more on those bewitching features which had

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brought me to this wretched pass. I stooped and turned

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the dead man on his back. His pallid face was

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writhen and distorted, his lips were bloody, and his eyes,

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which were wide open, seemed still to glare with hatred

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and defiance, as when he stood before me in the

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desperate struggle for life and death. I tore open his

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vest and discovered the wound that had killed him. It

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had collapsed and looked no bigger than the puncture of

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a bogkin, But one little round crimson spot was visible.

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The hemorrhage was internal. There lay the miniature, which a

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few minutes before had been held up exultingly to my

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frantic gaze. I seized and pressed it to my lips

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forgetting in my transports. How dearly I had purchased it.

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This delirium, however, soon subsided, and my next thoughts were

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of the dead body. I looked about me for some

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nook where I might deposit it. There was a chasm

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in the ground among the ruins a few yards off,

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where the vaulted roof of the crypt had fallen in.

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It was scarcely large enough to admit the corpse, but

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I raised it in my arms, bore it thither, and

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with some difficulty, thrust it through the aperture. I heard

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it fall, as if to some distance, with a dull,

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heavy sound, and casting in after it, my adversaries had

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and sword. I hurried from the spot like another came

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at dinner. One glance from Maria, as I replied in

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answer to her inquiry after George that he was gone

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to make a call a few miles off. One glance,

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I say, thrilled through my very soul, and almost caused

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me to betray myself. All noticed my perturbed look, and

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complaining of violent headache, I withdrew from the table. Ere

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the meal was ended, and betook myself to my chamber.

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How shall I paint the horror of that evening, of

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the night that succeeded it, and the mental darkness which

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fell upon my wretched self. Ere the morning dawned, night

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came I rang for lights and attempted to read, but

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in vain, and after pacing my chamber for some hours,

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overpowered by fatigue, I threw myself on the bed and

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slept how long I know not. A succession of hideous

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dreams haunted my slumbers. Still I was not awakened by them.

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The scenes shifted when arrived at their climax, and a

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new ordeal of horror succeeded. Yet, like him who suffers

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from nightmare, with a vague consciousness that all was not real,

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I wished to awake. Last of all, I dreamt that

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I was arraigned for the murder of my friend. The

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judge summed up the evidence, which, though purely circumstantial, was

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sufficient to condemn me, and amidst the silence of the

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crowded court, broken only by the sobs of anxious and

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sympathizing friends and relatives, I received sentence of death and

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was hurried back to my cell. Here, abandoned by all hope,

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I lay groveling on my straw bed and cursed the

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hour of my birth. A figure entered, and, in gentle

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accents which I thought I recognized, bade me arise, quit

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my prison house and follow The figure was that of

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a woman closely veiled. She led the way and passed

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the jailers, who seemed buried in profound sleep. We left

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the town, crossed the common, and entered a wood. When

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I threw myself at the feet of my deliverer and

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passionately besought her to unveil. She shook her head, mournfully,

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bade me wait awhile till she should return with a

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change of apparel, and departed. I cast myself down at

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the foot of an aged oak, drew from my bosom

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the portrait of Maria, and wrapped in the contemplation of

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those lovely features, I did not perceive the approach of

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a man, the ranger of the forest, who, recognizing my

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prison dress, darted upon me, exclaiming, villain, you have escaped

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from jail and stolen that miniature from the hall. I

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sprang to my feet, thrust the fatal portrait into my bosom,

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and would have fled, but he seized and closed with me,

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and the struggle which followed we both fell. I undermost.

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At that moment I awoke, I was in reality struggling

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with some one, but whom I could not tell. For

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my candle said burnt out, and the chamber was in

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total darkness. A powerful, bony hand grasped me tightly by

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the throat, while another was thrust into my bosom, as

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if in search of the miniature which I had placed

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there previous to lying down. With a desperate effort, I

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disengaged myself and leaped from the bed. But I was

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again seized, and again my assailant attempted to reach my

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fatal prize. We struggled violently. At one time I seemed

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to be overpowering him, and for several moments there was

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a pause during which I heard my own breathing and

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felt my own heart throbbing violently. But he with whom

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I contended seemed to breathe, not nor to feel like

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a warm and living man. An indescribable tremor shook my frame.

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I attempted to cry out, but my throat was rigid

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and incapable of articulation. I made another effort to disengage

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myself from the grasp of my assailant, and in doing

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so drew him as I found by the curtains near

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to the window. Again the hand was thrust into my bosom,

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and again I repelled it, panting with the violence of

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the struggle, while a cold sweat burst out at every pore.

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I disengaged my right hand, and determined to see whom

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I was contending with. I dashed aside the curtain. The

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dim light of the waning moon shone into the chamber.

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It fell upon the face of my antagonist, and one

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glance froze the blood in my veins. It was he.

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It was George, he whom I had murdered, glaring upon

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me with eyes which no mortal could look upon. A

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second time my brain whirled. A sound like the discharge

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of artillery shook the place, and I fell to the ground,

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blasted at the sight. Here follows a few incoherent sentences

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which I have not deemed it necessary to transcribe. The

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reader will probably supply the sequel to this sad story.

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End of the miniature.