It struck twelve when the inn-keeper was still in close conversation with the circumspect Austrian. The door opened, and father Francis entered the room; the sight of the hoary deceiver made my blood boil in my veins, and I clapt my hand involuntarily to my sword; the Austrian, who was standing at a small distance from me, hiding a part of his face under his hat, and holding a brace of pistols in his hands, seemed to ask me by a side glance, whether Father Francis and my old acquaintance in the Black Forest was one and the same person. I affirmed it by a quick motion of my eyelids, and the Austrian turned his back to the Necromancer; I removed behind Lieutenant N———, and peeping over his shoulders, watched the proceedings of the juggler, who advanced with solemn steps into the middle of the apartment, where he stopped, resting his inquisitive looks on the countenances of the company.
Profound silence swayed all around, and we were fixed to the ground like so manystatues,
