defy the mocking spectre which points to ruin and misery!"

"And then to-morrow,--to-morrow!" continued he; "wilt thou not tremble
beneath the glance of those who seek the secret of thy life? Yes; study
well thy part; have ready thy mask; go on bravely with thy cowardly
farce! And now begone; thy nightly task is done;--beg, beg from sleep
the oblivion of what thou art and of thy threatening future! _Sleep!_ I
tremble at the very thought of it! Father in heaven, have mercy on us!"




CHAPTER III.


At daybreak next morning everybody was busy at Grinselhof. John's wife
and her serving-maid scoured the corridor and staircase; the farmer
cleaned his stable; his son weeded the grass from the garden-walks. Very
early in the day Lenora set matters in order in the dining-room and
arranged with artistic taste all the pretty things she could find on the
mantel-piece and tables. There was a degree of life and activity about
Grinselhof that had not been seen in that solitude for many a year, and
everybody went to work with alacrity, as if anxious to dispel the gloom
that hung so long over the lonely dwelling. In the midst of the
industrious crowd Monsieur De Vlierbeck might be seen moving about with
words of encouragement and expressions of satisfaction; nor did he
manifest the slightest symptom of the anxiety that was secretly gnawing
his heart. A pleasant smile flattered his humble dependants, as he gave
them to understand that their labors would be greatly honored by the
approval of his expected guests.