"Who are you, and what brings you here ?" "You may guess my errand from my presence," replied the knight.

"I am called Sir Paul Parravicin, and am the most devoted of your admirers." "My husband surrender me to a stranger! It cannot be!" cried the lady, distractedly.
"You see me here, and may judge of the truth of my statement," rejoined the knight.

"Your husband gave me this key, with which I introduced myself to the house." "What motive could he have for such unheard-of baseness--such barbarity ?" cried Mrs.Disbrowe, bursting into tears.
"Shall I tell you, madam ?" replied Parravicin.

"He is tired of you, and has taken this means of ridding himself of you." Mrs.Disbrowe uttered a loud scream, and fell back in the bed.
Parravicin waited for a moment; but not hearing her move, brought the lamp to see what was the matter.

She had fainted, and was lying across the pillow, with her night-dress partly open, so as to expose her neck and shoulders.
The knight was at first ravished with her beauty; but his countenance suddenly fell, and an expression of horror and alarm took possession of it.