第14章

Theofferwasacceptedwithanalmostyouthfulalacrityofgesture。TheCapuchintookthelargestpinchIeversawheldbetweenanyman’sfingerandthumb——inhaleditslowlywithoutspillingasinglegrain——halfclosedhiseyes——and，wagginghisheadgently，pattedmepaternallyontheback。

"Oh，myson，"saidthemonk，"whatdelectablesnuff！Oh，mysonandamiabletraveler，givethespiritualfatherwholovesyouyetanothertiny，tinypinch！"

"Letmefillyourboxforyou。Ishallhaveplentyleftformyself。"

Thebatteredtinsnuff—boxwasgiventomebeforeIhaddonespeaking；thepaternalhandpattedmybackmoreapprovinglythanever；thefeeble，huskyvoicegrewglibandeloquentinmypraise。IhadevidentlyfoundouttheweaksideoftheoldCapuchin，and，onreturninghimhisbox，Itookinstantadvantageofthediscovery。

"Excusemytroublingyouonthesubjectagain，"Isaid，"butI

haveparticularreasonsforwantingtohearallthatyoucantellmeinexplanationofthathorriblesightintheouthouse。"

"Comein，"answeredthemonk。

Hedrewmeinsidethegate，closedit，andthenleadingthewayacrossagrass—growncourtyard，lookingoutonaweedykitchen—garden，showedmeintoalongroomwithalowceiling，adirtydresser，afewrudely—carvedstallseats，andoneortwogrim，mildewedpicturesforornaments。Thiswasthesacristy。

"There’snobodyhere，andit’sniceandcool，"saidtheoldCapuchin。ItwassodampthatIactuallyshivered。"Wouldyouliketoseethechurch？"saidthemonk；"ajewelofachurch，ifwecouldkeepitinrepair；butwecan’t。Ah！maledictionandmisery，wearetoopoortokeepourchurchinrepair！"

Hereheshookhisheadandbeganfumblingwithalargebunchofkeys。

"Nevermindthechurchnow，"saidI。"Canyou，orcanyounot，tellmewhatIwanttoknow？"

"Everything，frombeginningtoend——absolutelyeverything。Why，I

answeredthegate—bell——Ialwaysanswerthegate—bellhere，"saidtheCapuchin。

"What，inHeaven’sname，hasthegate—belltodowiththeunburiedcorpseinyourhouse？"

"Listen，sonofmine，andyoushallknow。Sometimeago——somemonths——ah！me，I’mold；I’velostmymemory；Idon’tknowhowmanymonths——ah！miserableme，whataveryold，oldmonkIam！"

Herehecomfortedhimselfwithanotherpinchofsnuff。

"Nevermindtheexacttime，"saidI。"Idon’tcareaboutthat。"

"Good，"saidtheCapuchin。"NowIcangoon。Well，letussayitissomemonthsago——weinthisconventareallatbreakfast——wretched，wretchedbreakfasts，sonofmine，inthisconvent！——weareatbreakfast，andwehear_bang！bang！_twiceover。’Guns，’saysI。’Whataretheyshootingfor？’saysBrotherJeremy。’Game，’saysBrotherVincent。’Aha！game，’saysBrotherJeremy。’IfIhearmore，Ishallsendoutanddiscoverwhatitmeans，’saysthefathersuperior。Wehearnomore，andwegoonwithourwretchedbreakfasts。"

"Wheredidthereportoffirearmscomefrom？"Iinquired。

"Fromdownbelow——beyondthebigtreesatthebackoftheconvent，wherethere’ssomeclearground——niceground，ifitwasn’tforthepoolsandpuddles。But，ah！misery，howdampweareintheseparts！howvery，verydamp！"

"Well，whathappenedafterthereportoffirearms？"

"Youshallhear。Wearestillatbreakfast，allsilent——forwhathavewetotalkabouthere？Whathavewebutourdevotions，ourkitchen—garden，andourwretched，wretchedbitsofbreakfastsanddinners？Isayweareallsilent，whentherecomessuddenlysucharingatthebellasneverwasheardbefore——averydevilofaring——aringthatcaughtusallwithourbits——ourwretched，wretchedbits！——inourmouths，andstoppedusbeforewecouldswallowthem。’Go，brotherofmine，’saysthefathersuperiortome，’go；itisyourduty——gotothegate。’Iambrave——averylionofaCapuchin。Islipoutontiptoe——Iwait——Ilisten——I

pullbackourlittleshutterinthegate——Iwait，Ilistenagain——Ipeepthroughthehole——nothing，absolutelynothingthatIcansee。Iambrave——Iamnottobedaunted。WhatdoIdonext？

Iopenthegate。Ah！sacredMotherofHeaven，whatdoIbeholdlyingallalongourthreshold？Aman——dead！——abigman；biggerthanyou，biggerthanme，biggerthananybodyinthisconvent——buttoneduptightinafinecoat，withblackeyes，staring，staringupatthesky，andbloodsoakingthroughandthroughthefrontofhisshirt。WhatdoIdo？Iscreamonce——I

screamtwice——andrunbacktothefathersuperior！"

AlltheparticularsofthefatalduelwhichIhadgleanedfromtheFrenchnewspaperinMonkton’sroomatNaplesrecurredvividlytomymemory。ThesuspicionthatIhadfeltwhenIlookedintotheouthousebecameacertaintyasIlistenedtotheoldmonk’slastwords。

"SofarIunderstand，"saidI。"ThecorpseIhavejustseenintheouthouseisthecorpseofthemanwhomyoufounddeadoutsideyourgate。Nowtellmewhyyouhavenotgiventheremainsdecentburial。"

"Wait——wait——wait，"answeredtheCapuchin。"Thefathersuperiorhearsmescreamandcomesout；weallruntogethertothegate；

weliftupthebigmanandlookathimclose。Dead！deadasthis（smackingthedresserwithhishand）。Welookagain，andseeabitofpaperpinnedtothecollarofhiscoat。Aha！sonofmine，youstartatthat。IthoughtIshouldmakeyoustartatlast。"

Ihadstarted，indeed。Thatpaperwasdoubtlesstheleafmentionedinthesecond’sunfinishednarrativeashavingbeentornoutofhispocketbook，andinscribedwiththestatementofhowthedeadmanhadlosthislife。Ifproofpositivewerewantedtoidentifythedeadbody，herewassuchprooffound。

"Whatdoyouthinkwaswrittenonthebitofpaper？"continuedtheCapuchin"Wereadandshudder。Thisdeadmanhasbeenkilledinaduel——he，thedesperate，themiserable，hasdiedinthecommissionofmortalsin；andthemenwhosawthekillingofhimaskusCapuchins，holymen，servantsofHeaven，childrenofourlordthePope——theyask_us_togivehimburial！Oh！butweareoutragedwhenwereadthat；wegroan，wewringourhands，weturnaway，wetearourbeards，we——"

"Waitonemoment，"saidI，seeingthattheoldmanwasheatinghimselfwithhisnarrative，andwaslikely，unlessIstoppedhim，totalkmoreandmorefluentlytolessandlesspurpose——"waitamoment。Haveyoupreservedthepaperthatwaspinnedtothedeadman’scoat；andcanIlookatit？"

TheCapuchinseemedonthepointofgivingmeananswer，whenhesuddenlycheckedhimself。Isawhiseyeswanderawayfrommyface，andatthesamemomentheardadoorsoftlyopenedandclosedagainbehindme。

Lookingroundimmediately，Iobservedanothermonkinthesacristy——atall，lean，black—beardedman，inwhosepresencemyoldfriendwiththesnuff—boxsuddenlybecamequitedecorousanddevotionaltolookat。IsuspectedIwasinthepresenceofthefathersuperior，andIfoundthatIwasrightthemomentheaddressedme。

"Iamthefathersuperiorofthisconvent，"hesaid，inquiet，cleartones，andlookingmestraightinthefacewhilehespoke，withcoldlyattentiveeyes。"Ihaveheardthelatterpartofyourconversation，andIwishtoknowwhyyouaresoparticularlyanxioustoseethepieceofpaperthatwaspinnedtothedeadman’scoat？"

Thecoolnesswithwhichheavowedthathehadbeenlistening，andthequietlyimperativemannerinwhichheputhisconcludingquestion，perplexedandstartledme。IhardlyknewatfirstwhattoneIoughttotakeinansweringhim。Heobservedmyhesitation，andattributingittothewrongcause，signedtotheoldCapuchintoretire。Humblystrokinghislonggraybeard，andfurtivelyconsolinghimselfwithaprivatepinchofthe"delectablesnuff，"

myvenerablefriendshuffledoutoftheroom，makingaprofoundobeisanceatthedoorjustbeforehedisappeared。

"Now，"saidthefathersuperior，ascoldlyasever，"Iamwaiting，sir，foryourreply。"

"Youshallhaveitinthefewestpossiblewords，"saidI，answeringhiminhisowntone。"Ifind，tomydisgustandhorror，thatthereisanunburiedcorpseinanouthouseattachedtoyourconvent。IbelievethatcorpsetobethebodyofanEnglishgentlemanofrankandfortune，whowaskilledinaduel。Ihavecomeintothisneighborhoodwiththenephewandonlyrelationoftheslainman，fortheexpresspurposeofrecoveringhisremains；

andIwishtoseethepaperfoundonthebody，becauseIbelievethatpaperwillidentifyittothesatisfactionoftherelativetowhomIhavereferred。Doyoufindmyreplysufficientlystraightforward？Anddoyoumeantogivemepermissiontolookatthepaper？"

"Iamsatisfiedwithyourreply，andseenoreasonforrefusingyouasightofthepaper，"saidthefathersuperior；"butIhavesomethingtosayfirst。Inspeakingoftheimpressionproducedonyoubybeholdingthecorpse，youusedthewords’disgust’and’horror。’ThislicenseofexpressioninrelationtowhatyouhaveseenintheprecinctsofaconventprovestomethatyouareoutofthepaleoftheHolyCatholicChurch。Youhavenoright，therefore，toexpectanyexplanation；butIwillgiveyouone，nevertheless，asafavor。Theslainmandied，unabsolved，inthecommissionofmortalsin。Weinfersomuchfromthepaperwhichwefoundonhisbody；andweknow，bytheevidenceofourowneyesandears，thathewaskilledontheterritoriesoftheChurch，andintheactofcommittingdirectviolationofthosespeciallawsagainstthecrimeofdueling，thestrictenforcementofwhichtheholyfatherhimselfhasurgedonthefaithfulthroughouthisdominionsbyletterssignedwithhisownhand。

Insidethisconventthegroundisconsecrated，andweCatholicsarenotaccustomedtoburytheoutlawsofourreligion，theenemiesofourholyfather，andtheviolatorsofourmostsacredlawsinconsecratedground。Outsidethisconventwehavenorightsandnopower；and，ifwehadboth，weshouldrememberthatwearemonks，notgrave—diggers，andthattheonlyburialwithwhich_we_canhaveanyconcernisburialwiththeprayersoftheChurch。ThatisalltheexplanationIthinkitnecessarytogive。

Waitformehere，andyoushallseethepaper。"Withthosewordsthefathersuperiorlefttheroomasquietlyashehadenteredit。

Ihadhardlytimetothinkoverthisbitterandungraciousexplanation，andtofeelalittlepiquedbythelanguageandmannerofthepersonwhohadgivenittome，beforethefathersuperiorreturnedwiththepaperinhishand。Heplaceditbeforemeonthedresser，andIread，hurriedlytracedinpencil，thefollowinglines：

"ThispaperisattachedtothebodyofthelateMr。StephenMonkton，anEnglishmanofdistinction。Hehasbeenshotinaduel，conductedwithperfectgallantryandhonoronbothsides。

Hisbodyisplacedatthedoorofthisconvent，toreceiveburialatthehandsofitsinmates，thesurvivorsoftheencounterbeingobligedtoseparateandsecuretheirsafetybyimmediateflight。

I，thesecondoftheslainman，andthewriterofthisexplanation，certify，onmywordofhonorasagentlemanthattheshotwhichkilledmyprincipalontheinstantwasfiredfairly，inthestrictestaccordancewiththeruleslaiddownbeforehandfortheconductoftheduel。

"（Signed），F。"

"F。"IrecognizedeasilyenoughastheinitialletterofMonsieurFoulon’sname，thesecondofMr。Monkton，whohaddiedofconsumptionatParis。

Thediscoveryandtheidentificationwerenowcomplete。NothingremainedbuttobreakthenewstoAlfred，andtogetpermissiontoremovetheremainsintheouthouse。IbeganalmosttodoubttheevidenceofmyownsenseswhenIreflectedthattheapparentlyimpracticableobjectwithwhichwehadleftNapleswasalready，bythemerestchance，virtuallyaccomplished。

"Theevidenceofthepaperisdecisive，"saidI，handingitback。

"Therecanbenodoubtthattheremainsintheouthousearetheremainsofwhichwehavebeeninsearch。MayIinquireifanyobstacleswillbethrowninourwayshouldthelateMr。Monkton’snephewwishtoremovehisuncle’sbodytothefamilyburial—placeinEngland？"

"Whereisthisnephew？"askedthefathersuperior。

"HeisnowawaitingmyreturnatthetownofFondi。"

"Isheinapositiontoprovehisrelationship？"

"Certainly；hehaspaperswithhimwhichwillplaceitbeyondadoubt。"

"Lethimsatisfythecivilauthoritiesofhisclaim，andheneedexpectnoobstacletohiswishesfromanyonehere。"

Iwasinnohumorfortalkingamomentlongerwithmysour—temperedcompanionthanIcouldhelp。Thedaywaswearingonmefast；and，whethernightovertookmeornot，IwasresolvednevertostoponmyreturntillIgotbacktoFondi。Accordingly，aftertellingthefathersuperiorthathemightexpecttohearfrommeagainimmediately，Imademybowandhastenedoutofthesacristy。

Attheconventgatestoodmyoldfriendwiththetinsnuff—box，waitingtoletmeout。

"Blessyou，mayson，"saidthevenerablerecluse，givingmeafarewellpatontheshoulder，"comebacksoontoyourspiritualfatherwholovesyou，andamiablyfavorhimwithanothertiny，tinypinchofthedelectablesnuff。"

CHAPTERVI。

IRETURNEDatthetopofmyspeedtothevillagewhereIhadleftthemules，hadtheanimalssaddledimmediately，andsucceededingettingbacktoFondialittlebeforesunset。

Whileascendingthestairsofourhotel，IsufferedunderthemostpainfuluncertaintyastohowIshouldbestcommunicatethenewsofmydiscoverytoAlfred。IfIcouldnotsucceedinpreparinghimproperlyformytidings，theresults，withsuchanorganizationashis，mightbefatal。Onopeningthedoorofhisroom，Ifeltbynomeanssureofmyself；andwhenIconfrontedhim，hismannerofreceivingmetookmesomuchbysurprisethat，foramomentortwo，Ilostmyself—possessionaltogether。

EverytraceofthelethargyinwhichhewassunkwhenIhadlastseenhimhaddisappeared。Hiseyeswerebright，hischeeksdeeplyflushed。AsIentered，hestartedup，andrefusedmyofferedhand。

"Youhavenottreatedmelikeafriend，"hesaid，passionately；

"youhadnorighttocontinuethesearchunlessIsearchedwithyou——youhadnorighttoleavemeherealone。Iwaswrongtotrustyou；youarenobetterthanalltherestofthem。"

Ihadbythistimerecoveredalittlefrommyfirstastonishment，andwasabletoreplybeforehecouldsayanythingmore。Itwasquiteuseless，inhispresentstate，toreasonwithhimortodefendmyself。Ideterminedtoriskeverything，andbreakmynewstohimatonce。

"Youwilltreatmemorejustly，Monkton，whenyouknowthatI

havebeendoingyougoodserviceduringmyabsence，"Isaid。

"UnlessIamgreatlymistaken，theobjectforwhichwehaveleftNaplesmaybenearerattainmentbybothofusthan——"

Theflushlefthischeeksalmostinaninstant。Someexpressioninmyface，orsometoneinmyvoice，ofwhichIwasnotconscious，hadrevealedtohisnervously—quickenedperceptionmorethanIhadintendedthatheshouldknowatfirst。Hiseyesfixedthemselvesintentlyonmine；hishandgraspedmyarm；andhesaidtomeinaneagerwhisper：

"Tellmethetruthatonce。Haveyoufoundhim？"

Itwastoolatetohesitate。Iansweredintheaffirmative。

"Buriedorunburied？"

Hisvoiceroseabruptlyasheputthequestion，andhisunoccupiedhandfastenedonmyotherarm。

"Unburied。"

Ihadhardlyutteredthewordbeforethebloodflewbackintohischeeks；hiseyesflashedagainastheylookedintomine，andheburstintoafitoftriumphantlaughter，whichshockedandstartledmeinexpressibly。

"WhatdidItellyou？Whatdoyousaytotheoldprophecynow？"

hecried，droppinghisholdonmyarms，andpacingbackwardandforwardintheroom。"Ownyouwerewrong。Ownit，asallNaplesshallownit，whenonceIhavegothimsafeinhiscoffin！"

Hislaughtergrewmoreandmereviolent。Itriedtoquiethiminvain。Hisservantandthelandlordoftheinnenteredtheroom，buttheyonlyaddedfueltothefire，andImadethemgooutagain。AsIshutthedooronthem，IobservedlyingonatablenearathandthepacketoflettersfromMissElmslie，whichmyunhappyfriendpreservedwithsuchcare，andreadandre—readwithsuchunfailingdevotion。LookingtowardmejustwhenI

passedbythetable，theletterscaughthiseye。Thenewhopeforthefuture，inconnectionwiththewriterofthem，whichmynewswasalreadyawakeninginhisheart，seemedtooverwhelmhiminaninstantatsightofthetreasuredmemorialsthatremindedhimofhisbetrothedwife。Hislaughterceased，hisfacechanged，herantothetable，caughtthelettersupinhishand，lookedfromthemtomeforonemomentwithanalteredexpressionwhichwenttomyheart，thensankdownonhiskneesatthetable，laidhisfaceontheletters，andburstintotears。Iletthenewemotionhaveitswayuninterruptedly，andquittedtheroomwithoutsayingaword。

WhenIreturnedafteralapseofsomelittletime，Ifoundhimsittingquietlyinhischair，readingoneofthelettersfromthepacketwhichrestedonhisknee。

Hislookwaskindnessitself；hisgesturealmostwomanlyinitsgentlenessasherosetomeetme，andanxiouslyheldouthishand。

HewasquitecalmenoughnowtohearindetailallthatIhadtotellhim。IsuppressednothingbuttheparticularsofthestateinwhichIhadfoundthecorpse。Iassumednorightofdirectionastothesharehewastotakeinourfutureproceedings，withtheexceptionofinsistingbeforehandthatheshouldleavetheabsolutesuperintendenceoftheremovalofthebodytome，andthatheshouldbesatisfiedwithasightofM。Foulon’spaper，afterreceivingmyassurancethattheremainsplacedinthecoffinwerereallyandtrulytheremainsofwhichwehadbeeninsearch。

"Yournervesarenotsostrongasmine，"Isaid，bywayofapologyformyapparentdictation，"andforthatreasonImustbegleavetoassumetheleadershipinallthatwehavenowtodo，untilIseetheleadencoffinsoldereddownandsafeinyourpossession。AfterthatIshallresignallmyfunctionstoyou。"

"Iwantwordstothankyouforyourkindness，"heanswered。"Nobrothercouldhavebornewithmemoreaffectionately，orhelpedmemorepatientlythanyou。"

Hestoppedandgrewthoughtful，thenoccupiedhimselfintyingupslowlyandcarefullythepacketofMissElmslie’sletters，andthenlookedsuddenlytowardthevacantwallbehindmewiththatstrangeexpressionthemeaningofwhichIknewsowell。SincewehadleftNaplesIhadpurposelyavoidedexcitinghimbytalkingontheuselessandshockingsubjectoftheapparitionbywhichhebelievedhimselftobeperpetuallyfollowed。Justnow，however，heseemedsocalmandcollected——solittlelikelytobeviolentlyagitatedbyanyallusiontothedangeroustopic，thatIventuredtospeakoutboldly。

"Doesthephantomstillappeartoyou，"Iasked，"asitappearedatNaples？"

Helookedatmeandsmiled。

"DidInottellyouthatitfollowedmeeverywhere？"Hiseyeswanderedbackagaintothevacantspace，andhewentonspeakinginthatdirectionasifhehadbeencontinuingtheconversationwithsomethirdpersonintheroom。"Weshallpart，"hesaid，slowlyandsoftly，whentheemptyplaceisfilledinWincotvault。ThenIshallstandwithAdabeforethealtarintheAbbeychapel，andwhenmyeyesmeetherstheywillseethetorturedfacenomore。"

Sayingthis，heleanedhisheadonhishand，sighed，andbeganrepeatingsoftlytohimselfthelinesoftheoldprophecy：

WheninWincotvaultaplaceWaitsforoneofMonkton’srace——

WhenthatoneforlornshalllieGravelessunderopensky，Beggaredofsixfeetofearth，Thoughlordofacresfromhisbirth——ThatshallheacertainsignOftheendofMonktonsline。

Dwindlingeverfaster，faster，Dwindlingtothelast—leftmaster；

Frommortalken，fromlightofday，Monkton’sraceshallpassaway。"

Fancyingthathepronouncedthelastlinesalittleincoherently，Itriedtomakehimchangethesubject。HetooknonoticeofwhatIsaid，andwentontalkingtohimself。

"Monkton’sraceshallpassaway，"herepeated，"butnotwith_me_。Thefatalityhangsover_my_headnolonger。Ishallburytheunburieddead；IshallfillthevacantplaceinWincotvault；

andthen——thenthenewlife，thelifewithAda！"Thatnameseemedtorecallhimtohimself。Hedrewhistravelingdesktowardhim，placedthepacketoflettersinit，andthentookoutasheetofpaper。"IamgoingtowritetoAda，"hesaid，turningtome，"andtellherthegoodnews。Herhappiness，whensheknowsit，willbeevengreaterthanmine。"

Wornoutbytheeventsoftheday，Ilefthimwritingandwenttobed。Iwas，however，eithertooanxiousortootiredtosleep。Inthiswakingcondition，mymindnaturallyoccupieditselfwiththediscoveryattheconventandwiththeeventstowhichthatdiscoverywouldinallprobabilitylead。AsIthoughtonthefuture，adepressionforwhichIcouldnotaccountweighedonmyspirits。Therewasnottheslightestreasonforthevaguelymelancholyforebodingsthatoppressedme。Theremains，tothefindingofwhichmyunhappyfriendattachedsomuchimportance，hadbeentraced；theywouldcertainlybeplacedathisdisposalinafewdays；hemighttakethemtoEnglandbythefirstmerchantvesselthatsailedfromNaples；and，thegratificationofhisstrangecapricethusaccomplished，therewasatleastsomereasontohopethathismindmightrecoveritstone，andthatthenewlifehewouldleadatWincotmightresultinmakinghimahappyman。Suchconsiderationsasthesewere，inthemselves，certainlynotcalculatedtoexertanymelancholyinfluenceoverme；andyet，allthroughthenight，thesameinconceivable，unaccountabledepressionweighedheavilyonmyspirits——heavilythroughthehoursofdarkness——heavily，evenwhenIwalkedouttobreathethefirstfreshnessoftheearlymorningair。

Withthedaycametheall—engrossingbusinessofopeningnegotiationswiththeauthorities。

OnlythosewhohavehadtodealwithItalianofficialscanimaginehowourpatiencewastriedbyeveryonewithwhomwecameincontact。Wewerebandiedaboutfromoneauthoritytotheother，werestaredat，cross—questioned，mystified——notintheleastbecausethecasepresentedanyspecialdifficultiesorintricacies，butbecauseitwasabsolutelynecessarythateverycivildignitarytowhomweappliedshouldasserthisownimportancebyleadingustoourobjectinthemostroundaboutmannerpossible。Afterourfirstday’sexperienceofofficiallifeinItaly，Ilefttheabsurdformalities，whichwehadnochoicebuttoperform，tobeaccomplishedbyAlfredalone，andappliedmyselftothereallyseriousquestionofhowtheremainsintheconventouthouseweretobesafelyremoved。

ThebestplanthatsuggesteditselftomewastowritetoafriendinRome，whereIknewthatitwasacustomtoembalmthebodiesofhighdignitariesoftheChurch，andwhere，I

consequentlyinferred，suchchemicalassistanceaswasneededinouremergencymightbeobtained。Isimplystatedinmyletterthattheremovalofthebodywasimperative，thendescribedtheconditioninwhichIhadfoundit，andengagedthatnoexpenseonourpartshouldbesparediftherightpersonorpersonscouldbefoundtohelpus。Here，again，moredifficultiesinterposedthemselves，andmoreuselessformalitiesweretobegonethrough，butintheendpatience，perseverance，andmoneytriumphed，andtwomencameexpresslyfromRometoundertakethedutieswerequiredofthem。

ItisunnecessarythatIshouldshockthereaderbyenteringintoanydetailinthispartofmynarrative。WhenIhavesaidthattheprogressofdecaywassofarsuspendedbychemicalmeansastoallowoftheremainsbeingplacedinthecoffin，andtoinsuretheirbeingtransportedtoEnglandwithperfectsafetyandconvenience，Ihavesaidenough。Aftertendayshadbeenwastedinuselessdelaysanddifficulties，Ihadthesatisfactionofseeingtheconventouthouseemptyatlast；passedthroughafinalceremonyofsnuff—taking，orrather，ofsnuff—giving，withtheoldCapuchin，andorderedthetravelingcarriagestobereadyattheinndoor。HardlyamonthhadelapsedsinceourdepartureereweenteredNaplessuccessfulintheachievementofadesignwhichhadbeenridiculedaswildlyimpracticablebyeveryfriendofourswhohadheardofit。

ThefirstobjecttobeaccomplishedonourreturnwastoobtainthemeansofcarryingthecoffintoEngland——bysea，asamatterofcourse。AllinquiriesafteramerchantvesselonthepointofsailingforanyBritishportledtothemostunsatisfactoryresults。TherewasonlyonewayofinsuringtheimmediatetransportationoftheremainstoEngland，andthatwastohireavessel。Impatienttoreturn，andresolvednottolosesightofthecoffintillhehadseenitplacedinWincotvault，Monktondecidedimmediatelyonhiringthefirstshipthatcouldbeobtained。ThevesselinportwhichwewereinformedcouldsoonestbegotreadyforseawasaSicilianbrig，andthisvesselmyfriendaccordinglyengaged。Thebestdock—yardartisansthatcouldbegotweresettowork，andthesmartestcaptainandcrewtobepickeduponanemergencyinNapleswerechosentonavigatethebrig。

Monkton，afteragainexpressinginthewarmesttermshisgratitudefortheservicesIhadrenderedhim，disclaimedanyintentionofaskingmetoaccompanyhimonthevoyagetoEngland。