The Arkansas advocate., 1830-12-22

ihS lhe efto III every direction through the darkness, to watch for any appear ances that might explain these myste- ries. While thus engaged, and as near. as he could judge (by the time that afterwards elapsed before the morning came m about two o'clock, there was . slight tremulous motion of the floors. He stopped. The motion lasted nearly 2 minute; but 1t was so extremely gen tie, that he almost doubted whether it was real, or only imaginary. He listen ed. Not a sound could be heard. Pre- sently. however, he felt the rush of cold air blow upon him; and dashing to- wards the quarter whence 1t seemed to proceed, he stumbled over something which he judged to be the water ewer. The rush of cold air was no longer per- ceptlble; and as Vivenzio stretchedout his hands, he found himself close to the walls. He remained motionless for a considerable time; but nothing occur red during the remainder of the night to excite his attention, though he con tinued to watch with unabated viqi, lence.
 The first approaches of the morning were visible through the grated win dows, breaking with faint divisions of light, the darkness that still pervaded every other part, long before Viyenzio was enabled to distinguish any object in his dungeon. Instinctiyely and fear fully he turned his eyes, hot and lnflam- ed with watching towards them.- There were four! he could see only four; but it might be that some inter Vening object prevented the fifth from being perceptible; and hewaited impa- tlehtiy to ascertain if it were so. AS the light strengthened, however, and penetrated every corner of the cell, O. ther objects of amazement struck his sight. On the ground lay the broken fragments of the pitcher he had used the day before, and at small distance from them nearer 10 the wall, stood the one he had noticed the first night. IL was filled with water, and beside it was his food. He was now certain. that. by some mechanical eontrivanee an open ing was obtained through the iron wall, and that through this opening the cur rent of air had found entrance. But how noiseless! For had a feather al most waved at the time he must have heard it. Again he examined that part of the wall; but both to sight and touch it appeared one even and uniform surface, while to repeated and violent blows, there was no reverberating sound indicative of hollowness.
 This perplexing mystery had for time withdrawn his thoughts from the windows; but now, directing his eyes again towards them, he saw that the fifth had disappeared in the same man. ner as the preceding two, without the least distinguishable alteration of ex- ternal appearances. The remaining four looked as the seven had originally looked; that is, occupying at irregular distances, the top of the wall on that side of the dungeon. The tall folding door, too, still seemed to stand beneath in the centre of these four, as it had at first stood in the centre of the seven.- But he couldno longer doubt, what, on the preceding day, he fancied might be the effect of visual deception. The roof had lowered; and the opposite ends had contracted the intermediate distance by space equal, he thought, to that over whick the three windows had extended. lie was bewildered in vain imaginings, to account for these things. Some fr;ghtful purpose-some devllish torture of mind or of body some unheard of device for producing exquisite misery--lnfked, he was sure, in what had taken place.
 Oppressed with this belief, and dis tracted more by the dreadful uncertain- ty of whatever fate impended, that he could be dismayed, he thought, by the knowledge of the worst, he sat rumi- hating, hour after hour, yielding his fears in succession to every haggard fffancy. At last a horrible suspicion flashed suddenly across his mind, and he started up with a frantic air. sYes!' he exclaimed, looking wildly round his dungeon, and shuddering as he spoke --S Yes! 1t must be SO! see it! l feel the maddening truth like scorching flames upon my brain! Eternal God support nfe! 1t must be so!-Yes, yes. that is to be my fate! Yon roof viii descend!-these walls will hem me round-and slowly, slowly, crush me ir