Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1842-04-29

first, r,aitook in common with them of what
/. ever was brought TO table, but after some
1 days, the wine and coffee were restricted TO
f; the two ladies'. The men began to discov-
: er symptoms of increasing unoasiress, and
3 soon became extremely agitatcd their in
quctudc was rightly attributed by Theodore
, to the scarcity of provisions, Which they
{ now lltsbandcd with great care.
= One evening, Theodore fancicd she heard
the sound Of distant bell ; 1t was also re-
$ marked by the young men, and appeared to
, give them much satisfaction. They immc-
A., diatcly put on the uncouth DISCUSSES in which
8 they had at first appeared, and left tho vault
> by a trap-door in the ceiling, through which
S size had descended. After an absence Of
several hours, and much anxiety on the part
t fthc females, ,hey returned with an ample
supply of provisions; but Theodore imagin-
! cd that they cast looks of ill-will and dislike
at her. In fact, from this PERIOD, they nc
longer treated her with the same regard as al
first, not giving her food until they had them
selves finished their meal, and exhibiting
other Instances Of equal insult and neglect.
Frequently, too, they held secret consnlta-
tons together, Of which, by glances thrown
towards her, she could perceive that she was
, the subject, From this conduct she saw
that she was not safe in their hands.
d The young men continued, at the sound
of the bell, to 90 out for provisions as before
though they sometimes returned without a
supply, at which they were highly disconcer-
ted, and treated theodore with increased
harslIncss, as if they considered her as the
cause of their disappointment. One night
they came back in violent alteration; and
their dispute was with difficulty pacified by
their female companions. Theodore re-
marked with horror that the dress of one of
them was stained with blood, though neith-
er of them was hurt or wounded. Her fears
now entirely overcame her and she became
haunted with the idea that they had murder
ed some one, and would ultimately make
away with her also. Under the influence of
this terrific impression, she conceived her
selfrclcascd from her compulsory promise,
and resolved on taking the first opportunity
that might offer of ellecting her cs cape but
ignorance of the situation of the vault, and
the unrcmi,,ed vigilance Of the females, du-
ring the occasional absence of the men,
held out but little prospect of her being en-
ablcd to accomplish her intention.
The dread of becoming their victim con,in
ucd SO increasingly to harrass, her, that, at
lcngtI, forgetting what, notwithstanding their
altered treatment Of her, she really owed
them, she hazardcd the bold experiment of
attaching slightly with pin, in IA fold of one
Of their cloaEs a paper, in which she detail
III,
cnlrcatcd, hoping it would fall OFF, the finl-
or to cnGcavor to restore her to liberty. The
parties returned this night sooner than usual
in great alarm and agitation but she found
on examination, that their emotion could not
be attributed 10 her strataecn,, as the paper
remained precisely as she affixed it to their
dress. Not having brought the customary
supply, they next night repeated their cxcur-
sion.
Soon after they were gone, the lady in bed
was seized with violent pains and to the as
constituent of Thcolora, vino was ignorant
ofl.cr state. in Slor. time gave birth to ii
female infant, tic necessary articles for
which, rs well as for Ike mother, Theodore
found had been amply provided. On their
return tic gentleman appeared highly graft
fed " i'll, the tidings, and produced medicines
and cordals w!:li t!ry had evidently pro-
cured in expectation Of the event. The 9TH
or lady attended Ter companion. WHO rccov-
cred but slowly, with unrcmiiicd attention.
The want If her accustomed sleep, and the
UNUSUAL fatigue, lad an evident effect OH her
health and ii happened on The next evening
that willie their h, stands were abroad, Oh
the ir usual Grand, She found herself under
the necessity of retiring to rest, which she
had never done hitherto before their return.
Theodore determined TO take advantage of
this circumstance to attempt Ter escape she
accordingly cXlinguishcd the light, and plaC-
ing as softly as size could, a ladder, which
was used for that purpose, against the wall,
assembled to The ,iap.door, which not having
been boltcd from without, yielded 10 her et-
torls.-With brcalhcss anxiety, she quilted
the dungeon in which size had so long Ian
gui.hcd but scared y had SIZE landed secure
~ on tic floor above, than the door fell with
violence, and she distinctly heard the shrlchs
of alarm uttered by her terrified companions
awakened by the noise.
Being in utter darkness, she felt her way
as well as she could, along the wall, until she
came to "A door, which opened on a flight of
stairs leading into a room illuminated by IA
red and ilful light, which, strange and super.
natural as it appeared, yet revived hcr spirits
as it gave her hopes that the villa might now
be inhabited fastening into long GAL
lcry, from which the ligh, appeared to pro-
coed, she was overwhelmed with terror at
percciving, through window, that it came
from an adjoining terrace, and was caused by
her late male companions, who, in their
trlghtiul disguise, were waving torches TO and
fro, to irghlcn and deter people in the neigh
borhood from approaching the chateau, by
making them believe that it was haunted
The fear of being discovered, and, as she
dreaded, inevitably, murdered, compelled
her TO seek refuge in large chimney, which
presented itself to her in her percipitate flight
from the spot {; there she remained, in an
agony Of terror, for several hours, when the
sound of footsteps apprised her that the OBJ
iecis of her apprehension had retired to their
sublerrancous residence: she did not howev-
or ynn,urn ia mnyo frOm or concpoIp,,nt