men mentioned by thy Grandmother; but now they shall find I WILL AWAKE, and PROTECT THE WOMAN, as the Gentleman did, who rose at midnight to save her life." "For so I say, my midnight now is past, To blow the Horn, and shew how all must burst; To cast the Villain in the Pit he digg'd, That And then I'll tell thee how I'll answer this." It was of a pretended great Gentleman, who went a courting to Ladies at a great distance, and pretended he was a going to marry them, but when they did come, he robbed and murdered them; and to conceal his villainy, he would make a visit to their parents, to come and see them; and when the parents affirmed they had not seen their daughters since, nor the maid that attended them, he would pretend to be in the greatest agonies possible, fearing some other rival had run away with them. In this practice he continued for some time; at last he went a courting to a single lady, who had no parents to protect her at all, and she was jealous of him; but to find out the truth of her jealousy, she was determined to have a servant man to go with her, and he (the gentleman) had invited another ( 71 ) lady to accompany her; but as they did not live all on one road, they did not go together, but appointed to meet together at his house. The single lady, that was on horseback, espied him at a great distance from his house, walking with the other lady. She said to her servant man, "I'll alight and run in, and search his house," and charged him not to stir from the place where she left him. She went up. stairs, and saw a great many ladies' hands cut off, stuck full of diamonds and gold rings, and she had the courage to pick up some, and put in her pocket. --Shie saw written behind the door "Lest your hearts' blood grow cold." She had the courage to write in answer "Bold I am, and bold I'll be, After she had gone, through the whole, and had seen the ladies' rich apparel, which he had taken from them, when he murdered them; she espied him coming with the lady, and fearing to run out of doors, lest she should be catched, she saw a little door that went in under the stairs, where she slipped in, and pulled fast the door. She heard him say to the lady, her companion was not come, and he would go up stairs and shew her his rooms.— Here her heart began to tremble for her companion; but knew, if she discovered herself, she could not save the other's life. The other's heart began to tremble when he offered to take her up stairs, knowing herself a single lady in the hands of a gentleman; he then began to force her up stairs, which alarmed her jealousy the more, and she put her hand to the bannister to keep herself back; and he immediately took out his knife and cut her hand off, and let her know her fatal doom when he had dragged her up stairs. The shrieks and cries of the lady prevented his hearing her get out of the closet that was under the stairs, and the lady's hand dropped into her lap through a hole in the stairs. She wrapped it in her handkerchief, and ran to her servant, while the bustle of the murder was up stairs, and she rode home as fast as she could. And judging he would come to see her the next day, she invited a large company of ladies and gentlemen to dine with her. He came as she expected, and all the gentlemen and ladies; she sent word she was not very well, that she had got a cold, and begged he would amuse himself with the company till dinner was brought in, and by that time she should be able to get up and come down. In the mean time she ordered her servant to have a strong guard of constables round the house, to take him if he offered to flee through jealousy. When this was done, she had an elegant dinner carried in, and then she entered pale as death, and he professed to be sorry to see her so poorly. She said she hoped she should be better by and by. He then complimented her upon her elegant dinner; she said, Yes, sir, but I have a much finer dish for you than any one that is here. At these words he turned pale, and jealousy alarmed his breast; he feared that as he had done to others, the Lord would requite him: she immediately ordered her servant to go out and bring in that dish, which she had shewn him. The servant went out and brought in a dish with the ladies' hands, and the rings that he had cut off placed round the dish! He saw his destiny then too late-that the just judgment of God had overtaken him. He fell almost lifeless on the floor, and was taken to jail, where he received the just punishment due to his cursed crimes. THE ANSWER OF THE SPIRIT. "Now, Joanna, I will answer thee. As the Lady placed that man's murder before his view, so have I placed Satan's murders before him in thy Sixth Book, shewing how he murdered all the WOMAN'S GOOD : SEED throughout Type for Satan's end. (73) and now I shall place this to For that Parable stands a It was him that worked in to desire thee to come to her house; for he thought as he had slain the other before, he might by arts slay thee also; but as soon as his murderous arts appeared, that he had slain all her faith, I took thee from the house, and then he followed thee like the man in thy Dispute. But I had a strong guard of angels round thee, as the Lady had of men; therefore when he told thee to be bold, but not too bold, lest thy heart's blood grew cold, it was I that gave thee courage to answer, Bold I am and bold I'll be, further I'll go, and more I'll see :" Which gave thee courage to go on, To know the truth she ventur'd there, That should bring them unto their Gop: To know the truth thou ventur'd there, · K And did go on from room to room That by his powerful arts he'd slain; The murder'd woman must be known, That he had done the murderous deed, |