110 THE HISTORY OF

for night now came on very fast, hardly allow-
ed me to see what I did.

Then, without waiting to put on hat or
cloak, without regarding the rain or the wind,
or the lightning which flashed in my face, I
climbed, by means of my box, into the window,
and, with some difficulty, got out upon the
thatch. Now the roof of the house sloped
down to the hill-side, so it was not far for me
to jump into the garden; and then I was active
and strong, although I am now so poor and
feeble a creature. So truly does the holy pro-
phet say, All flesh is grass, and all the goodli-
ness thereof is as the flower of the field. (Isaiah
xi. 6.)

I instantly took up my bundle, and ran, as it
were, for my life, till I reached the hedge just
under the wood at the top of the garden.
There I stopped, being out of breath, and look-
ed back, to see if any one followed me; but I
saw no one: I could scarcely even see the cot-
tage itself, on account of the very heavy rain
which was then falling.

Now, being a little recovered, I tried to
climb the hedge, but the ground being very
slippery, by reason of the rain, I fell back seve-
ral times; and when I had, at last, got over, I
found that there was a deep ditch on the other
side, running down with water. I found some
difficulty in crossing this, and then, without
waiting to seek for a path, I struck into the
thickest of the wood: for, just at that moment,
I fancied that I heard a voice.

As I went on through the wood, I was tors