" This," said Mr. White, " is your solemn deposition, know-
• ing yourself to be dying .?"

" Yes, yes," murmured La Houssaye ; " the truth — the
truth!"

" The declaration of a man," said the clergyman with some
asperity of tone, " who defyingly, unrepentingly, rushes into the
presence,of his Creator, can be of little value !"

"Ha!" said the dying man, -rousing himself by a strong
effort; "I repent — ^yes — ^yes — I repent! I believe — do you
hear ? — and repent — ^believe. Put that down," he added, in
.tones momently feebler and more husky, as he pointed to the
paper; "put that down, or — or perhaps — Bu — genie — per-
haps "

As he spoke, the faint light that had momently kindled his
glazing eye was suddenly quenched ; he remained for perhaps
half a minute raised on his elbow, and with his outstretched finger
pointing towards the paper, gazing blindly upon vacancy. Then
the arm dropped, and he fell back dead !

We escaped as quickly as we could from this fearful death-
room, and I found that the deposition which Mr. White brought
away with him gave a full, detailed account, written in the



THE REFUGEE. 201



French language, of the circumstances which led to the death
of Mrs.^Eushton.
