after they had contemplated this scene for some time o'donell exclaimed "alexander let us abide here what need have we to travel father let us make this our place of rest"! "we will" replied delancy and "this shall be our abode" added he pointing to a cave at the foot of the mountaine "it shall" returned—o'donell as they entered it. in this country they remained for many long years and passed their time in a maner which made them completely happy sometimes they would sit upon a high rock and listen to the hoarse thunder rolling through the sky and making the mountains to echo and the deserts to ring with its awful voice, somtimes they would watch the lightning darting across black clouds and shivering huge fragments of rock in its terrible passage sometimes they would witness the great glorious orb of gold sink behind the far distant mountains which girded the horizon and then watch the advance of grey twilight and the little stars coming forth in beauty and the silver moon arising in her splendour till the cold dews of night began to fall and then they would retire to their bed in the cave with hearts full of joy and thankfulness. one evening they were seated in this cave by a large blazing fire of turf which cast its lurid light to the high arched roof and illuminated the tall and stately pillars cut by the hand of nature out the stony rock with a cheerful and red glare that appeared strange in this desolate land which no fires had ever before visited except those feirce flames of death which flash from the heavens when robed in the dreadful majesty of thunder. they were seated in this cave then listening to the howling night wind as it swept in mournful cadences through the trees of the forest which encircled the foot of the mount and bordered the stream which flowed round it. they were quite silent and their thoughts were ocupied by those that were afar off and whom it was their fate most likely never more to behold o'donell was thinking of his noble master and his young princes of the thousands of miles which intervened between him and them and the sad silent tear gushed forth as he ruminated on the happiness of those times when his master frowned not when the gloom of care gave place to the smile of freindship when he would talk to him and laugh with him and be to him not as a brother no no but as a mighty warrior who relaxing from his haughtiness would now and then converse with his high officers in a strain of vivacity and playful humour not to be equalled. next he viewed him in his minds eye at the head of his army he heared in the ears of his imagination the buzz of expectation of hope and supposition which humed round him as his penetrating eye with a still keeness of expression was fixed on the distant ranks of the enemy then he heard his authorative voice exclam, onward brave sons of freedom onward to the battle and lastly his parting words to him "in prosperity or, in misery in sorrow or in joy in populous cities or in desolate wildernesses my prayer shall go with you" darted across his mind with such painful distinctness that he at length gave way to his uncontrollable greif at the thought that he should never behold his beloved and mighty comander more and burst into a flood of tears. what is the matter henry exclaimed delancy o nothing nothing was the reply and they were resuming their tacit thinking when a voice was heard outside the cavern which broke strangely upon the desolate silence of that land which for thousands of years had heard no sound save the howling of the wind through the forest the echoing of the thunder among mountains or the solitary murmuring of the river if we except the preseence of o'donell and delancy. listen! cried alexander listen! what is that. it is the sound of a mans voice replied henry and then snatching up a burning torch he rushed to the mouth of the cave followed by delancy when they had got there they saw the figure of a very old man sitting on the damp wet ground moaning and complaining bitterly they went up to him at their approach he rose and said are you human or supernatural beings? they assured him that they were human. he went on. then why have you taken up your abode in this land of the grave? o'donell answered that he would relate to him all the particulars if he would he would take shelter for the night with them the old man consented and when they were all assembled round the cheerful fire o'donell fulfilled his promise and then requested the old man to tell them how he came to be travelling there he complied and began as follows——