The pain of the wound, yielding to the soothing influence of the dressing, which met the heated blood with a refreshing coolness, had materially abated, but still the cavalier could not dispose himself to sleep. Relieved from bodily pain, his mind, which physical suffering had hitherto kept in subjection, began to bestir itself, and led him into such a conflict of thought, as amounted, in the end, almost to distraction. Hour succeeded hour, and yet his eyes, in spite of his utmost efforts to obtain rest, remained unsealed, and his senses alive to the finest perception. Thoughts arose unbidden, and almost against his will, from the deepest recesses of his heart, with recollections of the past, and fears of the future, in which he had to play a most perilous part, all mingled together. Yet this state of mind, if bodily suffering was not its actual source, did spring partly from his wound, and the peculiar excitement attending its infliction, though it was mainly caused by an untimely contemplation of his personal prospects. The same object continued to engage his attention, in every variety of shape, and under every possible aspect, till he was overtaken by exhaustion, and then--and not till then--did he fall asleep.
It was yet early in the morning when he awoke. He was surprised to find, on becoming completely awake, that his wound now gave him no pain; and he was able to rise without inconvenience. A small handbell, which stood on a chair beside his bed, brought an aged domestic to his chamber, and, with the assistance of this individual, he entered on his toilet, and was soon fully attired.
Learning that neither Sir Edgar nor his daughter had yet risen, he left word with the servant, for their information, that he should take a stroll in the park, and return to meet them at the breakfast-table. With this intimation, he descended to the hall, and thence, finding the hall-door open, passed into the park.
As he gazed inquisitively round, his eye fell on a walk that, from its being hedged in by tall shrubs, wore a more secluded look than the others; and, whether for this reason, or because it was the nearest, he bent his steps thitherwards.
He did not pass into the walk without being observed. He had taken but a few paces, when a man’s head, shrouded in a slouched hat, was cautiously raised from the adjacent shrubs, and fixed so as to view him without discovering itself. Whether he was or was not alive to the objects around, this escaped his observation; and probably in an excess of self-confidence, not caring to be observed, or fearing to be molested, he passed along without contracting any suspicion that he was watched and followed.