Page:The Necromancer, or, The Tale of the Black Forest Vol. 1.djvu/215

 never shall forget his tender exhortations to take care not to follow the first impulse of the moment, but always to listen attentively to the voice of reason before I should engage in any undertaking, and to bridle the youthful ardour of heedlessness by prudence and cool reflection.

We entered our inn at two o'clock in the morning, and we were met by the landlord, who had been very uneasy at our staying away so long, because many murders had been committed lately within the environs of the village. We told him we had taken a walk, but having missed our way, had strayed about 'till the dawn of day had assisted us in finding our way back. He appeared to believe our words and we went to rest.

We awoke at eight o'clock, and departed at nine for F, where our absence had not been much taken notice of, those secret journeys being very common among recruiting officers; yet some of my friends puzzled