as that of lending myself to the destruction of one for whom I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice of my blood?  And now,” pursued the prisoner, after another short pause, “I come to the third charge,—­that charge which most affects my life, but impugns neither my honour nor my fidelity.  That God, before whom I know I shall shortly appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement, and before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to relate is true.

“Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I heard a voice distinctly on the outside of the rampart, near my post, calling in a low and subdued tone on the name of Captain de Haldimar.  The accents, hastily and anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female.  For a moment I continued irresolute how to act, and hesitated whether or not I should alarm the garrison; but, at length, presuming it was some young female of the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize that officer himself.  While I yet hesitated whether to leave my post for a moment for the purpose, a man crossed the parade a few yards in my front; it was Captain de Haldimar’s servant, Donellan, then in the act of carrying some things from his master’s apartment to the guard-room.  I called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished to see the captain of the guard immediately.  In the course of a few minutes he came up to my post, when I told him what I had heard.  At that moment, the voice again repeated his name, when he abruptly left me and turned to the left of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart.  Soon afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above me, sharply calling out ‘Hist, hist!’ as if the person on the outside, despairing of success, was in the act of retreating.  A moment or two of silence succeeded, when a low conversation ensued between the parties.  The distance was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds; yet it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but in the language of the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with which, as you are well aware, gentlemen, Captain de Haldimar is familiar.  This had continued about ten minutes, when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house.  Soon afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my post, accompanied by his servant Donellan; the former had the keys of the gate in his hand, and he told me that he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some business of the last importance to the safety of the garrison.

“At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe penalty attached to the infringement of an order, the observation of which had so especially been insisted upon by the governor, whose permission, however, I ventured respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be obtained, if the business was really of the importance he described it.  Captain de Haldimar, however, declared he well knew the governor