The novels of Charles Brockden Brown, consisting of Wieland;or, The transformation. Arthur Mervyn; or, Memoirs of the year 1793. Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a sleep-walker. Jane Talbot. Ormond; or, The secret witness. Clara Howard; or, The enthusiasm of love. With a memoir of the author.

TIIE SECRET WITNESS.

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me to America. She was deeply affected by the earnestness with which I expatiated on her cousin's merits, and
by the proofs which my conduct had given of unlimited
attachment.
I dwelt immediately on the measures which I had
hitherto ineffectually pursued to trace her footsteps, and
detailed the grounds of my present belief that we should
meet in London. During this recital, my companion
sighed and wept. When I finished my tale, her tears,
instead of ceasing, flowed with new vehemence. This
appearance excited some surprise, and I ventured to ask
the cause of her grief.
"Alas!" she replied, "I am personally a stranger to
my cousin, but her character has been amply displayed
to me by one who knew her well. I weep to think how
much she has suffered. How much excellence we have
lost!"
"Nay," said I, "all her sufferings will, I hope, be
compensated, and I by no means consider her as lost.
If my search in London be unsuccessful, then shall I
indeed despair."
"Despair, then, already," said my sobbing companion,
"for your search will be unsuccessful. How I feel for
your disappointment! but it cannot be known too soon.
My cousin is dead!"
These tidings were communicated with tokens of sincerity and sorrow that left me no room to doubt that
they were believed by the relater. My own emotions
were suspended till interrogations had obtained a knowledge of her reasons for crediting this fatal event, and
till she had explained the time and manner of her death.
A friend of Miss Ridgeley's father had witnessed the
devastations of the yellow fever in Philadelphia. He
was apprized of the relationship that subsisted between
his friend and the Dudleys. He gave a minute and circumstantial account of the arts of Craig. He mentioned
the removal of my friends to Philadelphia, their obscure
and indigent life, and, finally, their falling victims to
the pestilence.
He related the means by which he became apprized
of their fate, and drew a picture of their death, surpass