Some Conversation With An Ancient Druid.

My arms were still bound , and on another altar I observed a pile of fruit and bread blazing , while one of them poured wine and water on to it as an offering to God . Round the walls , which were similar to the so-called council-room , were bunches of dried herbs and curious designs . On my right side , uncomfortably near , was a large furnace , red hot , and near it a crate the size of a man ' s body . Oh ! horrible ! I was to die the most fearful of deaths—death

by slow roasting ! while these fiends in human shape drew their paltry prognostications from the frightful contortions of my body . . Hotter and hotter I became , and I -felt that the altar was being acted upon by some invisible mechanism . Nearer and nearer I was being drawn towards the flaming furnace , while my skin was crackling with the heat , and the Druids intentl y watched my convulsive movements . Vile , devilish faces ; I hated them almost

worse than the flames . I was securel y fastened to the altar , though allowed sufficient room to move slightly . Long this could not last , and I nerved myself to turn closer to the fire , so as to put an end to my misery . But I could not get near enough for that ; only near enough to torture myself more , and an unearthly laugh broke forth from the eldest demon Druid . The suspense was awful ! Nearer and nearer drew the altarand I thought

, every moment must be my last ; the agony must have reached its climax ; but no , I still lingered , and the torture always increased . When would it cease and kill me ? Oh ! to be relieved from my misery ! The chief Druid muttered something to his brethren , and then approached me with an ivory hand attached to

the end of a wand . With this he struck me three times , which seemed to relieve me somewhat from my sufferings , though I still wished they would end my existence . Then he took up a golden knife and held it above me , while he repeated some incantation . Oh ! the suspense , the horrors of that moment ! Why did he not kill me at once ? The knife dangled tormentingly in the air , and I wished , yea , longed for it to release me from life . It descended , and I closed my eyesawaiting my fate . But it had not descended on me . Some

, further ceremonies had to be performed ; my torture was to be extended . He stooped ancl dipped the knife into a basin , and sprinkled me with some drops of liquid , which turned to steam almost immediatel y ; again he did this , and the third time he plunged the knife into my chest , and his eyes sparkled as he watched the sanguine blood flow from the wound . Nerved with the strength of despairI snapped the alreadhalf-burnt cords by which I was bound

, y , pulled the knife- out of my bleeding breast , and , seizing the beard of the glaring demon , I plunged it deep into his face , uttering a frightful yell , and I found myself stabbing the ground with my pocket knife ( with which I had been cutting my lunch ) , and grasping the grass with the other hand . The sun was shining brightly , though big rain-drops fell , announcing a storm . I had fallen asleep near an ant-hill after my lunch , and that accounted for the

intolerable itching I had experienced , but for my horrible dream I could not account ; I had never deemed it possible for man to be so tortured b y his imagination . No real physical pain could have been worse , and I shall ever remember , with a shudder , my visit to Arbor Low , in Derbyshire , and those " Sights of ugly death within mine eyes . " HY . CALVERT APPLEBY .