A black shadow gliding like an almost impalpable spot, might be seen
moving along the street of Saint John.

Thick clouds covered the sky. Not a star was visible. Here and there--at
the corners of the streets and alleys--flickered a small lamp, lighted
before an image of the Virgin; but these slight flames, far from
diminishing the obscurity, shone in the foggy atmosphere as glowworms in
the woods, which glitter but do not give light.

Silence reigned in the deserted streets. If the inhabitants, behind their
oaken windows, heard occasionally some sound interrupting the stillness of
the night, it was the hurried step of some benighted artisan who made as
much noise as possible with his feet in order to frighten away the
robbers; or it was the slow tread of a highwayman, who, listening
attentively and peering through the darkness, was on the watch for his
prey; or it might be the watchmen, who cried the hour and made the
pavement resound under the stroke of their halberds as if to give
evil-doers a warning of their approach.

The shadow gliding at this moment along the street of St. John was that of
a man completely enveloped in a large cloak, his head so covered by the
hood that his eyes alone were visible. As in passing before an image of
the Virgin a feeble ray from a lamp fell upon him, one might have seen as
he hurried along that his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.