Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-12-19

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places flew. open before him. He was wont to
invite his friends in turn to accompany him
and his party of strangers to these show-places:
and he now invited the Whartons to the plass-
house. Miss Wharton was unavoidably en-
gagged at the school. but her mother went.
When the whole party were standing near
one of the furnaces, observing the coarsest kind
of glass blowing-that of green glass bottles
Mrs. Wharton suddenly seized Mr.. Gurney's
arm with one hand, while with the other, she
pointed past the glare, to figure on the other
side of the furnace.
That's the face = she exclaimed in great
agitation; Keep quiet, and pull down your
veil, said Mr.. Gurney in her ear. She drew
back into the shadow, and let down her veil. /.
feeling scarcely able to stand. Mr.. Gurnev
did not offer her an arm, he had something else
to do.
who is that man Z he inquired of-the fore
man, who was Snowman at the moment. The
man inquired about looked scarcely human
He was stunted in figure, large in face, and
Understanding all allowance for the putting
out of his cheeks, as he blew vigorously at
the end Of a long pipe he was twirling in his
baboon-like hands.
That poor fellow, sir1 His name is Mid
dleton. He is half-wit-indeed, very nearly
a complete idiot. He is just able to do what
you see-blow the coarsest sort Of glass
MIR. Gurney wished to speak with him, and
grnning, and he grinned yet more when he
was requested to show the glasshouse to the
gentleman. Mrs. Wharton, with her veil
down, hung on her friends arm, and they fol-
lowed the idiot, who was remarkably light
footed (for a wonder,) to the place he was
most fond of. He took them down to the an
healing chamber, and then he observed that it
was "a nice warm place o'nights' Being ask
ed how he knew that, he began pointing with
his finger at Mrs. Wharton, and peeping un-
der her bonnet. Being advised to look him in
the face, she raised her veil and he singled
and giggled, and said he had seen her many
time when she was asleep, and many time
when she was awake; and another lady, too,
who was not there He hid himself down
here, when the other men went away-it was
50 warm and then he could 90 when he
pleased, and see her there, and the other,
when they were asleep. Mr.. Gurney enticed
him tewhisper how he managed it; and then,
with an air of silly cunning, he showed a little
square trap-door in the wall, close by the floor,
through which he said he passed. 1t seemed
too small for the purpose, but he crept in and
out again. On the other side, he declared,
was Mrs. Wharton's cellar. Far distant as
the glasshonse seemed from her house, it ran
back so far, the cellar running back also, that
they met No time was lost in sending round
to the cellar and, by conversation held
through the trap-door, it was ascertained that
when Mrs. Wharton's stock of Goals was low,
that is in summer, and before fresh supply
came in in mid-winter, Middleton conld get in,
and did get in, almost every night. When he
did not appear, iii was only because the Goals
covered the trap-door.
Who shall say with what satisfaction the la
dies watched the mailing up of the trap-door,
and with what sense of blissful comfort they
retired to rest henceforth, Who shall estimate
the complacency of the good clergyman at this
complete solution Of the greatest mystery he
had ever encountered, Who will not honor
the courage and fortitude of the ladies, and re-
joice that their dwelling escaped the evil repu-
tation of being a Haunted House, Lastly,
who will not say that most Of the goblin tales,
extant, may, If inquired into, be as easily ac-
counted for as that appertaining to the good
Mrs. Wharton, which has this advantage over
all other ghost-stories-it is perfectly and lit
orally true.