The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1856-03-15

miserable are seldom reasonable. She re-
garded herself as ill-treated, that her own
child should reject her love, and treat her
with such manifest dislike and her irritation
found constant vent in manner calculated to
tease and vex Christine.
One Of her habits was to tell frishtful sto-
ries about the old building where they lived /;
to describe its untenanted rooms as the abode
of spiders, and all kinds of loathsome YER
min; and its vaults as prisons, where wicked
heretics had been starved to death, or died,
under the torture, and whose spirits haunte!:
the place where their unburied bones we're
left When she saw that the fear and dread
of Christine were excited, she would threat
en- to banish her to these dreary places if she
did not obey her wishes.
She had sometimes seen Albertine open a
door which led into very dark place; she
could not tell whether it was large room. or
only passage; but she knew it led towards
those friShtful vaults, and she was very shy
! Of it,
Albertine frequently went abroad, and was
sometimes absent several hours At first she
would have taken Christine, for she was
proud of her beauty but she refused to 60.
She would rather be left with Marat, for he
only wrote. wrote, wrote, and seldom spoke
TO her. But, as the revolution progressed
he was oftener from home liz went to the
Assembly. to the clubs, to the meetings Of
the secret committee; and it sometimes hap
pened that Christine was left quite al,ne -
II it was in the daytime, she did not much
mind it, for she could STAY out in the court
but in The evenings she suffrre,. tprrilv will,
fear. She would 81: down in dark corner
without daring 20 move, her ewes fixed on the
dreaded door. in momentary expectation Of a
visit from some of those haunting spirits Of
which Albertinc had told her.
Ouc night she had been sitting thus foI
some time. when she heard first the creakins
Of the iror gate and then a we'll known ste,
on the stairs. She sPrans up with cry Of
iov.
20 J am so glad. Antoine"
What all alone, Christine? Where i.
M,rat:"
d" He has gone ont /; and Bertie has beer
gone long time and was terribly afraid
{" Afraid Of what. pray? Nobody wout
harm my li't'r Christine. and if they wished
to do so they never could find thee here"
"Oh. II is not p@op'e ! am afraid o:. but
those dreadful hrrctics. who died a onc
time ago. They come back 10 thee vaults
Berthe saws. eo.nc,imes"
Nonsense. child Dead people never
come back again. Berthe has told thee a
fal>rhood. l. this the wav to the vaults 2" he
asked. pushing open tho dreaded door
Nay, ANTOINE, do not 90 there"
"C Come now. don't be afraid any more.
will stay with thee till Msrat comes back. 70,
brought message for him. and NV ma.tc,
told me 10 wait for An answer Now let u.
see what is bevond that door. ! would lk,
to know what kind Of places these dead here
} ties l'v" in. SAID be. laughing.
Christine put her hand in his. hut she still
drew back. She believed Antoine aIway:
told her the truth but she thou cht h. mich,
bc mistaken
Ar. tho quite sure dead people neve,
come back :"
"Ay, quite certain. Besides, if they car
90 where they please. | do not think the,
would choose to live in such horrid old bull
ding as this"
; She was at length persuaded. and holding
her by the hand, Antoine took up the candI,
and set out on his exploring tour The door
opened on the broad landing of a short ili.h
, OF stairs. These they descended into mar
row passage, which they followed for som,
distance, when it opened into large room
$ There seemed to he nothing remarkable a
bout it, unless it was the great strength of it
walls OF solid masonry. 1t was empty, save
t row OF decaying casks at one side of it. Be
: yond it was another room, but the door whc
D had once formed barrier between them ha,
' fallen from its hinges. and its strong iron cra
0 ting lay rustns on the damp ground Row
: OF narrow cells extended around three side
y Of this apartment, which was not Sc spaciou
o as the first Some of the cells we're opcr
o and some were closed. The doorways q,
some were festooned with heavy cobwcb
which must have been woven 6y a very re
" mote generation of spiders; and large patch
t es of mould spotted the floors Antoine walk
e ed around the room, holding up his candl,
$ and reaching it into the cells, so as to thro,
n It's feeble light on the interior Some of the,
v were empty. and in others were rings. an
. bolts, and chains; and from all alike cam
! the smell Of mould, and damp, tomb-lik
chill.
0 They made the circuit ithout anv othe
> discovery save the opening of another pas
e age, which they followed, till, after sever;
turns, it terminated at the foot of q Ion
e staircase.
0 Here We are, and have seen nothing wor
:, derful yet" said Antoine Nov let us @
:; up. and see what there is above ground"
7 lie assisted Christine carefully up the brc