Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-12-10
and denial thew retired to rest.


"Maria, come to rest," said she "the fire
is out, and the cold will only increase the
pain"
Her sister turned pale face towards her
and with an indescrbably sorrowful and
touching expression, but said nothing. Su-
san, thinking her to be seriously i'll, was
about to leave the bed, when, to her extreme
astonishment, she perceived Maria fast asleep
beside her.
at was my dead mother then-the very
image of her living -sister-whom she
had looked upon these two nights. Susan
tainted with excess of fear, and did not
waken her bed fellow till after dawn, when
nothing unusual was to be observed. She
told, however, all that she had seen /; and
Maria, who was much the bolder of the two,
promised to keep vigil next night, upon con-
ditions that my father was not to be inform
ed of the matter, which she knew would dis
tress him greatly. She attributed the thing
herself to fancy and disordered system.
That night, then, they both watched; and
when they had been in bed some time, they
heard the front door of the cottage OPEN
my mother had been accustomed in her life
tin'o 60 carry, for convenience, a latch key
and well known gentle footstep pass up the
stairs and 20 into my fathers room. Pre-
sently their own chamber door opened and
dressed in a white garment betwixt bed
gown and drcssing-gown, their dead sister
glided i'll. She gave them an appealing, al
most reproachlul look, and then turned to
the little cradle where her baby-boy was
sleeping and stopped down as if to kiss 1t.
Once again she seemed to beseech them
dumbly, and then left the room with a slow
noiseless tread. 1t was some minutes before
they dared to speak. Maria longcd to adj
dress the spirit, but her tongue Glove to the
roof of her mouth. In the morning they
asked my father whcreth he had seen any
strange sight or no.
'''I saw nothing unusual, he replied but
when they told him all, he confessed, not
without some effort 'and I, too, have seen
her every midnight hear the key in the
front door. her tread upon the landing as Of
old but her face. rs She stands at my bed
foot, seems worn and piteous, and know she
has some grief she may not tell. have
spoken to her many times. but she does not
answer me. | know not what to do.
After some conversation, sudden thought
flashed upon my father's mind and saddling
his horse himself, he rode off at full speed to
the town about ten miles off, where | had
beeu entrusted to respectable nurse. In that
short interval which had passed away from
home, he found me shockingly altered half
starved, and i'll and bruised. Another nurse
was instantly obtained, who, however, re-
inained at my home with me. Never more
WAS seen by mortal eve that messenger from
the dead the boundless love which had burst
the barrier of death itself-the affection of IL
mother for her child-was never so terribly
tried again"
1t is our custom to diate upon and analyze
every statement those only which can stand
good deal of sitting are thought worthy to
be enrolled in the records of the society, and
unless to concern ourselves with such invcs-
LEGATIONS at all is proof of gullibility, VIC
cannot certainly be said to be easily satisfied.
Wilkinson cross-examined Arnold upon this
story of his with his usual rough accuteness,
but without at all shaking his evidence, it
was impossible for any one who had heard
the story to suppose that the narrator himself
was otherwise than in earnest There is a
certain mystery and supernature about Will
kinson himself in our eyes, from the fact of
hic hoinS " dryaalta"-tha ottrhntos ~ ernh
a character beinr utterly unknown and un-
imaginable by us-but otherwise he is very
far from beng an appropriate vehicle for
spiritual narration it is maried the more
by the circumstance of his always having
cigar between his teeth, the end Of which
wobbles against his tongue aud clips his
English. The somewhat flppant manner of
his relating the following occurrence will it
is likely. dctract from it's uraisemblance, but
that it did really happen as described, am
well assured.
III. II have an elder sister who is married
to country gentleman in Sussex. She has
been his wife these twenty years, and has had
an abundance of children. The first govorness
OF these children was a Miss Beauvais of Dun
kirk. She was of reserved and taciturn dis
position, and although performing her duties
admirably, was rather respected by her pupils
than beloved. She never looked quite like
other people, and had an old fashioned man.
ner of dressing. In particular, she wore her
sleeves very large at the shoulders-pillowed
sleeves, as | think, they were then called. l
have seen her many times, and remember her
perfectly we'll but one sight Of her would
have been quite sufficient for recollection.
She was very remarkable, most extraor-
dinary looking person-very, indeed. And
here the drysalter took snuff proiusely, as his
custom is when more than usually pleonastic.
She had an ancient father who came every
Christmas to take her home to Dunkirk for
her few weeks holiday-a wonderful French
man, quite silent and all puckered about the
lips like an umbrella. In my niece's old
drawing books there are several sober and
pretty accurate likenesses of him, which all
resemble caricaturcs. Perhaps, when they
got away from the English folk, and
the pere and file We're alone together
they shed some natural tears; but their
behavior, as it seemed to me, was far
from a6ectionate | happened to be in
Sussex when Monsieur Beauvais last came
for his daughter, 1t was an especially bitter
winter twenty years ago, and that day was
its coolest day. The earth was wrapped
round in its white shroud very thickly, but
no snow was falling. He had brought lit
tie open carriage with him from the neigh
boring town, because it ran lighter over the
choked roads than close one would have
done. There was. therefore, but little room
for Miss Beauvais's luggage.
"She had been accustomed on these jour
neys to take all her possessions away with
her, and she was evidently much distressed
on this occasion at having to leave some of
them behind, Two large black boxes of
hers We're left, locked, and well corded.
''You will be sure to keep them safely, ma
dame" she said to my sister but she SEEM
ed to say it with sigh of suspicion,
ave watched the two stiff figures drive
slowly along the leahess avenue and over the
white hill top beyond, "A strange pair"
we remarked, and soon forgot them both as
goyernesses and governesses' fathers are apt to
be forgotten. On the black boxes was written
in that infnitesimally small handwriting of
hers, that it was defendu to open them under
any pretext, 1t was evident that the poor
lady mistrusted the honor of perfdious
Albien.
"We read soon afterwards, in the news
paper-as soon, that is, as the newspaper of
that time, and in such snowy days could
reach us-that the Dunkirk sailing packet,
in which we knew they had intended to take
passage, was lost with every soul on board.
Nevertheless, in hope that something might
have deranged their plans, we made every
effort to ascertain their fate Repeated let
ters TO the continent obtained no answer; and,
indeed, Miss Beauvais had often affirmed that
she had no friend upon earth, except her