Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-11-19
THE ANTI-SLAVERY BUGLE.

"Vh 10 Viten. tnat i nuu almost ceased 70 De-
lieve in wolves Of this description at all. Unused
to personal combat, and embarrassed by the novel
circumstances under which I found myself, I was
standing undecided on the landing, when l caught
that welLknown whisper Of Henry Henry r from
the upper story. The burglars caught Il also.
They desisted from their occupation Of examining
some articles Of rertu upon the chimney piece,
while their 6ondish countonances relaxed into a
hideous grin. Onc Of them stole cautiously tow
ards the door where / was standing. I heard his
burglarious feet; | heard the Henry I Henry r still
going on from above stairs; I heard my own heart
pit-a.pat, rit-a-pat, within me. 1t was one Of
those moments in which one lives a life. The
head of the craped narauder was projected eau
tiously round the door. as If TO listen. / poised
my weapon, and brought it Town with uuerring
aim upon his skull. lie fell, like a bullock be-
meath the axe, and sped up to my bed-chamber
with oil the noiselessness and celebrity Of a bird.
1t was l who locked the door this time, aud piled
the wash stand, two baud-boxes, and a chair,
against it, with the speed Of lightning.
Was Mrs. B. out Of her mind with terror that
at such an hour ms that she should indulge in par
oxysms of mirth
Good heavens = I cried, BE calm, my love,
there are burglars in the house at lastp
My dear Henry, she answered, laughing SO that
the tears quite stood in her eyes, Il am very sor-
ry l tried 10 call you back. But when l sent
you down stairs, | quite forgot that this was the
morning upon which | had ordered the sweeps p
One of these gentlemen was at that moment
ing underneath with his skull fractured, and it
cost me fifteen pounds to get is mended, besides
the expense of q new drawing-room carpet.
1t is but fair to state the primary cause to
which all Mrs. BIS alarms, and by consequence,
my little personal inconvenience, are mainly
owing, Mrs. BE- mamma was one Of the last
admirers Of the old Manor House and 'Myste.
ries of the Castle school of literature, and her
daughter was brought up iI her own faith;thatMr RS.
Radcliffe was n painter of nature, as it appears on
earth and that Mr., Matthew Lewis had been let
into The great secret of what was going on-as
they say at St. Stephen'S-'in another place. So
nervous, indeed, did my respected mother-in-law
cOntrive to make herself throughout Der lifetime,
Jy she perusal of these her favorite books, that it
was rumorcd that she married each of her four
husbands at leas. as much from a disinclination
to be without n protector during the long watches
OF the night, a., from any other cause. Mrs. B.
herself was haunted, in her earlier years, with the
very unpleasant notion that she was what / believe
the Germans call a doppleganger thstthere was a
duplicate OF her going about the world at the same
time-that during some day or other-or night
they would have a distressing meeting. And,
moreover. at last they did so, and in the following
manner, Her mamma was residing for q few
days at Keswick, supping full of horrors in the
German division of the late Mr.. Southey's library
every evening, and enjoying herself, doubtless,
after her own peculiar fashion, when she suddenly
fell i'll, or thought she was falling. and sent a post
chaise, express, 10 fetch her daughter, (Mrs. b.
who happened to be staying at that time with
some friends at Penrith. The long mountain
road was then by no means a good one; and it may
be easily imagined that nothing but flial duty
would have induced my doppelganger to have
started upon such a journey at dusk-although it
was sure to be q fne moonlight highland alone.
Mrs. B., however, being warm and comfortable,
went off to SLEEP very soon, like any boulder, nor
did she wake until the chaise lad skirtej Ulls-
water, and was within a few miles of home. She
had looked carefully under both seats. and even
into the sido-pockets of the carriage before start
ing, to make sure that there was no other passen-
ger, and yet there was now q form sitting upon
the opposite cusbion-a female form-muf1ed ~
in much clothing, but with a face pale in the
moonlight, with eyes half shut, yet with "a look of
haggard meaning 10 them, steadily fixed upon her
own. 1t was herselfl 1t wac Mrs. B Is double
The dreadful hour Was come. The poor girl closed
her eyelids to keep off the horrid sight. and tried
to reason with herself upon the impossibility of
anything being really there, but in vain. She
hal been thoroughly awake. she was sure; the
vision was not the offspring of q distempered
brain, for she felt collected, and even almost calm.
Venturing to steal another look at it, there it still
sat. pecriug with half shut eyes into her face, with
the same curious anxiety as before.
Not even when they rumbled over Keswick
stones, nor until she felt herself being lifted out
in the post-boy's arms, did she trust herself to look
forth again. The carriage she had just Quilted
was empty. "There was something sitting there,
man." said she solemnly pointing to the vacant
cushions. eyes. Miss" replied he. pointing to q
huge package on the ground beside them; III
promised to bring it on for a poor man, a cabinet
maker at Pooly Bridge. and seeing you were q
sleep when we stopped there. I made bold to put it
on the opposite seat. hope 1t did not inconye-
nience you, Miss. 1t was only a looking-glass;
and, as l know pretty young ladies don't objecr to
seeing themselves in l~ooking-glasses, l turned its
face towards you."
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