The Union. [volume] (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866, 1863-09-25
GEORGETOWN, DEL. FRIpAY. SEPTEMBER 25 1863


back of the house, where I thought he
would be protected from some of the wind
and rain, and covering him with blanket,
entered the forsaken dwelling.
Would that l had done anything but
thatl
Fortunately, had matches with me,
which ]. had bought that day (; and tearing
off some paper from bundle, made an
extempore candle, which I lighted, and
which, though it famed dreadfully and
burned down to my fingers too soon, en-
abling me to make cursory examination
of the abode. first directed myself to
the board shelf that served for mantel-
piece, and there to my surprise / discov-
cred candle. / Immediately lighted it,
and proceeded to inspect the room more
leisurely. At present / was certainly the
only though there wera many
proofs that some one had been there re-
Gently. 1t was small house-smaller
even than ours, for it contained but one
room and no upstairs" Some one of
refined tastes had evidently lived there,
for there were attempts at more than
mere comfort in some of the arrange
ments. The bed, in the corner of the
room was curtained, and reminded those
one sees at hospitals. l looked in it and
under it, but saw nothing. A rough deal
table stood on one side of the room, and
upon it was a singularly inappropriate
rosewood writing desk, beautifully finished,
with silver mountings, and two or three
books, with plain, but handsome bindings
lay near. And now," said | to myself,
"if 1 could only have knife, should
be quite comfortable"
Were all wishes as easily gratifed as
this, but little would be left to wish for.
A basket, filled with kindling-wood, was
standing in the chimney-corner. Going
to the door, l shut it, and was about to
fasten it, when the upper hinge broke,
and it sunk down below the step to the
ground. left it as it was, knowing that
[ could not lift it, but thinking that /
could easily push it open in the morning.
1t was raining very drearily; and the
wind, bowling among the trees, made me
miserably frightened and lonely. 1 took
the most sensible means 1 could think of
to cheer myself, and lighted the fire,
which soon cracked and blazed joyously in
the fireplace. 1t threw out little ruddy
jets of flame, whose brightness penetrated
the mysterious dark corners, and made
them open. to inspection, and as. free from.
ar intension OF conceaHng things / would
not like to see, as the ordinary corners l
saw every day at home-which never hid
anything worse than handful of dust,
and never that for very long time When
grew melancholy, the merry blaze laughed
at me; and the shadows on the wall gam
boiled in all sorts Of odd ways, to show me
that they didn't mind being shut up there,
protected from the rain outside. 1t was
scarcely possible to feel superstitious where
there were such a fire; and accordingly,
after wandering around uncertainty for
some time, and finding by my watch it
was only eight o'clock, seated myself by |
the side of the agreeable companion, and |
up, one of the books to while away the
time. To my surprise, it proved to be a
volume of Tennyson's poems "Walter
Talbot" was written on the fy-leaf-evi-
IDENTIFY by lady; and underneath, in a
bold and manly hand, From his dear
Rachael. 1t was, certainly, well-read
book many passages were marked the
leaves were turned down in various places,
and on some pages were traces of tears. |
read until eleven o'clock, though my eve
lids were heavy with sleep, and my eyes
saw the letters indistinctly through page
Of drowsiness. Then l tried to settle N.Y.
self in a comfortable position on the floor,
using my bench for my pillow; and there
continued dropping off into short naps
and waking up occasionally to find my
head bobbing up and down merrily, and
threatening a speedy dislocation of my
neck.
At last, in despair of really resting, I
arose and walked up and down the room,
,rying to awake myself, but all to no pur-
pose. The wailing wind sung lullaby,
which | was unable to resist; and the ac-
on the roof, played by the
rain, only increased the spell,
while even the bright fre-light turned
against me, and flashed SO dazzingly /
traight in my eyes, that l was forced to
,lose them. And so it came to pass that |
|. finally decided to lie down in bed. 1t
vas not such curious resolution, after
ii, for it certainly looked like most COM
ortable resting -place-neat and clean, and,
moreover, soft and well-made. But still |
elt great repugnance to it, which only [
he most overpowering drowsiness would '
AVE enabled me to overcome. However, '
made another minute examination of it
inside and out, to see that there were no
oncealed mice, with well-built nests, hid :
EN- between the covers, who would come |
ut after l slept, and regale themselves on s
ny fingers and toes; and then [ threw
lyself down, closed my eyes, and in less S
nan five minutes had fallen into deep {
lumber. t
| think l must have slept about an hour
! this dreariless way, when began gradu- 4
lily to grow restless. Horrid visions of Il
obbers, wild beasts, mangled human forms, a
nd wandering ghosts, mingled in dire b
in my brain, until l awoke with o
half suppressed scream, and tried to re- t
ize where l was, and what made me so a
retchedly nervous. Then 1 tried to Il
impose myself again. thought of home, h
nd of the interesting adventure / would Il