The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1865-11-30
WEsIMIN5s.:gT5 i RI MD. ii ),

4 s<fF ss.sfszt5ss he1z rFraF,-i
now and then, BY a French ampI had
brought with me from Paris. "a was
reading, or trying to read; small vol
ume, called Truths Containedin Portt
lar Superstitions' that was the sub
stance of the title, at any rate. rasa iiis
5,.gls.It was not a. cheerful book. Nol
was in cheerful mood However
there was a,weired sort Of interest il, it
and read ON ftfullBildT Thusr5I5 had
perusedla "a somewhat labored attempt tc
explain the mysteries of the divining-
rod, and the rationale of seorpsellights,
and was Pondering on it, in an interval
Of 81 sharper pain than III usual when I sud
denly heard a sound, as of some one
breathing audibly behind me. My ner-
vons system being considerably shat
tered and excited by nay recent accident,
to-say nothing of my occupation at the
time, was exceedingly sensitive to ex-
q HlaH
ternal impressions, Or I should not
have heard this, almost impereeptible
sound. But I did, and quickly turned
my head in its direction. There, in she
emsbraure of the window, stood figure,
motionless, silent, looking inward. nlAs
Its eyes met mine-=you'willlex my
using the neuter gender IN referring TO
tins 'figgure-it conveys my impression
ofitl at the time, and ieven-butE no
matter, allow me to call the figure 1T,
As its eyes, then, met mine, ! a cold
slt shludder f'el.s ran swiftly from the ynape Of
my neck down my spine, along my arms
and legs, and fitted, as it We're, away
from my finger ends and the tips Of my
toes. Something like what is COM
monty called creep, only stronger and
chillier. For the moment I could not
speak; but i made an effort to rise? The
figure made a deprccatory motion with
its right arm, arm, and I sank, IN spite Of
myself, as it seemed, back on the sofa
again. 1t advanced into the room /
saw, then, that it was tall, thin, and
with a face Of ghastly pallor." It was
wrapped from neck to heel ii in long,
dark dark, garment, g that hung loosely round
it, like a Mexican poncho. Its eyes,
which it kept steadily fixed on mine,
and (which, it seemed to me, absolutely
gave forth heat that burned into my
own like the reflection from highly
polished surface, Or, rather, like the
glow of a very vivid wood fire Its eyes
were uncommonly large, and darkly
liquid as, the depths Of some rock-shad-
ed spring in a desert of white sand. l c
offHGive me your hand!' it said, IN a
singularly low, sweet voice, coming
near ts me, and stretching forth its own
right hand, nat 0ee se}, ysb
81 oinvoluntarily recoiled, and, at
length, finding a voice, though but a
faint one, sWho-what in the fend'st
name name are you2 What do you want of
me2 I hastily and angrily exclaimed.
zi@sHush! it answered softly; hush.
or the charm will be broken! Give me e
your hand and come with me. It is,
timeY, .4,.atfIeST n. .sa.,xiyi, yl,6e, sfIl
''Once more it stretched forth It's
right arm, and at this moment a
strange, sweet, pungent odor seemed to
exhale from it, and the lamp grew
slowly dim and DINNER, till Il could
only see one small point of fire, which
appeared strangely far off. I made a
powerful effort and rose to my feet.
How dare yoa come into my house.
at this time of night.' cried hoarsely.
You must be either fool or a-----' ol3e
.'The figure. placed its hand on my
- = II r.tf
shoulder. / tried to go on speaking,
but could not utter sound. I tried to
lift my sound arm to the belI-rope. 1T
seemed paralyzed. II tried to shake off
its grasp. In vain The sweet, pun
gent odor still foated around us; the
small points Of fire grew more and more
distant-went out; and felt it take my
hand and lead me forth into the night.
without having the power, or even, as it
seemed to me, the will to make the
| least resistance" dizzy. $500 "a .ga,
ai aag sesis ita Srs
ssz . ifsa fsgQB s iaafa b
| ss agsi II. ,,so
Hand Han me the claret,' said Wharton;
narrative is very dry work. And
4 Iwish you'd draw down the other winss
dow. I feel unaccountably chilly.
Thank you. Now for it again. gain $50
aWe-it and I-went out, hand in
hand, across the drive, over, the lawn,
intolthe wood, through the cattle lane,
down to the great Spanish oak at the
bridgethe dry bridge, as we called It,
4 because the brook no longer ran under