Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-04-05

hurriedIy, for by this time nothing unusu
al was in sight.
/ was just about 70 explain as well as
could what l had witnessed, when Edith;
mother suddenly swept into the conserva-
tory, and in accents of impatience told
her daughter that they must leave imme-
diate '. Ny sweet girl was therefore hur-
ried away, not only before | could com
plete the story of my love, but before
I'could explain the strange cause Of its in
terruption With ~ wondering look and
hasty bow Edith followed .her mother
and was left alone.
The ball was at an end for me, now that
she had departed. Grie ed and excited
at the unsatisfactory terminination Of ou.
interview, | FASTENED from the house.
Upon retiring to my room | took the
prccaution of lighting n ni@ht-light be
fore getting into bed, anticipating. in my
mental disquetude, a wakcful night
But it happened that | soon fell asleep,
and forgot for Il time both my love for
Edith and the cruel interruption which I
had met with in declaring it.
/ awoAe with Il start under the impress
sion that | had been spoken to. The
words, which | can hear to this day, seem
ed to abide with me after their actual
sound had ceased. To the ready they
will appear, perhaps, as ridicuously gran
diIoquent rs to me, in the silent watches Of
that night, they at first seemed unspeaka-
bly, awful. They were these:
"Vilo usurper How long shall the
avenging angles hand be stayed ? Vacate
this domain-to which thou hast no
shodow Of claim-vacate it ere two days
shall have expired or thy wicked life is
forfeited
Now, supposing that these words had
been alI-supposing that had been cal ed
upon merely to account for the sound, or
fancied sound-I could easily have per-
suaded myself that I had simply bHen
dreaming But in the subdued light which
trembled through 5he room / saw-yes,
render, / affirm it solemply-I saw imme~
diately before me the same demoniacni
face which had suddenly appeared to me
in the conservatory.
Although, while half awake, I was seri
ously alarmed by the apparition, had no
sooner graspcd my usual waking powers
Of mind than ] recovered myself and
and sprang out of bed, resolving then and
there to clear up the Ugly riddle. But as
| did so the cause OF my perpiezity van-
ishcd Standing upon the floor, wide
awake | arrived at the certain conviction
that l was the sole occupant Of the room,
| now entered upon weary process of
mental cross-examination, in the hope Of
cliciting from my confused impressions
facts on which TO found some plausible
theory as to what had occurred.
Nor was long in erecting such 4 the
ory. It struck me as probable that the
servants, wishing (from motives quits con
ceivable) to get rid of me, had been play
Ing me a trick
I need scarcely say that, as soon as j be
lieved myself to be the victim Of practical
Joking ] became angry. But l decided
that the bess way to take vengence was to
appear uuconcerned, and simply to re
quest in the morning, that the trick
might not be repeated Accordingly |
bottled up my wrath, got into bed, and
contrived to sleep soundly till daylight
filed the room.
The footboy, WHO waited upon me at
breakfast-a pale-haired lad Of seven
tecn-was naturally an object of my scru-
tiny since /, Of course, imagined that he
must be in the plot from | had suffered
during the night He was precisely like
Il cat and, judging from his sly Sits Of
eyes and stealthv movements, | could
readily conceive him capable Of any
amount of underhand feline mischief
But this estimate Of bis character present
" came to be modified,
Before leaving for the city-where !
was obliged to 20 early IN account Of n
business appointment-I rang the break
fast bell, and requested that all the SER
wants might come in. Two families short
Iy made their appearance, and against the
whole proceeded to bring my charge
After enlarsing on the foolish and dan
eerous nature of the supposed joke with
far greater warmth than | had designed.
Icompleted my harangue with these word
Il regret if my presence here is unac-
ceptable, but having received an invita-
ton from the master Of the house to stay,
it is nv intention to do so The foolish
means which some or all Of you have en-
ploycd to displace me would succeed with
no one bat a child or an idiot l have to
request. however, that these pranks may
not be repeated If they are, l shall re-
port the whole matter to your master
who. l doubt not, on hearing 1t, viii, cut
of regard for me, dismiss every one of you
from his service.
Il do believe the fellow mad, - ezcIaim-
ed the cook, angriIy, =s she followed her
colleagues out of the room, siamming the
door behind her
Mad The word Mt first made me an