Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1870-01-27
A MIDNIGHT VISITOR.

n stnaii cpfaakc ssaDus on hltt IN
suburban district. ], il embowered in
ihe Summer in green leaves. There il
q large garden at she back. full of the
most prolific Of fruit trees. and this gar
den is separated bv low railing, board
ed OF, after an old-fashioned style, from
small lane which to the left ends in a
"cull-de-sac." 20 the right conducts you
70 the main road I had only to see this
little cottage to like IL. l had nv ideal
isms. and one of them at least wac somc
such bower as this. Inspiration, l
thought, will hardly fail a man who, stan.
ding m the luminous shadows of pale
transparent leaves. ntem plates from
such height as this the poetic beauties
Of broad and hiily horizon, his heart
eiated with sense Of freedom, his ewes
delighted with boundess view, and his
ears soo'bed by sweet sounds, made more
musica. by distance.
To this retreat transported. one fine
Summers day, my young wife and child
an infant OF six months. Fresh air had
been my doctors prescription for my lit
tie one, and congratulated myself and
my wife on piece OF advice which sup
piled US with the best plea in the world
for escaping from the oriental heat OF
London.
When came to bcstow upon my cot.
tage the close inspection prohibited by
the novel of the premier coup d eil, u
l discovered that il wa. old-eonsiderably '
"lder than the particularly ancient lady
from whom | had rented it. Old doors
,wung upon rusty hinges, and hoarsely
grun,bl, d rs they were moved, like old
men. The flooring rung hol.owly to the
tread, whilst here and there a dislocated
board made me start under the momenta-
~ impression that should fall through
the ceiling. Stains upon the wall, not to
lie diss' mt!od ty certain discolOred prints
unevtn!y hung to serve as a disguise, ex-
hibitcd the certain indications Of the pc
riodicai passage of rain through the roof.
But the manifold beauties of the sur
roundiugs fully compensated for the small
shortcomings Of the house. The pictur-
esqno was most pcctically realized what
more could 4 sentimental beiug like my
self demand or expect?
My lsidlady, who was Scotchw woman
"a total absence Of teeth not having by
any means destroyed her acccnt-had
carefully locked whatever cupboards, H.
braries, or closets she could. I did not
object. The more she secrctcd, the less
became my liability. 1t is true, she
might havr left tie 4 coal-scuttlc, and Of
the cr'ckcry might lave allowed me the
use Of more than four tca-cups. But
comtottvi myself with rejecting upon tie
chcarncss Of the rent: and though some
times heartily wished that hcr economy
had extended ;ss far As the rats, which she
might a. we'll have locked away alcug
with other household furniture, l felt
that Nature mad made most liberal pro-
vision for any minor discomfcrts by sur
rounding me with the most charming
scenery.
The history of this picturesque cottage
was supplied By the gossiping servant OF
neighbor. She informed my servant,
who repeated the Information to my wife,
that the cottage originally belonged to a
doctor that the old landlady had been
has housekeepcr and that in dying he
had bcquea,hed the freehold to her in re-
comrense for long term of devoted SER
vitule. l had the pleasure Of hearing
that this worthy doctor had died in my
bed, q circumstance which | should no,
prohably have dweit upon so necessarily
had | known OF what disorder he had
died. But what really affected Inc was
the information that all the cupboards.
closets, anu drawers upon which the land
lady had 50 rellgiously turned the key,
contained the results Of the doctors prac-
tice, in the shape of skulls. bones, knee
caps. and many ether physiological curl
osities, Of which know not the names.
One closet. my wife was confidently told
in low. ,remulous whisper, contained a
whole skeleton in an upright posture
Having confessed to sentimental dispo-
sltion, you must ut least allow me to pos
sess highly nervous organization. Nv
imagination hardly needed the impulse Of
this final communication to picture the
house as species Of mausoleum, the re-
posi,ory Of many dread things. "If the
building should ever be blown down."
thought to myself, "heaven knows wha.
nameless objects might grin or glare from
yawning crevices." The conjecture of a
dead body buried beneath the hear;hs,one
became q morbid probability. Had not
been SO fond Of iaealism | should have es.
capped all this.
As | was returning home one day FROM
the railway station, stout man with red
hair pushed small bill in nv hand.
took it, and read that the Metropolitan
Caravan-manager. Mr.. james Prim.
late chief clown OF .Boodle's worid-reuovn-
ed cireGs-had arrived in the neighbour
hood. aud had unfolded a wide arena of
canvas on bread patch Of swari, led TO
by small street which | veil knew. The
esll looked tumailuoss with promise.-
The assemblsge Of performing animals
suggested the Proportions of the origins!
Noah's Ark. Aflie's sands, vas iu-
formed, and Aussralia's gold regions bad
been equally raRsaekoi tor supplies for
Prime Metropolitan Caravan. Hsrs vas
to be seen, ,es, the Only living skeleton in
the world, this gentleman being suaran-
teed 10 be several inches thiuner in diam
eter than the renowned Amerscan skele.
ton, whose shadow, when he sarned ms
side 10 sLe sun. lay 50 thin upon sae
ground ,sa, il nee.iea powerful glass Il