The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-11-16
:" No, cannot bear the thought Of


and so tcndcrly attached to each 9th
cr They arc twins; and They have
been so lovingly cared for that rough
ness or severity would kill them. lii
warm weather cannot keep them
clothcd--it is their only wayward-
ness. How they have cludcd our
watchrulncss Of late, Heaven only
knows! Matte says she is losing
control of them. | suppose they
were attracted by the laughter and
voices Of your little oncs." And
the poor woman's tears flowed
afrcSh.
"This is not all, Mrs. Marston.
There is another inmate of your
house that you have never mention
ed to mc--your mother"
81 have no mothcr!" she replied,
and | saw Il quick look pass between
her and the Sc0tchw0man.
"Who, then, is this old lady that
my children tell me of? No more
mystery, if you please" said !,
quickly. "Nho is this old woman =
Mrs. Wcstray," replied, slowly;
"you know rs much with regard to
her as we do, where she comes from,
or why she walks, we cannot tell
Walks!" said |. "What do you
mean by walks"
son! don't question her any
more" said Matte, imploringly,
"Thc innoccnts are all her trouble,
She. thinks of nothing else
was determined to have an cNplN-
nation; 80 on went.
"ls there any correction between
the strange vapor, which SO ANNOYED
me in my bedroom when | first
came, and the appearance OF this
woman?"
"God only knows." she replied
drcamiIy; "wo cannot tell. We
heard strange stories oithc house be-
fore we took it. Our greatest in
duccmcnt to do so was its isolated
situation. need not tell You Ho~
why we shun society, and why we
pay so little heed TO the strange
scenes which you have witnessed
here, and which are driving Won
from us. can offer you no apology
for our deception. Indeed, we seem
to have lost ourselves, and all con-
sidcWtion for others, in our sad and
cngrossng realities
My heart failed me. had in;cu-
, TO demand an explanation, give vent
to my just indignation,i and then
icavc the house and its incomprc-
hcnsiblc inmates forever. | now
found myself held back by two mo-
tivcs: First, | felt that the weeping,
| hopeless woman before me had re.
ccivcd almost as severe Il mental
shock, in the exposure Of her hid.
den mystery, as had in witnessing
it. Something was due from moth
cr TO mother, and my heart whisper
ed how much could afford to ollcr
consolation and comfort to one 50
surely afflicted. Secondly, | felt an
irresistible curiosity concerning Mel
lies midnight visitor. Had the child
not seen il, the natural solution OF
the mystery would have that thost
morbid people, acquainted as they
were with the antcccdantS Of the
house, might have imagined they re-
ally saw what they had heard 81
much of, and no doubt had frequent
ly convcrscd about. Morbid people
are more or less the victims of bodily
aImcni, and it is we'll known that
there are conditions Of the human
system when spectral illusions, such
IA often torture us in troubled
dreams, become apparent to our wax
ne senses as realities. | talked and
soolhcd Mrs. Marston into Il state OF
comparative compOsurc, said no
more about leaving, and made up
my mind to be Ncllic's bcdrcIlow for
the remainder of my stay.
More than week had passed, and,
as there was no recurrence ofthc Wis
itatin, | began to give up lying
awake and watching for the strange
and (as the household considered
herr uncarlhly visitor, when one
night ] was awakened by the rest
lcssncss of the child. She was sit
ting up in bed, not startled, but evil
IDENTIFY deeply absorbed in something
he saw. moved TO question her.
Mamma" she said, softly, "arc
You awakc?'
Yes, darling. Why doyouask "
"BcCauSc, mamma, she is there
There. close to the table"
raised myself gently, dctcrmin-
ing to spring on the intrudcrat once ;
but II glimpse Of the face which peer
cd upon me from beneath the gro
tcsTuc hood my child had so accu-
ratcly described, paraIyzcd every
nerve. Not from its hidcouSncSs /:
on the contrary, it was II face thar
had been beautiful, bat it was daik
and foreign in its expression. And
oh . that dreadful look of stiffness aud
ri.idily, which felt in my inmoSi
heart had no sympathy with the liv
ing things SO near her. With my
,hild's hand claSpcd in niue, oh.
served or move towards the door
The blood rushed back to my heart.
an sprang from the bed to inter
ccpt her. | reached the door, bur
the ghostly thing had disappeared
God knows where for the room
was locked on the inside. With m,
sleeping child folded close to my bo
som, | watched till morning.
The next day left the Marston
house, for more cheerful quarters
My new friends informed me that my
sojourn with these ill-iatcd pcopl,
had been unusually long. Strange.
mysterious stories had been ccnncct
ed with the place for years. The
original proprietor was Frcnc
physician, who lived for n quarter 81
n century in the strictest retirement
lie had only one son, who. Strang
to say, was an idiot. lis left the
ncighborhood suddenly, and, ii wa
said, died in France. There wa,
wild stories concerning him; Gul