Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1871-06-07

auOaclIyJ dL0 SuS MOulu piOCSou u
overthrow my preconeeived opinions
thereon by her own logic, or by availing
herself Of the logic Of others.
At last the hands Of the clock pointed
to half-past eleven.
Wrapping our waterproof clOaks
tightly around us, and securing the keys
of the church and of the vault, we left
the house, and hurried on through the
rain and the wind, while an occasional
owl startled us with its hOOt, and the
roar Of the waves as they writhed upon
the shingle came up increasingly from
the stOrm-lashed shore.
Reaching the church, selected the
proper key from its ring, and, having
opened the carved and weather-beaten
door, we entered, and closed it behind
us. Lighting one of the waX-tapers on
the baize-cOvered pulpit, I selected an
other key from the ring, and, having
inserted il in the lock of the vault, ]
turned the bolt, while the heavy, iron
door swung inward with harsh gra-
ting sound that 1 shuddeT TO think OF
even now. IsOla placed the light upon
coffin, as soon as we had entered the
vault, and commenced to draw all sorts
Of fearful and fantastic shapes in the
dust that covered the lid, while 1 paced
up and down the narrow inclOsure,
thinking of the revenge, swift, remOrse-
less, that was about to execute. At
last paused just as the clock struck
twelve in the old, wind-haunted tower
of the church, while I took in at sim
gle glance, every object that was pre-
sented to my gaze; the sable lines OF
velvet-covered, gOld-bOund collins, with
our cOat-Of-arms in shining silver upon
their lids, the wreathes of iHaBsOrtelleS
hanging above the funeral flags that
festOOned the walls, the wOrldly-minded
woman standing in the dim, uncertain
glare, with the mysteries and mOckeries
of death around her, tracing cabalistic
figures on a coffin-lid, and trilliEg a
lyric, that babbled almost into laugh
at times, then with a sudden spring
stood outside of the vault, and closed it
upon my captive. Silence ensued, bro
ken only by the warning of the elements
without, the beating of my own, black
heart within. Then a voice:
''Open the door! can bear this jest
ing no longer. Open the dOOr!'
''Never! never! Thou shalt look no
more upon the world without! Thou
shalt look no more into the eyes of Au-
breyv'
cart thou in earnest, Bianca?"
Gam"
."Have done aught 70 dispIease thee?
Tell me! tell mel have done aught to
displease the?"
No answer.
go Blanca! Blanca! have pity, have
pity on mew
"Cease, cease thy petitions to me,
but pray to God instead, for, if there be
one, thou wilt soon stand in His pres
enee! Call, call louder; but no one can
hear thee save myself! Beat thy hands
until they are bruised and bloody upon
Che metal and masonry about thee-it
will only add to thy pain, and make
them decOmpOse the faster when thou
art dead! I leave thee-leave thee to
all loathsOme things, and know, know
that when the worms, the Shiny worms,
are feasting and fattening upon thy
flesh, and mating themselves in the
meshes of thy hair, that I, I will be
happy in the home of Aubrey, but more
happy, far, far more happy in the
thought of thy doom and of thy"
"Hush! hush! Blanca! thou disturb
est the dead-they break their coffin.
lids-they surround me-they strangle
me-help! helpv'
1 rushed from the church, I reeled
through the raging tempest to my room,
Ifell, paIlid and pulseless, to the floor!
When 1 recovered myself it was morn
ing. 1 rang for my maid, and she en-
tered with face as white as a sheet,
and trembling in every limb.
"Why, Martha, what is the matter?''
1 asked with an air of concern.
90 ma'am, am struck all Of heap!
Where, where is Miss de Perey?" and
then, without awaiting an answer, she
went on and told me how the door lead
ing into the room occupied by Isola had
been found wide open, her bed impress
ed, and no lamp to evidence her pres
ence there on the previous night.
"Has the house been well searched?"
eyes, ma'am:"
"And the grounds?r
eyes, ma'am."
"You went to the village last night
with the other servants. AT what time
were you all back?'
zone o'clock, ma'am, or a mite af-
ter"
"Could you see any lights, or hear
any footsteps about the house or in the
grOunds?"
mo, ma'am."
My voice shook as 1 asked these ques-
tions in quick succession, and when 1
staggered tony writing-desk, and open
ed it with an uncertain hand, saw that
I could play my part with all the natu-
ralness that was necessary.
Taking pen and paper I scrawled a
few, hasty lines, at the same time say
ing:
al must send a message to my father
and aunt and apprise them of this mys-
terry. Here, hand this to John, and tell
him to make all haste with it to the
telegraph Office" and gave her the
dispatch that I had been inditing.
Ny relations returned on the follow
ing afternoon but one in a state of agi-
tation that was even more intense than
IL had anticipated; but it was equalled