Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1872-09-26

WIN aHeCteu compassion, Jndt nau SHIleu
in triumph upon the gardener; that had
angrily rebuked the sister for complain
ing of his wish to rinse the fatal bottle;
that was the face that with practiced
courtesy had pretended to invite every
inquiry. ! knew the portrait would not
be there if the Lawfords knew Of its ex
istencei but still | could not help think
ing that the portrait Of it was, and the
name of the wretch it represented had in
the lapse Of time been forgotten, Con
signed 10 exile in a garrett the picture
had, somehow or other, with a sort of
diabolCaI persistenCy, found its way back
to its old haunts. Perhaps this had been
his own bedroom, and that close by was
the lookup chamber where he distilled
the poison. Perhaps (and this terrible
thought made me shuddcr in spite
Of myself this was the very room
where the sick man had died in agony,
Oh this terrible house. | should never
feel happy in it again My mind relapsed
into its old train of associations. One
special scene occurred to me il was that
where the two doctors, sent for by the
murderer came to make an examination
Of the body. He received them in the
hall with candle in his hand, and in
vitcd them in He was courteous and
obliging. Sir William Wheeler, he said,
had wished for an examination. For
what purpose they asked. Merely TO
satisfy the family, he said, and showed
them letter from Sir William, express
ing such wish, merely that those who
had been intimate with the dead might be
beyond suspicion" Had Sir William
written no other letter asked the more
suspicious of the doctors. Yes, there had
been another equally friendly. This sec
ond letter had been 10y no means friend
ly /, it had indeed, words that expressed a
suspicion of poison. The guilty man
pretended to feel for this letter in his
waistcoat pocket, and in doing so pulled
out an envelope, The doctor had only
time for one glance, but that glance was
sufficient to show it was directed in Sir
Williams handwriting, still he said moth
ing. The examination did not take place,
and the detection OF the crime was for q
time deferred, till Il kecner and less trust
full medical man threw himselfwith untir
ing energy into the pursuit OF the subtle
criminal.
| looked up; it was half. past one
went at once to the bedside and tried to
rouse my husband to give him his medi-
cine, but he only stirred once, reluctant
", gave deep sigh and relapSed into
sleep; so, undressing and putting on my
dressing-gown, ! pressed together the
wood, now burnt 10 a white ash, and
threw myself on the bed beside my hus-
band. | was j1st sinking into q do2e,
when slight sound disturbed me, | Nas
highly sensitive just then from want Of
sleep and in moment | recovered my
senses. Ii was faint sound like some
one trying the handle OF the bedroom
door | listened agaln-all was still II
might have been rat scratching behind
the Wainscot, at night the taintest sound
becomes maGnitied by the Imagination |
sat up and listened, It was nothing. The
burning wood Just then gave way and so
broke into slight blaze, lay down
again, and ! think fell asleep ! was
awakened, not by any sound, but by a
creeping, indescnbabic sense of some,
thing supernatural and terrible. ! looked
up without moving, and saw-to an in
finite horror that paralyzed every limb
the door softly noisclesslv open, and from
the outer darkness the figure Of an old
man, drcsscdi in an old yellow silk dressing
gown, glide in, Tie turned as he silently
CLOSED the door, and saw that his thin,
emaciatcd face was as pale as the dead;
that his head was bandagcd and jaw
bound up as that of a corpse is bound
The vacant eyes that seemed entirely
colorlcss were bent on the fireplace, and
the figure seemed not to notice The bed,
or those who were ON it. Slowly gliding
over the floor, the spirit OF the murdered
man-tor such It seemed to me to be
moved toward the fire, and there stood
for momcntas If wrapt in thought 1t
then took bottle from the row on the
mantejpiece, examined it carefully and
went through the action of filling glass
with il. The figure then sat down in the
old char ny the fire, and sat there NOV
ing its thin, white hands that seemed al
most transparent, before and over the
ttame My courage recovering itself
slowly, | began now to question myself
seriously rs to whether | was deIirious or
dreaming To be sure | was awake-sOftly
stretched out my hand and pressed my
husbands arm. He slightly moved and
uttered faint groan, | looked up and
counted the green and red flowers in
the cornlce OF the bed. recalled the po- |
sltlon OF the bell, which was out of my
reach, | pulled of my rings and put
them on again | even took out my watch, /
and saw the time, 1t was quarter pas,
two,
As | lay there reasoning with myself
that the hall,dUor and the pale figure III
the faded yellow silk dressing gown were
only illusions of the senses, arising from
an imagination rendered sensitive by eX-
citcment, | again pressed my husbands
/ - 4 = Al