American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-02-22
VOL. XIII.

| spirit OF any kind, for 1t has dlffuSed n
odor through the carriage. At this tim
the man beside me has said and don
nothing. wish he would move or speak
or do something. l peep covertly a
him. Well! at all events, he is well dc
Tended against the night chill. What
volun.inous cloak he is wrapped in no,
entirely it shrouds his figure !-trimme
with fir too! Why, it might be Januar.
instead of September. l do not know
uncomfortable. wish they would bot
move to the window, instead of sittin,
next us. Bah! am Isetting up to be
timid dove? L, who rather pique mysel
on my bravery-on my Indifference +
tramps, bulls, ghosts The clock LA
been deposited with the umbrellas, para
soils, spare shawls, rugs, ETC., in the net
Casa very large and heavy One-is sit
ting on h"r lap. l lean forward and sa,
''That box must rest very heavily OF
your knee, and L want a footstoOl-
should be more comfortable if 1 had on,
let me put my feet on it."
1 have an idea that somehow my sap
| phi-es will be safer if have them where
can always feel they are there. We maxi
Yes, both my feet are on it.
The landscape outside is darkenins
quickly now; our dim lamp is beginning
to assert its Importance. Still the mer
read. feel a sensation of irritation
What can they mean by it? 1t is utterly
impossible that they can decipher the
small print Of the Times by this feeble
AS am so thinking, the one who had
before spoken lays down his paper
folds it up, and deposits It on
the seat beside him. Then, draw
ing his little bottle out of his bag
q second time, drinks, or seems to drink,
from it. Then he again turns to me:
Madame will pardon me; but if mad
anne could be induced to try little OF
this; it is a cordial of most refreshing
and invigorating description; and if she
will have the amiability to allow me to
say so, madame looks faint.''
What can he mean by his urgency? Is
it pure politeness? 1wish It were not
growing SO dark. These thoughts ran
through my head, as hesitatcd for an in
slant what answer to make. Then an
idea occurs to me, and manufacture a
civil smile and say, ''Thank you very
much, monsieur! am a little faint, as
you observe. think will avail myself
of your obliging offer.'' So saying. !
take tie glass and touch it with my lips.
l give you my word of honor that do not
think l did more; Ibid not mean to swal-
done so. He smiles with gratfffed air.
1.-The old lady will now, perhaps, fol-
low your example?''
By this time 1 am beginning to feel
thoroughly uncomfortable; why, I should
be puzzled to explain. What is this cor
dial that he is SO eager to urge upon us
Though determined not to subject myself
to its influence, must see its effects upon
another person. Rather brutal of me,
perhaps; rather in the spirit of the anato-
mist, who, in the interest of science, tor
lures live dogs and cats but am telling
you facts-not what ought to have done,
but what did. make sign to Watson
to drink some. She obeys, nothing loath.
She has been working hard all day, pack
tired. There is no feignfng about her
She has emptied the glass. Now to see
what comes of it-what happens to my
live dog! The bottle is replaced in the
bag; still we are racing on, racing on,
pass the hills and fields and villages. How
indistinct they are all growing! turn
sssk outside % t1 view '0 !" 4hs inside
one. Why, the woman is asleep
already! her chin buried in her
chest, her mouth half open, looking ex-
ceedingly imbecile and very plain, as most
people, when asleep out of bed. do look.
A nice invigorating portion, indeed!
wish to heaven that L had gone aur fun
eavs. or even with that cavalcade of nur-
sery-maids and Notwithstanding ba-
bies, aur DANES seules, next door. At all
events, l am not at all sleepy myself
that is blessing. l shall see what hap
pens. Yes, by the bye, must see what
he meant to happen; / must affect to fall
asleep too. l close my eyes, and gradu-
ally sinking my chin on my chest, try to
droop my jaws and hang my cheeks, with
q h lon of 6 1o eli ,tA-
rently l succeeded pretty well. After the
lapse of some minutes distinctly feel two
hands very cautiously and carefully lift
ing and removing my feet from the dress
ing-box.
A cold chill creeps over me, and then
the blood rushes to my head and ears.
What am l to do? what am l to do?
have always thought the better of myself
ever since for it; but, strange to say, 1
keep my presence of mind. Still affecting
to sleep, give sort of kick, and Instant
ly the hands are withdrawn and all is per-
fectly quiet again. 1 now feign to wake
gradually, with a yawn and a stretch !; and
on moving about my feet a little, find
that, despite my kick, they have been too
clever for me, and have dexterOusly re-
moved my box and substituted another.
The way in which l make this pleasant
discovery IS, that whereas mine was per-
fectly flat at the top, on the surface of the
object that is now beneath my feet there
is some sort of excresence-a handle of
some sort or other. There is no denying
it-brave l may bel may laugh at peo-
pie for running from bulls, for disliking
to sleep in a room by themselves for fear
now am thoroughly frightened. look
cautiously, in a sideway manne-, at the
man beside me. How very still he is !!
Were they his hands, or the hands of the
man opposite him? l take a fuller look
than 1 have yet ventured to do, turning
slightly round for the purpose.
He is still reading, or at least still
holding the paper, for the read
ing must be a farce. 1 look at his
hands; they are in precisely the same pO-
sition as they were when l affected to go
to sleep, although the pose of the rest of
the body is slightly altered. Suddenly
turn extremely cold, for it has dawned on
me that they are not real hands they are
certainly false ones. Yes, though the
rapid motion, and the light is shaking too,
yet there is no mistake. 1 look indeed
more closely. SO as to be quite sure. The
one nearest me is ungloved, the other
gloved. look at the nearest one. Yes,
it is Of an Opaque waxen wilderness. can
plainly see the rouge put under the finger
nails to represent the.coloring of life.
try to give one glance at his face. The
paper still partially hides it, and az he is
leaning his head back against the cushion,
where the light hardly penetrates, l am
completely baffled in my efforts.
Great heavens! What is going to hap
pen to me? what shall l do? what is 60
ing on under that awful cloak? The fur
border touches me as sit by him. draw
cOnvulsively and shrink away, and try to
squeeze myself up as close as possible to
the window. But a'as! to what good ?