Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-03-07

pearance might fairly have burned her.
were not faith cold without collateral evil
dence but she carried her broom In her
hand and the black cat ran to her, rub
bed against her old legs, sat up, and plung-
ed his claws again and again into her dress
with ecstatic grasps. Damnatory signs a
gainst the whole family: "Tortures for
three r. the order peremptorily demanded
by the fitness of things, Mr.. Toole. Yet
she was poor, degenerate, ha, mless witch;
perhaps a lapsed witch, who had been bap-
tized; for she was afraid of the thunder,
and shook like screw-steamer in gale
whenever fresh clap came. She had TAX
en- refuge in vault which was once cell
lar, and had been flooded out. The sight
of me frightened her almost as much as the
thunder and water.
ave are not used to VISITORS" said the
young man with smile of explanation.
"This gentleman has come in for shelter,
Molly. Have we anything to offer him be-
sides dry bread and hard cider?"
"Dabble brought in rabbit early this
morning, Master Walter" mrmbled the
old woman.
GOOD Dabble!" and he patted the cats
head "Well cook the rabbit for us, please
Molly"
There were some smouldering wood en-
bers on the large hearth, which the old wO-
man raked together, and blew up into
flame and then adding fresh fuel, she dis
appeared to skin the Dabble-captured bun
nv, which was in due time boiled, and set
before us. Our table cloth, though very
coarse, was clean and the same might be
said of the iron forks. l added the bread
and cheese from my knapsack to the COM
mon stock. My host took the head of his
table with the air Of a Belgravian enter
taner; Daobe stood at his side on his
hind legs, with his fore-paws and black
head appearing over the edge of the board
till he received a suitable nIorsel, when he
went down and dispatched it on the floor,
reappearing when it was finished. If his
master proved dilatory, he put out paw
sideways, and dabbed his arm, at the same
time uttering a plaintive meaow. When
we three had finished our meal we left the
table and the harmless witch sat down,
and had her dinner before clearing away.
OF course 1 had been abstemious. One
ra bbit among four is not gorge; try it.
l have gone into these details of my first
meeting with Walter Musgrave in his ruin
because they made great impression up
on me. I should not have been surprised
to find poor but proud don placed in a
corresponding position in SONG corner of
Spain; or even in Ireland the situation
would not have seemed abnormal. But
that an English gentleman, so reduced, and
having good health, should not have emil
grated, or enlisted or driven cab, sup
posing no one would give him 800 year
as clerk, was an unintelligible muddle to
me. But an impatient reader will decline
to takeany interest in such reflections so l
will simply state, without explanation, that
my host and / grew TO be very friendly be-
fore we parted that night that l walked
over from Dowd again next day, and per-
suaded him to go back with me, and eat a
return dinner; that became very intimate
with him, and prolonged my stay in the
neighborhood in consequence and that he
told me his history.
1t was the story of a lawsuit. For three
generations the Musgraves had been throw
ing away substance in their race after a
shadow, until the family and its acres had
dwindled down to this one member, the
old ruinous mansion and few roods oi
grass land about il. Lawyers had devour-
ed the resi-, honest lawyers, Look you fol
the shadow appeared very tangible, and
believe that the ceverest of them had 6
bondfide confidence in pulling bis Glen
safe through. The bone of contention was
freehold ground in thriving cty,-a very
nice bone, with plenty of meat upon it
The Musgraves could not maze their titl'
clear; neither could the Contremusgrave
make their title clear; and so the property
remained unproductive. The houses coult
not be let, nor pulled down, nor patched
up. The Musgrave claim was admitted t,
be very strong but one link in the chair
was wanting-a cer,ain deed which wa
known to exist, but could MT be fount
anywhere. The provoking part of the mat
ter was, that it had been discovered one
by the present claimants grandfather bu
at that time other necessary legal evidence
since collected, had not been got together
and the old man, who was queer from tn
effects of hope deferred, combined wit
that of pi>tol-wound in the head he had re
ceived in duel arising out of the suit, ha
slowed the important document away in
safe so carefully that no one since had eve
been able to find il; for he was struc
down by a fit, and died without having tn
power to communicate the hiding place [
his only son, who was hurrledly summon
ed to his dying bed. minute descriptio
of the document, together with an accour
of how he obtained ii, was found in h
will ; and in the next legal tussle this wf
put in with some confidence, that, combr
ed with the rest of the case, it would be az
cepted as evidence. But, after a deal {
learned argument, and some hesitation, IL
authorities who had to decide the matt,
declined TO take the will for the deed an
the case kept for a benefit of fresh set
lawyers, at that time not out of their dir
ners and articles. Thus the Musgra,
; property remained bleeding. My friend
father got pretty well the last drop out
it, and then married, not fol love, but par
ly in hopes of an heir TO carry on the sui
partly because the lady had little none
to be sucked into the chancery quick sand
lie did get an heir he did sink the MOI
ey. Fortunately for her, the wife died b.
fore II was quite spent. The goodly Mu
grave estates were now all gone, as hi
been said, the house and homestead beir
alone retained This last bit of strand vi
stuck to tenaciously, because it was pret
certain that the iron safe, with the covett
parchment inside it, was somewhere abo
the premises. But where? 1t is needle,
to say that it had been well hunted for, e.
perienced detectives having been well en-
ployed in the search and. indeed the n