The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-02-07
A NIGHT OF TERROR.
BY LIsIE SINGLETON.


there is something in the expression
that, to me, at least, is quite unpleasant
almost repellant."
My cousin took from my hand the
photograph that / had been examining.
looked ct it a moment with am express
zion of surprise not mingled with pain,
and then turning away her head with a
gesture of disgusti threw it among the
Burning Goals in the CRATE
:" thought that was destroyed long
ago" she said, rising hastily, and pac-
ing rapidly up and down the room, as
If she were striving to Danish, by the
motion, some unpleasant "reminiscences.
" Strange that it has never been de-
stroyed."
1t was one of the dreariest days of
Canadian winter; the air without was
darkened by the fast falling snow,
freezing as it fell till it ratified like hail
on the windows; and the wind raging
and blowing as it does in no other cOun-
try, had formed great white drifts, that
Threatened to exclude entirely the faint
light that still struggled through the
ice-covered panes. On such day there
was 10 danger of interruption by visit
Ors; so Ada and myself had quietly
settled ourselves in her cosy little sew
4H1-IOOll, NuGIt, Nllil RttS llPnLGO, inner
shutters closed and barred, heavy dam
ask curtains closely drawn, and bright
coal fire blazing in the CRATE, we strove
to forget, amid our pleasant surround
ings, the wild storm that ragged without.
We had dragged an old iron chest from
some obscure closet, and were ransack-
ing its recesses for bright scraps of
ribbon, silk and velvets, with bits of
gold and silver lace and spangles, from
which we intended to form gorgeous
needle-bOOks and pin-cushions for the
fancy table at lady's bazaar. Amid
these l had found the photograph in
question, and / saw, with surprise, its
effects upon my usually calm and tran
quill cousin.
"A story II story 1 exclaimed,
come tell me "a story and make me
forget the snow and the wind and my
disappointment at not being able to go
to the theatre tonight, and all my
homesick feelings for my dear Califor-
mia home, where days like this could
not even be imagined. / know from
your looks that there is a story connect
ed with that very handsome gentleman
with the wicked looking eyes"
Wicked looking eyes," she repeated |
slowly. Yes, Anna, you may well call |
them so but with all their wickedness |
there was q strange charm, magnetism, |
in their beauty, which it seemed almost |
impossible to resist. All! l see that !
you are determined to have the story, !
and as / have a vivid remembrance of |
how persistent you can be, know that
l must submit.
"'To begin at the beginning, as you
used to say, when a child; at the time
r
were far from rich. / had only the
small property given by your father,
who would not allow his orphan niece !
to go portionless from his home, and |
Harry had small amount invested in |
the banking house of friend. The |
failure of this friend soon after our
arrival in New York made it necessary
for my husband to obtain a situation
instead of establishing himself in bust |
ness, as he intended, and we came to !
Toronto, where he was employed by the |
firm of Lee 4 Brothers. His salary |
was small, and we were obliged to live |
as economically as possible; so Harry |
rented a small house on Yonge street, |
furnished it with as little expense as |
was consistent with comfort, and took |
me there to commence housekeeping on |
a very small scale indeed, keeping no /
servant except a woman who came snce |
a week to wash, and a man who came |
occasionally to saw wood, bring in coal, |
etc.
''As this house is closely connected |
with my story, / will describe it to you. |
1t was a low bricked cottage, standing |
quite alone in the centre of a large gar
den, with vacant lots behind, on each |
side, and in front, too, on the other side |
of the street SO that We were quite as
much removed from neighborly COM
panionship as if we were living Ia the
country. 4 small covered porch was in
front, with door opening into our par
lor, sitting and dining-room in one,
fronting this door, another opened into
the kitchen, and another to the right
into my bedroom door to the right
of the kitchen opened into a small |
store-room and back of the kitchen
was a small latticed porch, with the
wood and coal house at one side. Here
1 lived as mistress and maid of all work,
for Harry's limited salary would not
permit us to keep a servant but, hard
as l worked, some of my happiest hours
were passed in that little house. L often
thought of my dear old home in San
Francisco, and smiled as 1 imagined the
astonishment of your father, if he could
but see his gay and thoughtless niece,
brilliant butterfly, as he used to call |
me, transformed into a busy, working
bee"
Zone day, when little Alec was about
five weeks old, dismissed the woman
whom we had employed for a short
time, and resumed my household labors.
Bridget had been very good servant,
but things in general had been allowed |
to lose the neat and orderly arrange
ment in which / had left them, and
spent a busy day in cleaning and ar
ranging the appurtenances belonging to
my household. 1 succeeded at last in
bringing order ont of confusion, and,
before the return of my husband from
the store, my home looked as bright and
cheerful as it had done before my i'll
ness.
81 think never felt more contented
and happy than did that evening. One
great sense of anxiety had Just been
removed. The situation of soprano,
which had been obliged to resign, had
been offered to me again that day, with
an increase of salary, more than suff-
cient to defray the expenses of my i'll.
ness: and Miss Janet Gordon, Harry's
amt. had made it possible for me to
dtcGDG lily OAACAAAS W @tAAS NAA's4 % VI
baby during my absence. My past ILL
ness gave a new feeling of employment
to the health and vigor now coursing
through my veins.
Il was expecting Aunt Janet to come
with my husband to take dinner with
us that evening, and had taken great
pains in the preparation of her favorite
dish, Cock-a-leckie,' which she said
could prepare almost as well as
Scotch woman; and had dressed my
self, as Harry liked to see me, in blue
merino with plain linen cuffs and col
lar, fastened with a simple bow of blue
ribbon,-my best dress, Anna, of which
/ was obliged to be careful, so 1 pro-
tected it from contact with the cook
stove by a large housewives apron of
blue check.