The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-02-14

/! t be umwell at this particular time, and
! unable TO come to London to suDerintend
the furnishing, he c6ntented himself with
| preparing bedroom for his own use. on
the first floor, and another for his valet on
the foor above. He retained the service
OF the elderly deaf woman, who appeared
! to be grateful for his consideration. as she
! alleged that the pay she received for her
I trouble was almost all that she had to live
on. The house became the property OF
/ the Colonel at midsummer, lS5-. Toward
/ the end of July The rooms mentioned were
\ furnished in a temporary manner for the
accommodation of the Colonel, who,zat
the time, was frequently called to town on
II business, but it was not till the first week
4 IN August that Colonel SomervilIe, accom-
Il panied by valet, who had been in his ser
Il vic about two years, actually entered as a
II resident. But in that house he only re-
main one night, a d he never slep. there
4 again.
i He arrived in town about midday ON the
4 wednesday in the first week in August.
Il The day was oppress vely gloomy and
il dull III the country, and all London
Il seemed to be seething in sullen heat. He
iI went with his valet to his new house in
H square. The cabman took the fare of
H fered him without grumbling observing
d las he glanced somewhat suspiciously at
\ the house,, "ThiS is the first time as ever
H drove gent eman, nor a lady neither, to
4 this here 'ouse," and he went away as
\ quickly as he could.
! Col. Somerville took no notice of the re-
mark at the time, though it came willy
ITO his recollection aftewardr.
Having deposited his luggage, and seen
that hisroom looked tolerabIy comfortable,
/ he told his servant that he intended to
\ dine at his club and should be home about
IL. The elderly deaf woman, L should
say, was in attendance.
Well. the Colonel transacted his busi-
ness, dined at his club with friend, and
returned to his house shorty after IL
o clock. His servant, a smart, active
young fellow, opened the door for him,
showed him to his room, asked for his or
ders for the morning, and, hav ng received
them, retired to his room above
1t was hot in the st eets as Col. Somer-
vile drove home it was hotter still in his
bedroom, yet he felt scarcely any inclina-
ton to sleep. Another cigar, he thought,
would soothe him into somnolencg, so he
accordingly lit one, and tried to amuse
himself by considering how he should ur-
II sh his new house, having due regard
to the exigencies of London gas and
atmosphere. His cigar finished, he un-
dressed leisurely and got into bed the
wind, such as there was, came from the
south, and he heard the great clock of
Westminster strike II. By-and-by he
heard the quarter, and then the half hour,
and then he fell into doze from which lie
was awakened by repeated knocks at his
door. He called out s'Who's there ?'' but
the answer was unintelligible, though he
heard a voice in reply. He hastily lit the
candle and opened the door. In the pas
bn hio hal Il
looking trightfully pale, and shivering vio-
lently from head to foot.
why, Warren, what on earth is the
matter?" he exclaimed; "are you ill?"
'' | don't quite know what is the mat
ter" was the reply. ''Please, sir, may
come in ?''
Certainly" said the Colonel, who was
one of the kindest of human beings:
''Come in, Warren, you must be ill.,
The man entered, shaking as if an ague
had seized him, and the Colonel hastily
took his flask from his dressing-bag and |
gave him strong brandy and water. This |
seemed to do Warren good, and then his |
master asked him again what was the mat |
ter.
81 don't rightly know, sir" he an
Iswered 81 went to bed all right. and
went sound asleep. But | had a bad |
dream. thought pale-faeed man came |
into my room, although [ knew | had |
locked the door, and he stood beside my
bed, looking for all the world, sir, as if he |
should like TO eat me; and then the air in |
the room became so oppressive that it |
seemed to weigh upon my face and head. /
and then this terrible shivering came over
me as ifI was lying out of doors in Bit /
ter frost, though knew at the same time |
now hot it was.'
"Incipient fever" said the Colonel; ''let
me feel your pulse"
The man held out his wrist and his mas
ter felt the pulse.
"Strange," he,muttered after minute
or two. "Have you ever had malaria fe-
Fer, Intermittent, or that sort of thing?'
8 No, sir; never that / am aware OFFS
But yet you must be ILL. Shall go
and fetch the doctor?''
go, no, thank you, sir. / feel so much
better noW.n
"Well, then, Warren, think you had
better go back TO bed again.
The man became pale instantly, and an
Other attack of shivering seized him, and
he exclaimed almost in agony:
"Oh no, sir, not to that rooml | feel
pertain that should see that white-faced
man again, and feel that Weight upon my
FACE and head. Oh, sir, do let me lie here
/
The Colonel looked gravely at Warren.
He had, in India, seen a good deal of delir-
Jun tremens, and he entertained very
strong suspicion that this was the real
eause of Warren's strange behavior; and +;
yet the man had been in his service some
lime, and he had never had any reason to
suppose that he was not thoroughly tenn
perate and sober. So he said, {. Well, you |
aan take this blanket, and lie down upon
lhe floor, or sit up in a chair, as you
please. expect you will be heartily I
lshamed of yourself tomorrow morning, /;
Warren"
81 think not, sir; shall only be most 1
grateful to you." K
So Warren rolled himself in the blanket, I
Ind Col Somerville put out the candle I
md got into bed again, and tried to go to /
leep.
His efforts were in vain. He knew him.