Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-02-28

giving ohOuOo VI OAANAAp ph az bii'
ease with which they accomplished
their purpose. We could not afforC
to keep a man servant, and even i
we had done so l should alway,
have imagined him the accomplic,
of the burglars; or coming up stair
upon his old account with a carving
knife concealed in a scuttle of Goals
as l had once read of in a book
| Our house pretended to no means Of
resistance, and l always placed the
plate basket and its contents upor
the landing of the stairs, in hope,
that the gang might take what they
came for, and go away without
asking for my money or my life. On
a particular occasion being unable tC
sleep, l fancied l heard the approach
Of robbers up the stairs. Being nc
longer able to contain myself,
| with an effort reused Charolotte,
who however, peeh-hooed the whole
affair, and dropped to sleep again
leaving me to my fears.
| However, one very wet and dark
night she got pretty fright her,
self. 1t was little past midnight.
The drip, drip, drip, of the rain was
ceaseless, but for all that, as l lay
awake, l could hear mems steps
without splashing in the pools it
made, as the wretches walked round
the house looking for the most con-
venient point of entry. Then
heard the back door "gon-it burst
open with sort of mutfled violence,
like the sudden out pour of a waste
pipe-and then that "pit-a-pat" l
knew SO well, of feet coming up the
stairs. Then a pause of frightful
significance.
HCharlotter' cried ], in agony
''They are really here. They really
are, this time. Wake, wakep'
Rubbish" cried she. 81 am wide
awake, and hear nothing"
"They are just out side the door,"
whispered 1; "they are listening at
the key hole. Hark!'
81 certainly hear caves dropping, ,"
was her heartless answer (she was
a woman who enjoyed a joke and
her fat sides wobbled with mirth at
this one) "but it's only the rain
from the roof" or ,,.s
81 tell you," said ], solemnly,
''there's robbers in the"-
Here something fell in the draw
ing room beneath us, with hide
GUS crash. In an instant, and before
l could recover from the sort of col
lapse into which this shock had
thrown me, Charlotte had Topped
out of bed, seized the lamp, and was
about to hurry from the ROOM
"No," she said, pausing in the door,
way; cit is better that they should
not see me, but that 1 should see
them" '''f
1t was certainly much better, con-
sidering Charlotte's very slight at
tire, that the robbers should not see
her; but why she should want to see
therobbers was quite unintelligible
to me. m a5a
"Stop!" cried 1; but the fatal deed
was done, and I was left in the dark
ness. ....
Dreadful as it was to accompany
her upon such an expedition, it
seemed thousand times worse to
remain in the room alone, and,
trembling in every limb. 1 hurried
after her. r.. s.. f.. -
To reach the drawing-room, it
was necessary to pass through the
dining room. 1t was pitch dark,
but I could hear her breathing hard
flor her stoutness made her very
Short of breath) as she made her
way round the table that occupied
the center of the room. Fear lent
me wings, and 1 hurried round the
other way to meet her, and rushed
into her arms just as she was feeling
for the drowing-room door way
Directly 1 did SO, she uttered a
shrill scream, and fell on the floor
in a dead faint. I had forgotten
that the poor dear did not know L
was pursuing her. l suppose 1
tainted too !! for the first thing
remembered was hearing a loud
purr close to my ear, which proceed
from our favorite cat, who, having
knocked down the fire irons iu the
next room (which was the noise we
had heard), had come, as it were,
to assure us that there was nothing
the matter. That was the last night
we spent in our country house, and
l remained in town for three whole
summers afterward. Though fresh
air and ''change," l was told, were
indispensable, 1 resolved to do
without them, since one might Just
as well die as be frightened to death.
In July of the fourth yeal, how
ever, l received an invitation to the
seaside, which I really thought it
safe to accept. My host and hostess
lived at Disney Point, in Cornwall,
a very lonely spot, it is true, but
one in which no burglary had ever
been committed within the memory
of women. s'There were no bad
people, wrote my friends, who were
aware of my nervous pecularities,
''within hundred miles of them"
When l reached their house,I was
really inclined to believe that this
was the case. A more beautiful
and retired spot than the little vii
lage in which they dwelt, or one
| inhabited by more simple and in
nocent set of people, 1t was impossi-
bic to imagine. 1t was situated in
wood ravine, through which a
trout stream ran down to the sea;
and upon the hilltop, between it
and the ocean, were the most pic
turesque church and churchyard l,
or ones eye ever beheld. From
the house we could only hear the
distant whispers of the waves, like
the murmuring hum of bees, but
they were great giant waves, and
the rocks were torn and split with
their fury into wierd and horrid
shapes. 1t was the grandest sea
cost, 1 had yet visited, and all day
liIourr T-eo+ bacida - xr,;th ynxy npaT