The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-03-11


l. Astra. Come right in"
1t was the same room, with but 6
. slight change in appearance, while
the odor OF the stew OF some me1icin-
. al herbs was added 70 the compound
scent which 1 had analyzed on ms
former visit The sofa-bed was in its
bed form, and on It lay Madame
BAstra, evidently much nearer the
spirit world than she ever before su5-
pected herself of being.
As 1 raised my heSd from briei
examination of the sick woman to ask
question of the girl, who had thrown
of her CLOAK and was standing AZ the
side of the couch, was conscious of 3
puZzling "reminiscences. The face l
had certainly seen before, yet l utter
~ failed to recall the circumstances.
IL was youthful and fresh; rather too
fresh and Obtrusively rosy for refine
ment, in fact; the texture of the skin
seemed healthy, but coarse; the ex-
preston was that ofself-consciousness
with a tInge OF blldue5s; and in the
manner of dressing the hair there
was somewhat unpleasant sugges-
ton of frowzy display. The features
were in.their shape not without beauty
of rather striking character, and this
was what agitated my memory.
AS looked became conscious that
the feeble eyes Of the saeress were up
on me, evidently with recognition in
their gaze. bent my head tn hear
what she was struggling to utter.
"Do-you-knOw-her" !" rolling her
eyes inJhe direction OF the girl.
AT once il flashed through my mind.
Here was the original OF the spirit
Lillian, in her permanent materializsd
form, as seen without tbs accessories
of shadows an flowers, AMI probl5ly
pearl powder and chalk,
"D0n't-sxpOse-her. Ibid it all
for her. She-will nOt-starve
when I'm gone" gasped the old wo-
man. 'LIcy !'
"Well. mother?T
But Whatever tn. poor woman hal
% say to her daughter was left unsaid.
Her strsnst was exhausted by the
short effort to excite my sympathy
for her helplessnes. The material
Instinct vas strOng even to the verge
of death, AMI would have employed
the last bre eth t. the service of the
child.
When rsturne to my offi;s there
was Tom. Had he at this time put to
me the question regarding his sanity
my answer would have been less con-
fident than it had been a month bsfOre.
His delusion had grown apace. He
had INDUCED in fancies that were act
ually wild at times. One of these
was that, since he coull never possess
Lillian in this world, he wolld serve
his own happiness by getting himself
into the spirit world as quickly as
possible. He would become restive
under opposition, and when, as l met
| him now, he advanced with the state
10 ent that he had come to say good
bye, wished me to take the key OF his
room, AMI deliver in the morning a
package [ would find on the table. as
he was to take the night train and
wouldn't bs bIck for sJme d tys,
thought the crisis had coins. IL re-
quired a sharp awakening, or his
mania might indeed push him on to
suicide.
"Have you bada goodbye to Lillian
and the MidAms?r I asked, with as
close an imitation of pleas lutry - 1
co1ld summon up.
LILLIAN, Liliau?" said Tom, with
the strangest yearning in his voice
and eyes. "N1; Madame has been
too sick to give sittings for a fort
night past. but hope t. sea Lillian
before RETURN"
"When does your train leave ~
"Oh, it makes no differencs-I
mean, about 8 O'Clock, believe"
"rhen you will have time to walk
little way with me. I have a pa
tient to whom 1 must return at once"
"Oh, yes" said Tom, wearily; "Pll
walk along with you"
Now, thought to myself, for an ex-
pertinent that will either kill Oc cure.
If Tom would not yield mis- morbid
fancy to reason, he must t. startling
fact.
"Here? You're surely not going
up here?" said he, as l turned into
the doorway of the passa ye leading t.
Madame EAstra's apartments.
"Yes," replied. 'rhe Nadine is
my patient. Come upw with me. 1t is
curious clse, aud know she won't
object to my bringing you i'll for a
minute"
"It makes no diff renee! 1t makes
no difference nowv heard Tom
mutter, as he followed me along the
dim passages.
Ipresume upon my professional
privilege for purpose of my own,
and. entered without knocking, Mad.
anne lay az before, and the filial Lucy
wa5 engaged in ministering, with
canphOr and other such common
meudicants, to the sick Woman's fau-
cied com fort. She was even less at
tractive than when 1 had seen her a
few hours before. She had changed
her gown for one of calico, which,
without being absolutely slatternly,
had a leaning in that direction. Her
hair which she had worn loose, had
become tangled and was askew over
her forehead. Her face looked r7dder |
and cOarser than ever; and, but for
those large aud brilliant eyes, /
doubt il Tom would have recognized |
the Lillian of his fancy.
Perhaps the eyes themselves would |
have been insufficient, had not a |
startled look come into them as their |
glance fell upon Tom; but that he |
saw it all, and took it all in at once, |
I was conscious.
1t was, in my opinion, an even |
chance whether his mania would burst |
out into evident insanity on the spot, |
or whether his physical strengthwOuld |
collapse, and then probably a run of |
fever to work Off his trouble. But |
Tom neither yelled nor tainted. All |
the man in him rose up at once and |
saved him, half crazed that he had |
been. This is what he said, speaking |
low in my ear:
"Don't hurry yourself, Roger; but |
when you get through with your pa
tient you needn't wait for me. I
want to speak with that young wo
man."
What was spoken at that interview |
Tom never told me exactly. 1t was !
enough to know, from the manner in |
which Madame sounded his praises at
my subsequent visit, that he had be-
haved both handsomely and discreet |
ly; and, from Tom himself that his |
delusion was over.
Madame EAstra, perhaps | ought
to say unfortunately, paid tribute to
Lucy's nursing and my medical skill
by recovering; and if the spirits that
have gone before thus lost by the
postponement of what would doubt
less have been a distinguished arrival,
the materialized ghosts visiting this
sphere endured perhaps greater be-
reavement. for Lillian never reap
peared. think this must have been
one of the conditions imposed By Tom
for his silence On the subject; and
whatever may have been Madame
L'Astra's ambition for her very sub
stantial familiar spirit, it could hard
ly have been that of which Tom
shortly brought me news, in the an
nOuncement of the marriage of Lucy
Lunt to the keeper of a small restaur-
ant around the cOrner.-Seri5ner for
March,
i Remarkable Stamp.
Some thirty or forty years ag1 there