Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-09-27

ton with the strange laugh.
The servant, the same one who had
opened the door to me that night, came
in presently, and began to clear away
the remnants of our supper. / address
ed question or two to him, but was
Immediately assured by the manner in
which he answered that I would gain
but little information from him concern
ing the strange occurrence of the Eeven-
ing.
Monsieur D'Oseray rejoined me
E sJrtly. His face looked pale and care
worn, and when he spoke his voice
sounded low and hoarse. He did not
explain the cause of his sudden depar-
ture, and I felt it topic too delicate to
braach out of mere curiosity. 1 at
tempted several times to draw my host
out of his abstraction, but without
much success. he gave me nothing but
monosyllabic answers. We sat for
some time in silence, with our eyes bent
upon the glowing CRATE. Presently I
raised my head and glanced toward my
moody companion. His white head
rested upon one hand, and his gaze
seemed riveted upon the fire. A slight
movement at the end of the room
caused me to turn my eyes in that di-
rection. The door that led into the.
next room stood half open, and there,
standing in the aperature, was the same
woman that / had beheld once before
that evening, Her white face, encased
in its frame of flowing black hair, bore
q look of indescribable ferceness, and
the blazing eyes were bent full upon
me. AS 1 gazed upon this singular
looking creature [ saw one hand go up,
the fore-finger extending upward, and
the face assumed an expression that
seemed to contain something of
menace and something of warning,
then she quickly stepped back, and the
door was softly closed.
[ refrained from menti oning this
apparition to Monsieur L'Oseray, and
[ was not at all sorry when he presently
arose and inquired if I was ready to
retire.
After my host had shown me to my
chamber and babe me good night, I
very carefully secured my door, for,
somehow Or another, the strange ap-
pearance that [ had twice seen that
night filled me with an odd sort of fear.
Upon looking about the room I per-
ceived that there was another door,
which, upon trying, I found to be
locked. Drawing aside the thick cur
tain that hung before the window, I was
surprised to see that the storm had
passed away. The moon was sailing
through an almost cloudless sky, and
the view of the forest, stream and vale
that lay spread beneath me looked SO
enchanting that I determined to spend
part of the night, at least, at the win
dow. blew out the light, and drawing
q chair into the recess, gazed out upon
scene as exquisite as any that could
have been plucked from fairyland, and
forgot, in my abstraction, the lapse of
time and my singular situation.
l do not remember how long my rev
erie lasted, but suddenly [ was started
by slight movement behind me. [
turned, and there, In the food of moon
light thai fell tar into the room, stood
the same white robed phantom that had
appeared to me twice before that same
night.
Her face bore an absolutely demoni-
acal scowl, and her uplifted arm, bare
to the shoulder, held aloft dagger. AS
[ leaped up with cry of horror, the
terrible creature sprang upon me with
cry of wild exultation.
[ clutched the hand that held the
knife, just as it was descending upon
me, and then terrific struggle began.
I called wildly for help, while the wo-
mans cries, now of triumph, and now
Of despairing rage, re- echoed from one
end of the chateau to the other. The
strength that madness impaired to tine
weak frame of this furious creature was
something incredible, but soon became
conscious that the false vigor of un-
bridled rage was succumbing to my
stout resistance; and when Monsieur
L'Oseray and his servants rushed
through the open door, they beheld a
man with scratched and bleeding face,
and torn clothes, painting upon the side
of the bed, and at his feet what ap-
peared to be the form Of woman strug-
Cling in terrible convulsions.
It is needless to say that there was no
more sleep for me that night.
| did not see poor Monsieur l. Oseray
again; but before left the chateau the
next day [ learned from his steward
that the woman with whom I had had
that awful midnight struggle was the
only child of his master. Ninon L.
Oseary had been deceived by man she
had once madIy loved. Insanity was
the fruit of this desertion. The father.
almost heart broken, had brought his
daughter to this secluded estate, in
tending to devote the remainder of his
life to the care Of poor Ninon. She had
never shown any such devihsh propen-
sites until the night of my arrival.
She had doubtless seen some imagined
resemb lance between myself and her de-
serter, and had, with the cunning of
maniac, planned my destruction.
The unfortunate lady never recovered
from the effects of that dreadful parox-
ysm, and before left Provence T heard
Of the death of the unhappy Mademois-
ellie L'Oseray. Poor Ninon. F. A. s.
Disappearance of a Large California
Lake.
While in this city, says the Virginia
City Chronicle, Lieut.. Wheeler called on