The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1877-09-04

leIJ une HOUSE, OF course, phTbly III
dudgeon, partly in amazement.
Three weeks passed by, when, 10
the old lady again,
She walked into my consulting room,
dressed as before, as greatly agitated, as
carefully polite.
"Sir," she said, 'sagain trouble you.
My poor daughterl Come at once.n
" Madam, - / answered, its Doctors
duty, as it should be his pleasure, to
obey such calls /; but you are not aware
that have been sent from your door
twice without seeing the patient. Allow
me to ask you a questlon-are you the
mistress of that house ?"
Heaven knows am" said the old
lady. "I have lived there for forty
years. l own 1t. i am the only person
under that roof who has the right to
give an order"
"And the person who sent me
away ?"
My old servant, Margaret"
=" Did she do II at your order?"
"No, sir it was a piece of presump-
ton. But Margaret means WELL She
loves us"
"Then, madam, if accompany you,
1 shall see the patient?"
Assufedly, sir.''
put on my hat again, and we went
out of the house together. We exchang-
ed very few words as we walked the
streets. AT the door of her house the
old lady paused.
Don't mind Margaret she whis-
pered. "She means well.'
Then she ascended the steps.
AT the last one the door was opened
to us by the woman had seen twice be-
fore.
1.-THE doctor must see my child, Mar
garrett" said the old lady.
Margaret stepped back.
" Walk in, sir" was all that she
said
The old lady beckoned me to follow
her. l did so. She went up stairs and
opened the first door we came to. 1t was
an empty bedroom. She closed it with
a sigh. The next room into which she
led me was also empty. So were all the
Others. In effect, we visited six apart
ments, only one of which seemed to be
regularly occupied as sleeping chamber
and at the last the old lady turned to
me with strange glitter in her
eyes:
"Stolen," she said, stolen; some
body has stolen my girl. Sir, do you
know, think it must be Satan !"
Then steady step crossed the Sill
Margaret came in, and the old lady,
bursting into tears, suffered her to lead
her away.
AS made my way down stairs Mar
garet rejoined me.
You understand it now," she said-
+" You see, this poor lady is not in her
right mind"
81 do, indeed,'' 1 said.
"She had daughter once" said Mar
garet, and the girl-a pretty creature
of sixteen-ran away with bad man.
She came home one day and begged for
giveness Her mother turned her from
the door in fury. 1t was night; the
rain and hail beat down on the poor
thing, and the wind buffeted her. There
is no knowing what happened her that
night; but next morning she lay dead
in the police station. Her mothers ad-
dress was pinned to her baby's clothing
and they brought her home. From
that awful day, sir, my nlistress-who, in
her remorse and delirium, called in
twenty doctors to bring her dead daugh-
ter to life--has always been doing what
she has done to you. try to keep the
secret generally, but some find it out and
others think odd things of us. 1 thought
would let you know the truth. If she
contrives to come again to you, you can
always promise to call, and SO be rid of
her. Poor soul she has nobody in the
world but me now. She's punished for
her hardness, at any rate, and you'll ex-
cuse her conduct
l bowed. l could say nothing. Mar
garet opened the door for me, and /
walked out into the fresh air.
AS looked back upon the house,
with all its elegance, it seemed to me to
have haunted air, as though the ghost
of the poor girl still hovered about it.
"God only knows how many fear
full secrets such handsome homes may at
times shut in" 1 said to myself as I
turned my back upon it gladly.
have never seen the poor old lady
since that hour. Probably Margaret has
kept too close watch upon her