Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-04-27

houses resembled ornamcntcd paper.
boxes, and were exactly alike, even to q
range of tiny gardens adorNed with a
green arbor, wherein the first.floor lodgcr
might partake Of morning coffee. Jane
passed man and woman on the pave.
ment. The man was bare-headed, and
smoking a cigar; the woman--a maid
servant escaped from duty was chatting
coquettishly. Jane opened the yellow
gate and walked up the gravel. path. The
house door stood wide open, as usual.
Jane paused to peer into the landlady's
room, where that affable but unwieldly
person usually lurked, ready to exchange
pleasant word. The landlady was not
there. A dim light burned in corner
of the hall, and Jane assembled the wind.
ing stair. The first floor, where our
travellers occupied one suite of rooms,
was very dark. Jane fumbled for the
key on the nail were it was placed by
the servant, and found it still in the lock
instead. Mentally reprehending such
carelessness, she entered the room, and
CROPPED for the match box. Jane was the
type of women who always know where
the matches were last placed; her fingers
therefore sought instinctively certain
small table, and came in contact with a
human head. James heart gave one
thump, and seemed to stand STILL She
expected to be seized and perhaps
strangled the next moment in the almost
palpable darkness.
who is here" she finally managed
to articulate, and stepped back with an
rrepressibly quick movement, which up
set a standard, and sent down a shower
of glass, crockery and jingling spoons
with crash. The conviction that Mi.
nerva would have tainted kept Jane from
doing so herself.
There was no answer save a soft, rust
ling sound and long respiration, half
sigh and half groan. Jane never knew
precisely how she gained the door again,
but faint ray from the hall revealing
the candle and the matches, she con-
quered her first cowardly impulse to run,
and determined to investigate matters.
What had become of the heady
Awful silence, and the candle made a
feeble ray without penetrating obscurity.
Wondering il she were asleep or in pos
session of her seven senses, Jane peered
about her. Something cold touched her
foot. The upset stand lay amidst ruin
of china. bowl, tea.cup vial and water
carafe, and the fluids were streaming
across the floor. SHE had overturned the
stand-only how had it been placed there
at all? The head was over yonder, and
belonged to shape stretched on the bed.
James teeth chartered, and her brain be-
gan to whirl.
Somebody had taken possession of
their rooms, wearing boots and black
coat. Stay, the atmosphere was per
meated with medicine, possibly from the
broken bottle on the carpet. Had the
stout landlady basely turned them out,
bag and baggage, on the arrival of an
invalidY Fear impelled Jane to fly and
learn the truth so perplexing in its mys-
terry, and an equally fascinating horror
held her motionless, staring at the in
truder. The swift change of circum-
stances was overpowering to Jane. She
was stupefed, bewildered; realities soon
became suddenly swallowed up in a
dream, fearful nightmare. The head
reposed on the pillow so quietly that the
stiffness became awful. What if it was
that of corpseY The thought nerved
her to most desperate valor. She had
read stories about such things many a
time; voices in the street impaired addi-
tional courage; she advanced cautiously,
with the candle held before her, and in
spected the occupant of the couch. The
hair on the pillow was gray, as was the
beard on the cheek. The intruder was
either insensible or in the lethargy of a
drugged sleep.
"Why, it's the Rev. Mr.. Powertonp
exclaimed Jane, in excessive astonish-
ment.