The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-01-16


canvas. Mr.. DanVers, in an unwonted
fit of thoughtfulness for his unloVed,
despised, n elected wife, determined to |
provide her with a companion. Who |
the lady was whom he eventually se-
cured, or from whence she came, the |
people of the village never found out. |
Sue came down to the hall, a stranger |
apparently to both master and mistress
of it, and there she remained, though
broke en-spirited Mrs. Danvers shrank
from her with ill.eoncealed dislike from
the first.
She was beautiful, brilliant-looking
woman, this Miss Fernley, and it Was
soou evident b every body Wn0 saw
them that she held the squire in tn
strong chains OF guilty passiun Tor her.
| Her dominion over nlm and the mousse
hold grew rapidly, and Mrs. DanVers
| soon found that she had not even the
shadow OF authority lett to her In her
own house.
Then the bowed, broken spirit Of the
| injured wife reused itself at last, and
she demanded that the woman who was
robbing her OF all her rjgnCs should be
dismtssed.
| There was terrible scene Gao IL got
bruited abroad) wnen the cIimaX was
REACHED; and j.. his first frenzy Mr.. Dan
vers swore that il Mics Ferniey lett he
1 would leave with her. But the woman
was LOO subtle, too calculating and pru-
dent TO RUIN herself openly for q married
man. So she preached caution and For
bearance to MIN and got herself cat OF
The way in manner that compelled the
people to confess that she benaved very
uisoreetly. After her departure the
dull, dismal, miserable life at the hall
! WAS renewed fer a time, until suddenly
il came into MIR. Danvers' head that he
would try continental travel, and give
his wife thorough change.
When they had been abroad about q
year o letter came 10 his agent, tetling
the latter that MRS. Danyers was dea',
and that he (the squlre) was coming
home with his new wife, who was none
other than the Miss Fernley who had
once been the former Mrs. Dsnvers
companion. He and his bride followed
the letter quickly, bringing with them
an aaounU OF ouium that they did not
live down. And 80, when after ten
years. residence among his own people
with his second wife, he died, and the
widow cast the dust OF the place from
her leet and departed, no one lamented
leither OF them much.
He had settled line income upon n his
second wife; and so she would have
none of the dover house; but just went
away to spend her money among pleas
anLer people who knew nothing about
her; old lamily servants were put in
possession of the dover house, and-so
the story ended!
"ls it ended ~ asked myself, when l
had heard all that they could tell me.
Short as my time is here now, pll find
the real ending 10 the story before l
leave this place; those sIost footsteps
numbered with woe" shall be followed
l h1u Inn 70
neart OF the secret OF the dover house.
1t was the last day Of my sojourn in
the dover house that there came to me
at last The opportunity 1 had longed for
of redeeming the promise mad made to
myself. Once again for Jne first time
ior many weeks the occupants OF the
house relaxed their vigilance, aud had
the satisfaction OF knowing that ii any
ghostly visitant should come, | should
be free to follow 1t 10 that bourne 1T
seemed to ba always seeking to gain,
but in which it evidently found no rest.
/ l was sitting brooding over the fire,
half dreading and half longing for the
shades Of evening to fall and send my
children in to bear me company, when
Lhe footsteps went Wearily across the
lroom, freighted with such unWilingnesS
and woe that l almost spoke the pity
that felt aloud. They fingered at the
door until / rose and followed them /;
then as before they went on up the stairs
to the landing, and paused at a locked
door. There was no time to be lost. l
ran down to the Jameses' sitting.Foom,
where l remembered to have seen u
large bunch OF house keys hanging by
the Fireplace. These | secured, and in
five minutes more the door of the room
on the top landing was open, and was
passing through 1t, with The footsteps
close in front Of me.
The shutters were closed, and only q
faintray OF light struggled in through a
ichink; but l was provided with candle
and match. There was little enough 70
see, even when the candle burned ste ad-
lily. An empty. oarpetless room, grimy
with the dust OF years, but perVaded
with strong, aromatic odor, that,
pleasant as 1t was, still reminded me of
death. l could see no sign of elosel
door, but, In passing my hand firmly
, over The surface of a side Wall,s Il came
upon little spring. This l pressed
strongly, panel receded, and the mys-
terry of the wandering footsteps was be-
! lore me. There, Oh long shell, wrapped
= about with white binding cloths, was
Jne form of a gray-haired woman. AL
that was visible OF her was her lace, and
this, though there was no sign OF decay
about it, WAS worn and attenuated TO q
pi liable degree.
death must have been precious re-
: lief TO her poor SOUL" said to mysel
aloud, as 'urned away; then, leaving
! the panel open, but carefully locking The
door, | went down to extract all The sto
: ry from the Jameses or 10 inform the po
. lice.
had no cause tor doing the latter, fol
when they found how much l had dis
covered they made a clean breast OF q
I crime which they Had not Committed
.. 1t appeared that when Mr.. Danvers
brought nome his second wife, he had 81
; the same time settled quiet lunatit
lady az the dover house unuer the care
OF an old nurse OF the DAnvers fanny
, This woman had kept her own counsel
well, and guarded ner. masters secret
r jealously. But when she was Gyng she
!, cenfided to MI. James that the lunat {
lady had been none other than the first
Mrs. DdnYefs, ana that the second mar
, riage was therefore Bigamous one. As
, no one had ever suspected the secret o
the poor creatures presence there dur
1 ing her life, the man who had marie d
! her tor love In her youth would not even
! accord her Christian burial. He was a