The National tribune., 1881-12-17
THE WHITE LADY OF HILLBURY,
BY MRS. c. DESPARD.

l.
This was the letter, which may be said to have
been the beginning of the whole matter and. i
must be confessed, that to ayoung girl like EIler
Montague, brought up as quietly as nun, the
chief events in whose life had been the coming
and going of an only brother it would appear
sufficiently extraordinary:
IF on the night preceding the first day of the
New Year, at twelve o'clock, Miss Ellen Montague
should see on the terrace below her window the
ghost who, on that particular night, is said to
haunt it, the writer of this letter begs her not to
be alarmed. A most unhappy lady may, under
the disguise of the ghost claim her sympathy and
help. Miss Montague is entreated in the first
place to trust no one with this communication
In the second place, if she decide to give the
ghost hearing, to act as her true heart will
doubtless prompt She is warned that on the
decision and action she will take in this matter
much of Importance to her, and those nearest to
her, depends"
The letter came on Christmas Eve 1t was
thrown in Ellenis lap by a man in workman's
clothes as she was returning from solitary drive
She read it over twice. She was not so bewil-
dered as young lady who knew something of
the world might have been; for knowing social life
chiefly through the medium Of poetry and fiction.
Ellen was of most romantic turn of mind Ever
since she was sixteen years OF age-she was now
nineteen-she had been expecting something to
happen. This mysterious note seemed very like
q forewarning of that barely-defned probability.
She sat down In her quiet room to try to de-
eide how she should act. "Of course. it's q
trick" was her first mental cOmment-she was
looking at the incident with the ewes of her
brother" Somebody means to dress up and
frighten me-"
But the little romantic self of her persisted in
using its own senses. "That's hasty decision"
it said who out of the house, or, indeed. in
it"-Ellen smiled as she thought of her mother
and the old servants" would take the trouhIe
of frightening poor little me? But if not
trick"
Here, however, her mind wandered forth upon
flights so immense and bewilderi4g that we dare
not attempt to follow. The one result of that
evenings meditatiens was that she resolved to
keep her unknown friends counsel. But, indeed.
in whom could she confde?
Her brother Harry was away from home,
vaguely supposed to be travelling On the Cont
nent; her mother, Lady Montague was delicate
and highly nervous; she would suppose the thing
a device of burglars, and have the house sur
rounded day and night with armed defenders:
the servants would certainly take very much the
same view. On the whole Ellen thought she
could trust no one. "I will be brave" she said
her heart thrilled as she spoke with sense Of
joyful fulfllment of myriad dreams; "if there's
=.
fine; yet, on the 31st of December. when. at |
about halfpast ten o'clock at night, she babe her
mother goodnight, she could not forbear q
nervous tremOr. If she were wrong, after all:
if her concealment should bring trouble on the |
house!
"But there is no necessity for me to let any
one in" she said to herself, as she went SLOWLY
up the broad stone staircase
Fortunately her room was cheerful Old Anne.
the maid had piled up her fire with knots
of pine-wood; wax candles stood lighted on
mantel-piece and dressing-table; the blinds were
down and the crimson curtains drawn Ellen
seated herself in an armchair before the fire and
fell into waking dream. She did not undress.
and her nerves were in too excited state to allow
IF her sleeping. At eleven O'Clock she rose drew
up one of her blinds, and looked out. 1t was
moonlight night, intensely cold, the atmosphere
lear; the shadows of house and trees dark and
Iistinct in outline; not many stars visible on
.ccount of the brilliancy of the moon but those
ew flashing like fre-points below, on the
Incient stone terrace, it was almost as light as
lay.
The whiteness of everything made Ellen shiver.
nd she returned to her fire; but she left the
bind up, and during the hour that followed (she
gas trying to interest herself in book she went
backwards and forwards many times. At last
t was nearly twelve o'clock, and her senses were
N the alert, she heard sounds of movement
There was something terrifying in the fulfill
nent Of an expectation which our own dread has
prevented us from completely admitting Ellen
at for few moments spell-bOund. She might
,e the dupe of her fancy. She heard the sounds
and the rustling of garments on
he terrace below. And now, recovering the use