The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-01-09
The Heuse in the Mirror.

1t was late one winter evening. The
snow was falling in thick, fast.coming
flakes, making white curtain that was
perpetually being let down between heaven
and earth. The storm was carrying on
wild sport round the house, shaking the
windows, beating against the thick walls,
and murmuring in deep, hollow tones in
the chimneys. 1t was night for warm,
cosy, substantial indoor comfort, and such
l resolved to make it.
At the period of which am writing l
was still young man, and was practic-
ing successfully as doctor in town ia
the west of England-a tolersbly large,
busy, country town which lies very near
the borders of both Devonshire and Som
living with an old house-keeper and one
servant.girl, who helped her by turns,
now above stairs, now below, with COM
placent submission, because the semi
blindness and deafness of the good lady
made interviews with her true swain, the
butchers boy, in the scullery not only
practicable but easy. On the evening in
question had come in, what we medical
men call "healthily tired, after hard day 8
work in my professional duties, and l was
now sitting costly by the blazing fire in
my dining-room.
My thoughts wandered to and fro lazily,
now resting upon some of the most inter-
esting cases among my patients, now dut-
tering around pretty picture of my only
sister and her first baby, which her letter,
received this morning from India, had
called up; now straying into the stable to
visit my bay horse-a new purchase,
which I f1attered myself did no small
honor to my judgment in horse.hesh.
Gradually, however, all these subjects of
pleasant reflection slipped into mass,
and got confusedly mixed together.
found myself gazing, without feeling the
least surprised, at an odd vision, which
showed me my sister mounted on my pet
bay with the baby in her arms, who, in.
neighbor and patient, old Mr.. Spicer, the
grocer, and soon after that / was sunk
into peaceful slumber, where no dream
even came to disturb me.
How long slept l do not exactly know
but recollect woke with a start reused
by the clock on the chimney.piece, which
had a peculiarly ringing, clear sound
striking eight. 1 sat upright with jerk
and looked around with that vaguely un
comfortable feeling which often follows
sudden waking. My glance happened to
wander up to the mirror which was over
the chimney-piece. Why was it that, as
gazed at it, uttered low exclamation
and then shut my eyes, thinking that SLEEP
must still be retaining its power over me
and that l must be dreaming a strange
fantastic dreamp
But no, l certainly was not dreaming
for there it was just as it had been before
Fix my eyes as steadily as might upoI
the mirror, with all my wakeful faculties
concentrated upon it in eager earnestness
it was still there. looked away, ant
fastened my look, for minute or more
upon my mothers picture which hun,
over the sideboard. Then my eyes wer
allowed to return to the glass but thi
maneuvre was useless also-it would no
go, do what would.
What saw was certainly no alarming
vision, though its appearance, there in tn
mirror, over my dining.room chimney
piece, was remarkable and startlin
enough, to say the least of it. In tn
middle of the glass, which in its othe
parts reflected simply and naturally tn
commonplace objects in the room, chair
and tables and wipdow-curtains, there az
peared a small but wildly distinct pictur
of house and garden. 1t WAS yer
pretty house, its front covered on one sid
with green creeper, which was spangle
with starry white blossoms, and on tn
other with fresco such as had hear
described as existing on the walls of house
in Italy, where had never been-a fresc
representing an old woman sitting with
basket of oranges at her feet. There wei
four windows, two upstairs, two dow
exactly over each other: they were a
half shaded with green blinds, and ! coul
see that the top one, on the right-han
side, was slightly open. Up the garde
there ran broad gravel-walk, with sof