The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-01-04
THE IIUUSE IN THE MIRROR.

le' down between heaven and earth. The
STORM was carrying on wild sport around the
mouse, shaking the windows, beating against
me thick walla. and murinuring IN deep hol-
low tones i'll the chimneys. 1t was u night for
warm, cosy, subs !antial indoor comfort, and
such lresoived to make 1t.
AZ he period of which l am writing | am
sui o young man, and was practising success
iuiiy as a doctor in a town in the west of Eu-
glanc-a toierably large, busy county town
which lies near the borders of both Deyopshire
and solnersetshlrc l was unmarried. and was
living with an old h~ousekecper aud one servant
siri' who helped nor by turns, now above
STARE, now below, with compliment submits
sion, because the semi blindness and deafness
ot the good lady made interviews with her trna
swain. the butchers boy, in the scullcry not
practicable but easy. On the evening in cues
non had come i'll what We medical men call
heaithlly tired after a hard days work in
my professional dudes, and l was now sitting
coAiiy Dv the blazing fire iu my ~dining-room,
"itha glass OF good claret on the little round
table at my side.
MY thoughts went wandering to and fro
iaz''y, now resting upon some OF the most in
'efes'ihS cases among my patients, now nutter-
ing around a pretty picture Of my only sister
and her first BABY, which her letter, received
This morning from India, had called up; now
s'fayi's into thestab!e to visit my bay horse
anew purchase, which L lattered myself did
no small honor to my judgment in horse flesh.
Gradually, however, all those subjects Of
pleasant reflection slipped into u mass. and got
confnsealy mixed together. l found myself
gazing, without feeling tho least surprised, at
An odd vision, which showed me my sister
nominal nm IN ,af t,.- rst1, n. ll :. l. II
arms, who, Instead of a baby'a face. had the
face of my n~eishbor aud patient, old Mr.. Spi-
Ger, the grocer, aud sooa after that l was sunk
into q peaceful slnmbcr, where no dream even
came to disturb me-.
How long | slept 1 do not exactly know, but
recu.!ect , woke with a start, reused by the
clock on the chimneypiecs, which had a PC
culisr!v ringing, clear sonnd, striking s. /
sat upright with a jerk aud looked around with
that vaguely uncomfortable feeling Which often
follows sudden waking. MY glance happened
TO Wander up 20 the mirror which was over tho
the c~limneypirce. Why was it that, as | eayel
al II, l uttered a low exclamation, and then
shut my eyes, thinking that sleep must still be
retaining IFS power over me, aud that | must
be dreaming 4 strange, f~autaSlc dream.
But no. ] certainly was not dreaming, for
there it was just aiit hal been before. Fin my
eyes as steadily AZ | might upon the mirror.
with ali my wakeful faculties concentrated
upon II IN eager earneatucss, it was still there.
looked away, and fastened my look, for a
minute or more, u2on nv mothers picture,
which hung over tEo sideho nd. Then nv
eyes were allowed to return 70 The glass; but
This manrnver WAS tisaless also-it would not
go, do what | wonSd.
What | eaw was certainly no alarming vision,
though Its appearance, there in the mirror.
over my dining room chilnneypieco, was re.
variable aud startling enough. to say tho least
Of It, In the middle OF the glass, which. III its
other parts. reflected SIMPLY and naturally the
communities objects in the room. chairs and
tables aud window curtains, there appeared a
small hut wildly dieliact picture OF a house
aud garden. IL was - Very pretty house. its
front covered Oh one side Will a green
c%reeper, which waa srangled wili starry
white blossoms, and On the other with Il
frosco such as Ihtd h are! described as cxiss.
ing oil the waits OF holsts in LAZY, where !!
had n-vor hpeD-a fresco repre- senting an o"!
woman sitting with a iasiet OF oranges at neg
feet There We're four windows two upstairs.
Two dow, eXictlY over each other: they were
all half shaded with green blinds. anl / coui
see that thu too on. on the right hand si!,,,
Sas slightly opsn. Up the garden there rrn j,
hroal Gravel w.!k, with soft fresh tu}f,
gammed with hawcr.beds on either side Of j..
The lncosure WAS fenced round with a rather
high wooden ra'ing, and in ono cosnsr of T.
there stood n simmer house, with a quantity.
shaped roof. that had som thing of a uagol,
about L. Over the who'e thnre was snrsad II
soft, silvcry light, ~ though 4 brigh'. fan
moon vas sLintag down upon it, A yelo
CLEAN stole through lhe open window, au
mingled with the white rays without.
l lad my finger on my pulse. Was ] coit.
fast into q raging fever. My pulses were a..
stnady as they wtr, when l rose thar mornir
after y lights sound sleep | tss'cl nv hrHit
by going ,hronah, i'll my MIND, all tse sym :
toms ami features IN y difficult ant pcrp'cxiu !.
1000, vtt,' f-vl i,.nI tpI IA md -. ,,p ~ ,.. -, ..
mlnd acted as rool.y and calmly and regularly
as it had ever done. | repeated to myself sew
stal passages o' pne'rv frnm drcreat authors
in different laneun te+; they c,ma ~ quickly
and easily TO my tongue a.if l. had been read-
ing them from r printed book. leaZ. d around,
and fixed my eyes on varons objects III the
room to 4en wNeilcr | should he SUBJECTED II
other optical illusions: Du; III u ] other points
nv eyes were ". + asonablc a. they usual Y
were: tl,cv slewod me- nothing hut the fainter
chairs aud table, nn,i the wcil-known pattern OF
the paper on the wall. Then ! looked back AZ
the mirror. The house was si!ll there.
Had { boon reading lately a description Of
such u house, or hal l lately seen anywhere a
picinre like Il? Either Of these things might
possibly ltavo left u vivid impression on my
mind. which might have accounted for tho
strange deiusion. | was not, however. able to
rccoIlect, search my memory as i would, that a
book or a painting had brought such a hon-n
and garden before my thoughts. | was nat
uraily Mother cxcitahle nor imaginative; in
deed was generally regarded by every one
who knew me-, aud bv myself into the bargain,
as one of the most prosaic, rational beings III.
the world, NV fancy had never before played
me the smallest trick. even AS | rode home.
worn out with watching by q sick-bed, on the
darkest night; even in the many painful scenes
full OF dealt and gloom through which my
professional life had led me. In the dissectins
nom. in the ~severest operation, my hand had
ALWAYS seen Az steady az if i were peeling an
orange. AL this made the present lncompre-
heusible vision vet more utterly lnsxpiicabie
Besides. even while l gaZed at il, | knew that |
had never felt more calm and collected and
moro in an ordinary condition OF body and
mind throughout my very commonplace, very
busy history.
Would another pair Of eyes zee the house in
.be mirror. l wondered. With q hurried hand
r,nc the bell to test this point, and sum
moned nv . usekeeper, who generally herself
va,ted on me, This good lady's name was
Mrs. Trickey. II 10 . common DeVonsnire
name. lot it DO at once understood by those
who arc not aware Of tho fact, and IS IN no way
meant to hint at nnv unpleasant procllvites or
nnvarrantsble whius on the worthy DANES
mart: abe was as honest and supplemented a
rromsn AZ ever handled r bunch OF keys.
Mrs. Tricky, l have rung for You to ask
YOU to do a very simple thing" said hesltat-
inc how to begin; for ] felt. il l spoke out
plninly, my housekeeper must infsllibly think
hat I had suddenly taken leave Of my senses;
"What will zee pleAse have, slr?' replied
nrs Trickey, in iru =, Devonshire fashion.
..Mrs. Tricky. will You please look in tho
,,.ss over the chimney piecs?' l blurted out
father abruptly. not knowing how else to lind
ont wba, I wantod 10 discover
act along with your nonsc:se, Mastc
Fred v cried Mrs. Trickey, with a toss OF he
had which was 20 en-. rso,ic it almost discom-
Dosed the stiff frills o. her cap:
II mus, be mo ii ned here that Mrs. Tricky
had lived with my mother when l was a bov,
and ti.a,, with her, I still continued Mat to
Fred, ton b all The VOL 70 o sM,r On Knew me a.
les, a.-nr. y II, NJ :. Tricky. meant NO
;nsnlt' nor ,v.na ios u cpl 81 Iumhly II
IA ' cel s",n",hu va urn,g in TIL" rrf@c ION