, 1884-12-23

Who know whittier her horror may have
driven heri 1t needs but TO find PhilippA
lifeless on tho road to complete tho heaviest
tale OF grief which can DO exactsd from one
man In one short night Iclinched my tseth
and rushed on.
had the road all the road to myself. No
one was abroad in such weather. Indeed,
few persons were seen at night in any
weather In this lonely part Of the country.
Imade straight for my own house The dis
NAL thought came to me that unless Phil
ippa kept TO tho road she was lost TO me
forever. II she StrnYed TO the right or to
tho left. how on such a night could l poszi-
bly, find heri Ny ono hope was that she
would 60 straight to my cottage; so thither
/ made the best Of my way. II she had not
arrived, I must got what assistance / could
and seek for her In the folds to tho right and
lsft OF the road It was n dreary comfort
to remember that all the ponds and spaces
OF water were frozen six inches thick.
I hesitated n moment when I reached her
late residences. Should / inquire II she had
returned thitheri No: when morning re-
vsaled thu ghastly event Of the night. my
having done 30 would awaks suspicion
Let me first go home.
Homo at last In a moment 1 shall know
tho worst. 1 opened the slide OF my lam
tern, which was still alight, and threw the
~ IA Nao M AAAAA W. y ~ a90A -
heart gave a great bound of thankfuinessL
There on the snow, not yet obliterated by
moro recent flakes, were the prints Of a
small foot Philippe, as / prayed, but
scarcely dared to hope she might, had como
straight to my house.
Ny man opened the door for mo. It was
we'll l had seen those footprints. as my
knowledge Of Phflippa's arrival enabled me
TO assume a natural air.
"My sister has conner / asked.
"Yes, sir; about a quarter of an hour agosn
I'VE missed each other on the road What
= nightfn / said, throwing of my snow-cov-
ored coat Where is she nowf' / asked
On the sitting. room, sir" Then. lowering
his voice, William added; ''She seemed Just
about in n tantrum when she found you
weren't at home expect we shall find her
a hard lady to please"
William, in spite Of his stolidity, occa-
honally v~entured upon some liberty when adj
dressing ma
His words greatly surprised me. I forced
myself to make some laughing rejoinder;
then l turned the handle OF the door IND on
tered tho room in which Philippa had taken
refuge.
oh, how my heart throbbedi What would
abe say to mel What could /, fresh from
that dreadful scene, say TO hort Would she
excuse or palliate, would she simply confess
or boldly justify, her crimei Would she
plead her wrongs in extenuationl Would she
assert that In a moment OF unEovernable
rage sho had done the dsedl No matter
what she said; she was stiil Philippe, and
even at the cost of my own life and honor /
would save hsr.
Yet as l advanced into the room a shudder
ran through me. Fresh to my mind came
the remembrance of that white face. that
still form. lying as I had left II, with the
pure white snow falling thickly around IL
Philippe was sitting in front Of tho fire.
Her hat was removed, her dark hair dis
heveled and cleaning wet with the snow
which had melted In It She must nave
heard me enter and close tho door. but she
took no notice. As I approached her she
turned her shoulder upon mo in a psttish
way. and as one who by tho action means
to signify displeasure. / camo to her aide
and stood over her, waiting for her to look
up and speak first She must speak fruti
What can l say, after all that has happened
tonight
But sho kept a stony Hilence-kept hsr
eyes still turned from mine. At last I called
her by her NAME, and. bending down, looked
into her face.
Its expression was one of sullon anger,
and moreover, anger which seemed to deepen
as she heard my voice. She made a kind Of
contemptuous gesture as II waving mo
aside.
'Philippa," l said, as sternly as 1 could,
speak to mop
laid my hand upon her arm. She shook
1t of fiercely, and then star tod to her feet.
"You ask me to speak TO you," she said;
'tyou who have treated mo like thisl Oh.
IL Is shameful shameful 1 come through
storm and snow-come to you, who were to
Welcome mo as a brotheri Whore are youi
Away, your wretched servant tails me. Why
are you awayf ! trusted you'll Oh, you are
a pretty brotheri II you had cared for mo
or respected mo, you would have boon here
to greet ma MOI you are all in a league
all in n league TO ruin mel Now / am here,
what will you doI Poison me, OF counsel
kill me, and mako away with mo, even as
that other doctor killed and made away
with my poor childi He didl say he did,
l saw him do III "A child Of shame he said;
so he killed i'll All, ali, all-even you
you. whom l trustsd-leagued against mef'
Sho was trembling with excitement Her
words ran one into the other. 1t was as
much as l could do to follow them; yet tho
above is but n brief condemnation Of what
sho said. With unchecked volubility abe
continued to heap reproaohes and acousa-
lions, many OF which were OF the most or
travagant and frivolous nature, on my
head. AT last she WINS silent, and reseatod
hsrself in her former attitude; and tho sui
len, Disseminated, nl-used look again settled
on her face. s7<s
And yet, although l, who loved her above
all the world, was the object OF hor fierce
reproaches, no words l had yet listened TO
came more sweetly to my ear than these.
A great joy swept through me; a tide Of
relief bore me to comparative happineaA
Whatever dreadful deed tho poor girl had
h night accomplished she was morally
Innocent PhilippA was not aooo untabls
for her ~actionsi
As a doctor l read the truth at onca
Tho rapid flow of words, tho changing
moods, tho vehement excitement, the sullen
air, the groundless nuspicions-one and all
carried conviction, and told mo what was
wrong. MrA Wilson's words OF yesterday,
which warned me that Phnippa's health
should DO inquired into, added absolute Ger
tainty.
Ny professional brethren who may happen
to read this will understand me when I say
that, although it is long since / have prnc-
ticsd a. a doctor, I am sorely tempted, as l
reach this stage OF my story, to give In de-
tail the particulars which induced me to ar
rive at such a belief. No physician, no sur
geon, lives who docs not feel It his duty As
well as his pleasure TO give Al accurate &C
count Of any out-of-the-common case which
has come under his notice. But ! I'M not
writing these pages for the benefit Of science;
and having no wish to make my tale assume
the authority Of n hospital report, shall re-
strain myself, and on technical points be n
brief as possible.
In short, then, Philippe had fallen q vic-
tim to that mania which not uncommonly
shows itself after the birth Of a child-that
dread. mysterious disease which may, at tho
moment whom everything seems going well,
turn a house Of joy into a house Of mourn
ing; a disease the source OF which l have no
hesitation in saying has not yet boon prop
erly traced and investigated. 30 far as !
know, there is nc monograph on the subject,