Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-11-20

full scenes full of death and gloom through
which my professional life had led me. In
the dssecting room, in the severest opera
ton, my hand had always been as steady as
if I were peeling an orange. All this made
the present incomprehensible vision yet
more utterly inexplicable. Besides, even
while I gazed at it, I knew that had nev-
er felt more calm and collected and more
in an ordinary condition of body and mind
throughout my very commonplace, very
busy history.
Would another pair of eyes see the house
in the mirror? 1 wondered. With hur-
ried hand rang the bell to test this point,
and summoned my house-keeper, who gen.
orally herself waited on ME. This good
lady's name was Mrs. Trickey. It is COM
mon Devonshire name, let it be at once
understood by those who are not aware of
the fact and is in no way to hint at any
unpleasant proclivities or unwarrantable
whims on the worthy DANES part; she was
as honest and simple minded woman as
ever handled bunch of keys.
''Mrs. Trickey, 1 have rung for you to ask
you to do a very simple thing" said, hes
itatingly, now that she was present, scarce
ly knowing how to begin; for I felt, if I
spoke out plainly, my housekeeper must
infallibly think that had suddenly taken
leave of my senses.
"What will zee please to have sir?" re-
piled Mrs. Trickey, in true Devonshire
fashion.
''Mrs. Trickey, will you please look in
the glass over the chimney-piece?" blur
ted out rather abruptly, not knowing how
else to find out what / wanted to discover.
"Get along with your nonsense, Master
Fred" cried Mrs. Trickey, with a toss of
her head, which was so energetic it almost
discomposed the stiff frills of her cap.
It must be mentioned here that Mrs.
Trickey had lived with my mother when [
was d boy, and that, with her, still contin-
ued Master Fred, though all the world be-
sides knew me as Frederick Heathcote,
Esq, surgeon.
II can assure you Mrs. Trickey, I mean
no insult, nor even joke" replied hum
bly,. 81 fancied something was wrong in
the reflection of the glass perhaps Susan
has not busted it as she should. Will you
please look into it with your experienced
eyes, Mrs. Trickey?"
I was in hope that this last implied COM
pliment would have propitiated the house
keeper; but apparently it had no such ef-
feet, for after short inspection of the mir
ror she said tartly:
'The glass be right enough so far as do
see; this be just one of your items, Mas
ter Fred"
"But, Mrs Trickey do please tell me
what you see when you look into it," ex-
claimed, seeing that I must be more ex-
plicit if wanted to gain full certainty on
the matters
"Why, what should I see but my own
face, Master Fred ?" she retorted snappish-
ly; "and it be as good-looking face as the
faces of many women who be ten years
younger than I be, and 1 can tell zee that
hox q lnnyino
scores of men in its time"
And here she bridled considerably, and
drew herself up.
"And do you see nothing there besides
your face, then, Mrs. Trickey?"
"Bless and save us, Master Fred, you
must be turning mazed, / think, or else it
be that you be making regular fool of me.
don't see why you should make up such
gammots about my face, when you've
aknowed it these last twenty, years. l calls
it very disrespectful, that do"
Trickey turned and disappeared from the
room, leaving me alone with the house in
the mirror, which most certainly she had
not seen.
l was musing uncomfortably on this fact,
with my eyes fixed on the vision, which
to me was as distinct as ever, when the
clock on the chilnney-piece struck quarter
to g. Then SUDDENLY as if wiped out by q
spirits wing, just when the little silver chime
of the clock was ringing, house, garden,
summer-house, moonlight, yellow gleam,
vanished from the mirror, and saw nothing
there save the reflection of the familiar
room.
1t was certainly more wonderful phe-
nomenon than any which my medical books
and medical knowledge had taught me, and
oo& 1nfn hot icrhf
and vainly trying to account for it. AS,
however, / could not gain the slightest
light on the subject, turn the matter up
and down as I might in my brain, l
came to resolution on two points, and
then went to bed. One of these resolves
was, that l would not reveal the strange
circumstance to anyone, because | had al
ways most hearty dislike of gossip and
ridicule at my expense, and the other
was, that I would not allow the inexplica-
BILE vision to trouble my mind so as to make
me incapable of the daily work and duty of
life. My natural calmness Of temperament
and my active, busy course of existence,
made me more able to make these determi-;
nations with some chance of keeping them
than most people in my place.
l slept we'll that night, and did not see
the house in the mirror once in my dreams.
Next day l was sent for in haste to attend
a dangerous, difficult case, which required
all my skill and energy. BY the time the
evening was again come the impression
made by the strange circumstance of last
night had in a great measure faded from
my mind
It so happened that I was engaged to
spend that evening with my friends, MIR.
and Mrs. Woodland. Mr.. Woodland was
banker, and his wife was a pretty, spark
ling woman-the queen of society in our
town. She and I were always close allies;
she would chatter to me Of all her family
affairs, and in certain way make me her
confident. On the occasion in question L
was Mr.. and Mrs. Woodlands only guest.
The banker slumbered in his armchair, the
lady had two or three bits of gossip to tell
about the neighborhood, and two or three
new books to discuss with me, and deal to
say besides about the first appearance of a
tooth in Miss Baby's little rosy mouth
That young heroine was brought down in
state in her nightdress, and | had to EXAM
inc the prodigy with much circumstance
and solemnity.
Baby had retired again to the nursery,
and had ceased her somewhat loud remon-
strances, with regard to the inconvenience
of being brought downstairs to appear in
the draWning-room in such a costume and
at such an hour. Mrs. Woodland was
standing on the hearth rug looking in the
mirror when the town clock in the market
place hard by struck s. was looking at
the reflection of my hostess face in the
mirror, and thinking that it certainly was
a very pretty one, when suddenly at the
side of the lively brown eyes appeared pre-
cisely the same house, line for line, which /
had seen in my dining room mirror yester-
sumSmer-house, sun m s silver moonlight, yellow
lamplight gleam-all were there.
JoouId not holm start and q murmure6