Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-06

Alasl It was, and with unspeakAbie
dread Ralph pushed away the HAIR
and looked at her. She seemed Ike
one dead, seemed as II she must have
been dead for hours, and the agony OF
terror which was stamped like . hxea
conyulsion on her lovely features Will
never be effaced from my recollection
Near her the grass was torn up by the
roots in large patches, and tufts Of IL
were clipgiDg to her tender hands. one
foot was bare, while the soft flesh had
bled profusely from the thorns on which
she must have trod in this awful, this
mysterious journey. =,
"Ralph flung himself beside her, like
one distraught; he caught her to his
breast, moaning ever her with wild In
articulate cries which were awful to
listen to. In his utter despair he sup
posed her dead, supposed all hope was
over. But I seized him by the arm,
crying wildly, Ralph, she is not dead I;
am sure she is not, for saw the eye
lids move Just now / had never
turned my Mortified gaze away fromthe
face, so had seen this faint sign OF re-
turning life.
sin one moment Ralph had regained
his usual calm. He laid her gently
down and felt her heart, her pulse.
There is a faint spark Of life,' he said,
and the sob of relief was almost as
painful as the former frenzy. He took
bis coat and my shawl and wrapt them
round her, then raised the dear burden
in his arms. ran forward and as soon
as possible met him with a mattress
which the servants carried. BY this
time Ralph was Keeling almost like
drunken man, as he still struggled to
bring her sooner to warmth and life.
We wrapped her in blankets, and lay
ing her on the couch she was borne
swiftly to the house.
MRS. Harvey met us, weeping and
wrireing her hands. Take her to my
room /; put her in my bed. Oh, dear,
what can have happened?' Then, as
she caught sight of the awful face, she
shrank back half fainting. But no one
needed her, as we busted ourselves with
Door Nelly. 1t was long before we
could bring back vitality. and when at
last it returned, when she opened her
beautiful eyes, we saw to our mex
pressible grief that reason had left them,
and we almost wished for the former
Inconsistencies, so fearful was it to
listen to her wild rawlings.
1.-The doctor came, but could do lit
tie. She was now in burning fever
and the state OF body and mind alike
based his skill. There was, however,
some slight consciousness even amidst
her delirium, for if for a moment one of
us loosed her hand, she would cry,
Don't leave me-for the love of our
dear God don't leave me, All - and
then would fall back, the large eyes
fixed always with awful stare on one
corner Of the room.
"Those were the most distressing
DAYS, Doris, which ] ever remember.
We did not attempt to keep Ralph out
of her room, for every convulsiOn
might be the last, and who had a better
right than he to be there. he whose
bride she was so soon to have been :
Mr.. Harvey and Nelly's uncle were
both with us now. The other guests
had all left the miserable house, which
no longer echoed to pleasant voices, but
which lay in CHASTITY stiffness save when
the shrieks Of the poor. maddened girl
rang through hall and corridor. For
once Mr.. Harvey made his wife feel the
weight Of his displeasure. He told us
be knew nothing about the room save
that Mr.. Grant, the owner Of the house,
had begged it should only be used in
the daytime. Mr.. Grant had assured
him nothing unpleasant had been seen
or known about the room for ages, that
it was more tradition than anything
else with him, his father, and his grand
father, that it should not be used after
dark, and so he preferred the rule being
kept to.
IL shall never forgive myself add
ed Mr.. Harvey, for what has passed.
Ny wife's fault is, to a certain extent,
my fault also. am more unhappy
than ! can say
~ felt sorry for him, but anxiety
about Nelly swallowed up all other
feeling. A whole week had passed;
her state was unchanged. save that the
fever was daily weakening her, and the
cries were less piercing only because
the strength failed for the utterance.
''0nce Ralph said bitterly, If you
had only told me, Annie, my darling's
life would have been saved My heart
nearly broke as l implored his forgive
ness. He was very good, for he never
again reproached me, but he never spoke
to Mrs. Harvey, who, indeed, shrank
from his presence shrank, too, from the
sick-room, where even her selfish ma
tuIe must have been touched to the
quick by seeing the misery her disobe-
dience had caused.
mir. Harvey wrote to Mr.. Grant,
asking full explanation Of the mystic
ry, but he was travelling in outlandish
parts, and before his answer came the
terrible tragedy had been worked out to
its bitter end.
GAS Nelly's bodily strength decayed
the mind became gentler, the rawlings
less wild. We hoped this might be
good sign, but the doctors feared that
the full consciousness they now thought
might return would be only as the end
approached. The end All! could it
be that Oar sweet Nelly was to pass
from us in such awful gloom? AS the
reasoning powers returned she knew US
all again, though still the shadow of
fear never left her, and her dread of
darkness and Of solitude was as extreme
as ever. Once, by accident, the lights
were extinguished in her room, and
there was almost return of the mania
as she chung to US, entreating for the
light to come again. twas after then
that Nelly said she would tell US all
about that night. She thought she
might be less haunted by terrible
memories if she could disburden her
self of them. So one afternoon when
only Ralph and were with her, and
she seemed little stronger than usual,