Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-01


and the earth was wrapped In snow
snow, not as you see IL here, but lying
many feet deep, in n northern land, that
she took the first step toward her doom.
And now she cannot see the snow
without recalling every incident Of that
night and It's fatal consequences, for it
drew her on to the necessity Of crime,
the memory Of which gives her no rest.
read in her eyes the despair that
prompted it, In her curious hands the
violence that carried it out, in her pal
lid mouth the burden of silence which
has oppressed her ever since. Her
heart has become q chamber Of horrors,
from which there remains but one door
Of doubtful escape"
Linburn was completely sobered and
considerably astonished. There was
something queer in the way Kerr talked,
whose usual cold common sense gave
additional color to the strangeness Of
the outbreak.
"What unutterable ideas you have "
said Linburn, with nervous shudder.
I" But you are sadly wanting in chivalry
to the lady. You have only met her
once, yet you are ready to swear away
her character because she has melan-
choly expression and ugly hands,"
The young men had now reached a
point where the lane suddenly increased
to twice its previous width. The
boundary wall turned at right angles
with itself, and aftersrunning couple
yards turned again, and was replaced
by an open iron railing, behind which
the park stretched away in what seem
ed illimitable snowy vistas. Kerr stood
still, and, leaning against the ratings,
looked into the misty distance.
"You will acquit me of any very
vivid belief in the supernatural ?" he
asked.
Linburn smiled a sad but reassuring
smile.
" You believe in nothing that is in
capable of demonstration in the lecture
Ioom.n he answered.
"Well, then. don't laugh when tell
you that tonight saw into that wo-
mans mind at least, that is the only
way can account for the phenomenon
| am going to describe. BY her side at
dinner there stood a child. ] knew
then that the snow had fallen, for half
melted snowAakes were trickling down
its head and neck. ! never could see
its face, which was constantly turned
toward hers, but with its little i'll
shaped, withered fingers it stroked her
hand or drew toward her her knife. Ifyou
had observed her at all you would have
seen that the whole of dinner she
PLAYED with her table-knife-
times balancing it idly between her fin
gers, sometimes feeling stealthily along
its blade-but | saw it was the child
who guided her hand, and when she
would have put it out of reach the child
drew it back again. You remember
once passing her a knife Of your own ?
You were unconsciously meSmerized
by her thoughts, but to me it seemed
that the child was stretching an arm
across your plate, and so close to you
that / could swear its sleeve had
touched you. Once, her fan or her nap
Kin slipping, she bent sideways to re-
store it, and the creature instantly
transferred its hand from her wrist to
Der throat, drawing its fingers across
the skin with a slow caressing move
ment. If any one spoke to her, and
thus disturbed the current of her ideas,
she became free-the child was no long
er there directly she sank back into
abstraction, it stood again by her side,
stroking her wrist and looking up into
her face. When the ladies left the
dining room it went, too, holding on to
a fold of her gown.
a queer hallucination, was it not?"
said Kerr, after pause, during which,
for once in his life, Linburn found alb
solutely nothing to say. " You will
understand my reluctance to speak Of
it. Tomorrow by daylight | shall in
evitably appear to myself either a mad
man or fool. And yet, after all, it
may be merely case OF pronounced
thought-readiDg, the fixed idea
which she dwells on so persistently;
that it has become for her a visible
presence, may, through sympathy or
magnetism, or whatever you like to call
it, have become visible to me also. At
least have told you faithfully what
imagined saw, and you can judge for
yourself of my state of sanity. | was
so engrossed in reconstructing her mis-
cradle story that admit | lost sight of
my duties as a guest
Linburn was listening with strained
attention mingled with Kerr's last
phrases, he had caught the sound Of
footsteps hurrying toward them. Round
the angle of the wall appeared man,
hatless and breathless. 1t was Mr..
Webster, and was it the moonlight
which made his rubicund face appear
so distorted and pale?
(" ] thought | should oyertake yOu,"
he said, addressing himself to Kerr in
odd, futtered tones, the very ghost of
his former hearty voice. "SOme one
remembered that you were a doctor.
They have sent elsewhere, too, but
thought | might overtake you first. An
awful thing has happened up at Cam
pion's. Mile. Lecpur-poor, unhappy
woman"
There was no need for him to make
the CHASTITY sign with his hand. Look |
ing into each others eyes the two men
knew what had occurred without speak
ing. The story of her life had gone
down with her to the grave.
Bear in mind that if MALONE gets |
control of the legislature he will place |