The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-09-03

les health and mental development, which
I was proud to answer with glowing praise,
me and not q word or look for little Amalie,
who, aided by her brother, threw most
affectionate kisses from her mittened fin
gers after the retreating figure.
l felt a sudden unconquerable dislike to
this woman; she was tall, stately and
beautiful in a statuesque, heartless way,
but l knew there was no more tenderness
in her than there was blood in her yelyety,
cream-like complexion.
"Who is that lady?" I asked of the foot
man, when she was out of hearing.
SHINE. Elizabeth Of B~eroldstein, the
wife of the late Dukes younger brother.
/. She, would be Duchess now if It were not
for this little man"1--gently touching Rod
cries curly hair. "They say her mind is
sometimes astray, and I believe the gos-
sips are right"
In feature, carriage n gesture she was
much more the high-5orn dame than was
the amiable mother of the two children in
my charge, and it seemed afterwards to
me as if Nine Elizabeth protested silently
against the fate that had not elevated her
to the place which she would nave adorned
SO we'll.
"Has Mime. Elizabeth anv cbildrensn 7
asked.
Eyes, two boys; but they can not be
Duke Of Beroldstein unless misfortune
overtakes my young master, which Heaven
forbid! Nine. Elizabeth can not become
reconciled to the fact that her husband is
only the second son."
The dislike I had conceived for the new
conner only increased on nearer ~acquaint-
ance; she had come for a visit Of some
weeks, perhaps months to the castle, n /
noticed that without exception the older
servants of the place either spoke i'll of her
or never mentioned her name.
"She is one of the beautiful demons that
one hears about in the stories of my coun-
L trv.D rQmarkad Fran Rrannar with n ch Ha
OF her head. "But one should not judge
her too hastily; she lived all her youth in
a lonely part of Russia, with no mother to
guide her and under the influence of q ia
Their who was zone to sanity"
Shortly after this my attention was taken
up by an event much more interesting to
me than the intrigues of the Won Berold-
stein family. Charlie, my lover-bless his
faithful heart!-had by dint of persistent
search obtained q position in q bank at
roldstein, and nae installed himself in that
town. The delightful knowledge of a true
friend and protector being near at hand
gave the world q wonderful brightness for
me and even little Amalie began a baby at.
tempt at repeating the simple home tunes
which from sheer iightness Of heart I sang
in her ears all day.
To see each oth7r again was happiness
enough for Charlie and me, and we found
no time during our brief meetings to mourn
that the prospect of our beginning life to-
gether was still in the dim future. / had q
most Trustworthy messenger for my limo
cent communications to Charlie in the per
son of an Alsation nursemaid, Lisette by
name, who declared herself ready and
anxious to serve me by every means in her
power. Her attachments dated from an &C.
casion when I had shielded her from a Sc
we're reprimand. She had carelessly al
lowed little Roderic to play with a dog
known to be fierce, and the little fellow
had been bitten just below the knee-only
a slight wound, but enough perhaps 70
With a little forethought I arranged to
dress and undress Roderic for q few days
SO that the wound would not be noticed,
and neither Lisette nor I ever called at
baby's round whits leg. Lisette repaid
me by accounting most ingeniously for my
brief absences with Charlie.
Little Roderic had bsen slightly i'll with
some childish malady, and for a few nights
gent request of Mime. Elizabeth, 1 went to
take undisturbed rest in my own room. /
wondered at her solicitude, for she was
usually selfshly Indifferent with respect
to the comfort of others. Rather unwil-
lingly I resigned my care of Roderic to q
rosy-faced country maiden who promised
to keep a vigilant eye on the young Duke.
In the early gray of the following morn
ing l was awakened from a sound sleep
by an uproar in the house, at the thought
Of which 1 still shudder. Cries n Ia
mentations sounded from the children's
apartments, and, rushing to the spot, I saw
the Duchess on her knees before Roderic's
bed, with a group of frightened servant
gathered near her, the one who had beer
left in charge of the baby moaning and
calling on the name of all the saints, her
face ghostlike with terror. =
SIN Heavens name what is the matter?''
I cried.
"Look!" was all the Duchess could utter.
pointing to a little form moving uneasily
on the pillows.
Instead of the beautiful sleeping cherut
that l had kissed only q few hours before
a terrible face, purple and distorted with
wild eyes, n limbs rigid with suffering,
lay before me.
iron the arm of the nursemaid Lottchen.
"The Holy Mother forgive me-" the girl
began, "for the five short minutes that
dozed! His young lordship was sleeping
like one of the blessed angels or I should
eyes I glanced towards the door, when
the saints defend mel saw the long
trailing garments and ghostly form of thu
White Lady disappearing in the darkness
My voice was gone with fright or I should
have screamed. As the life came back tx
L1t i IOOkc1 dU u Ucu anu o6W ~ oWlu
change that had come over the youns
master. o, Fraulein, am I to blame be
cause the White Lady stole away hi,
health and beauty in her death kiss?
The girl fell upon her knees in a paroxysn
of grief. and I could understand no NOR,
of her incoherent EXPLANATIONS.
The whole scene wal SO weird and shock
ing that it seemed as if my senses wert
leaving me. Every possible remedy had
been tried for the child, who was evidently
dying. The whole household had beef
aroused; but Mme. Elizabeth had not We
appeared on the sorrowful scene. 1 in
quired where she was; but no one seemed
to know. Before the physicians for whom
servants had been dispatched in all direc.
tions could arrive the baby had breathet
his last. One could not help a feeling o
relief that his sufferings were over, and n,
one seemed able to realize fully the grea
loss that the ducal house had sustained.
The doctors confessed themselves com
pletely baf1ed and unable to account TO
the sudden and fatal turn Of the child
apparently slight illness; The story of tn
White Lady and her deathly kiss wa
firmly believed in by the servants, an
among the more responsible members o
the household it seemed to gain credence
The whole occurrence seemed to m
monstrous and impossible, and l half be
lieved it all a horrible dream, but ther
was the dead child before me-a sa,
reality. Late in the afternoon Ihad stole
in unknown to every one and stood befor
the bed where he lay. As 1 looked at th
quiet, rigid form, the conviction seized M
with a strange force that this child wa
not the heir of Observation-Disclosures
might so easily exist where misfortune wa
traced to supernatural influences.
The little face, marked and drawn as
from a burn, gave no idea of how the chill
| had looked in health-the limbs seemed th
, same, and the light curling hair was lk
q | Rndaric1a.- hnt still my avaa wara drv- an
I could not mourn over this mysteriou
l changeling. Something,w within me rebelle
against the mockery Of the ducal coron,
and rich lace adorning the deathbed of
poor little stranger.
I told no one my suspicions-I had, ala
no ~proof-and to lull my excitement 1 wei
out into the gathering darkness, payin
5 little heed to the distance I walked. 4
. last, feeling weary-I was miles ava
, from the castle-I was about to retur
:. when 1 saw a light glimmering from a CO
tage window within a few steps fro
: where I stood. l was surprised to find