The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-08-01
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THE HOUSE IN THE MIRROR.
BALTIMORE, July 18th. 1885.

From WhitehaU ReUieio.
1t was late one winter evening. The
snow was falling in thick, fast-coming
flakes, making white curtain that was
perpetually being let down between heaven
and earth. The storm was carrying on
wild sport round the house, shaking the
windows, beating against the thick walls,
and murmuring in deep, hollow tones in
the cnimneys. 1t was night for warm,
cosy, substantial indoor comfort, and such
[ resolved to make it.
At the period of which am writing [
was still young man, and was practising
successfully as doctor in a town in the
West of England tolerably large, busy
county town which lies very near the bor-
ders of both Devonshire and Somersetshire.
| was unmarried, and was living with an
old housekeeper and one servant girl, who
helped her by turns, now above stairs, now
| below. with complacent submission, be-
cause the semi-blindness and deafness Of
the good lady made interviews with her
true swain, the butchers boy, in the
scullery not only practicable but easy. On
the evening in question [ had come in
what we medical men call "healthily tired
after hard days work in my professional
duties, and | was now sitting costly by the
blazing fire in my dining-room, with a
glass of good claret on the little round ta-
bic at my side.
My thoughts went wandering to and fro
lazily, now resting upon some OF the most
interesting cases among my patients, now
futtering around pretty picture of my
only sister and her first baby, which her
letter, received this morning from India,
had called up; now straying into the stable
to visit my bay horse-a new purchase,
which I fattered myself did no small honor
to my Judgment in horse-fesh. Gradually,
however, all these subjects Of pleasant re-
fection slipped into mass and got con-
fusedly mixed together. l found myself
gazing, without feeling the least surprised,
at an odd vision, which showed me my
sister mounted on my pet bay with the
baby in her arms, whe, instead of a baby's
face, had the face of my neighbor and pa
tient, old Mr.. Spicer, the grocer, and soon
after that l was sunk into peaceful slum-
Der, where no dream even came to disturb
me.
How long [ slept do not exactly know,
but recollect | woke with start, reused
by the clock on the chimney-piece, which
had peculiarly ringing, clear sound, strik-
ing eight. 1 sat upright with jerk and
looked around with that vaguely uncom-
Portable feeling which often follows sudden
waking. My glance happened to wander
up to the mirror which was over the chin
ney-piece Why was it that, as l gazed at
it, l uttered low exclamation, and then
shut my eyes, thinking that sleep must
still be retaining its power over me, and
that must be dreaming strange, fantas-
tic dream?
But no, 1 certainly was not dreaming
for there it was just as it had been before.
Fix my eyes as steadily as l might upon
the mirror, with all my wakeful faculties
concentrated upon it in eager earnestness
it was still there, [ looked away, and fast
ened my look, for a minute or more, upon
my mothers picture which hung over the
sideboard. Then my eyes were allowed to
return to the glass; but this maneuvre was
useless also-it would not CO. do what
would.
What [ saw was certainly no alarming
vision though its appearance, there in the
mirror, over my dining-room chimney
piece, was remarkable and startling enough
to say the least of it. In the middle of the
glass, which in its other parts reflected
simply and naturally the commonplace OBJ
iects in the room, chairs and tables and
window-curtains, there appeared small
but vividly distinct picture of a house and
garden 1t was very pretty house, its
front covered on one side with greer
creeper, which was spangled with starry
white blossoms, and on the other with s
fresco such as [ had heard described a:
existing on the walls of houses in Ital y
where [ had never been-a fresco repre-
senting an old woman sitting with basket
of oranges at her feet. There were foul
windows, two upstairs, two down, exactly
over each other; they were all half shaded
with green blinds, and [ could see that the
top one, on the right-hand side, was slight
ly open. Up the garden there ran broac
gravel walk, with soft fresh turf, gemmeC
with fower-beds on either side oft. The
inclosure was fenced round with rather
high wooden paling, and in one corner o.
it there stood a summer house, with {
quaintly-shaped roof, that had something
of pagoda about it. Over the whole
there was spread soft, silvery light, as
though bright, full moon was shining
down upon it. A yellow CLEAN, as of ;
lamp burning within, stole through the
open window, and mingled with the white
rays without.
laid my fingers on my pulse. Was
going fast into raging fever? My pulses
were as steady as they were when [ rose
that morning after nights sound sleep
tested my brain by going through, in my
mind, all the symptoms and features in ;
difficult and perplexing case which haC
been lately under my care; my mind actec
as coolIy and calmly and regularly as it hat
ever done. | repeated to myself seyera
passages of poetry from different authors
in different languages; they came as quick
ly and easily to my tongue as if l had beer
reading them from printed book. 1 gazeC
around, and fixed my eyes on various OBJ
iects in the room to see whether [ should
be subjected to other optical illusions; bu
in all other points my eyes were as reason
able as they usually were; they showed mt
nothing but the familiar chairs and table