The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-08-01

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 hostesss face in the
mirror, and thinking that it was certainly
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 yes
terday at the same hour; garden, pagoda-
like summer-house, silvery moonlight, yel-
low lamplight gleam-all were there.
could not help a start and murmured
expression of wonder. Mrs. Woodland
turned round quickly at the sound.
"What is the matter p she asked in sur
prise.
'fOh, just twinge of rheumatism in my
shoulder" answered carelessly. Il caught
it riding home through the storm yester-
day"
'sMr Heathcote, what do you see so
wonderful in the looking-glass tonight p
she asked few minutes after, noticing
with feminine quickness the direction in
which my eyes, in spite of myself, were SO
frequently turned.
II was thinking that if I was a little
handsomer man than l am, [ should try
to get wife made exactly on your pat
tern, [ replied lightly.
With these and a few more jesting words
I contrived to put Mrs. Woodland curios-
ity to sleep again, while, from time to
time, watched the visionary house. 1t
was just as [ had expected; when the town
clock chimed a quarter to 8, it vanished
exactly as it had done on the previous
night.
From that time forward, wherever |
might be, | saw every evening, from 8 to a
quarter to 8, for the next month to come,
the house in the mirror. Sometimes it
met my view in the tiny looking-glass on
cottage wall, where [ was tending a poor
patient, sometimes in the pier glass of
sick fine lady's apartment, sometimes in
the mirror of friends dining groom as | sat
at dinner. There was never the faintest
change in the vision; it was always marked
by exactly the same features. [ cannot
say but that this perpetual haunting of my
life by so mysterious an apparition did
make vaguely uncomfortable and painful
impression on my mind But by strength
of will, and by clinging resolutely and
ceaselessly to all my active daily duties, |
prevented its having morbid, unhealthy
effect upon me. [ revealed the circum-
stance to no one, but appeared to the outer
world as if there was no strange page in my
commonplace story.
When, however, a month or so had
passed by, there came great, sudden, real
sorrow, which most effectually thrust aside
all inclination to brood over gloomy, shad-
owy, fanciful troubles. One morning there
arrived telegram from Lecco, on the Lago
Como, in North Italy, saying that my sis
ter on her way home from India, had
fallen dangerously ill there, and calling me
at once to her side. I knew that Lottie's
health had been delicate ever since her
baby was born, and that she was about to
return to England for the sake of cooler
climate and the best medical advice |
knew, too, that she meant to return through
Italy, but was hardly aware that she had,
as yet, started from Bombay, and I had
not the faintest notion that her disease
might possibly take such dangerous turn.
No wonder, then, that the tidings were a
severe blow
Lottie was far more to me than sisters
generally are to their brothers She was
several years younger than l was, and she
had been first my plaything, then my pu-
pill; and I had experienced pang of real
jealousy on that day when, sitting on a
stool at my feet, with her sweet face hidden
on my knees, she confessed to me that
there was one who was more to her than l
was, one who was more to her than all the
world beside. This foolish feeling, of
course, quickly passed away, and rejoiced
to see her happy bride; yet Lottie was
still my pet, my pride and my darling.
will not dwell upon the hurried jour
ney, with Fear sitting at my side, nor the
long nights and days of dreary, anxious
Watching. 1t sufices to say here that my
sweet girl was, at length, given back to my
arms, after, through long weeks, my med
lCdl CdIC duu Shlll udu UdIllGu HIbn QCtJil
for her. During the whole of this period
the house in the mirror never again ap-
peared to me, and indeed, in my absorbing
anxiety and trouble, the remembrance of
it even hardly entered my mind.
One lovely evening in early spring, when
Lottie was much better, but not strong
enough yet to be moved, 1 had been taking
a long ramble into the lovely country which
surrounds Lake Como, and on my return
had lost my way. The sun had set, the
moon had risen, and was bathing the world
in silver sea. [ had reached path by
the lake, and was pausing to consider in
which direction Lecco lay. The scene
around was all one glory of stiffness and of
brightness A breeze just stirred the
waters softly with kiss, the outlines Of the
distant hills were soft and tender, as if
drawn by an artist-angel's pencil; here and
there among them there was white glim-
mer which told of hamlet or homestead;
hard by nightingale just struck single
golden note and then was silent again, as
if he feared to break the calm spell of the
moon.
All at once [ started, and low exclama-
ton burst from my lips. My eyes were
resting on the surface of the lake, and
there, mirrored in its clear waters, beheld
exactly the same house and garden which
had so often, before I left England, met
my view in such strange, mysterious way.
Disturbed, astonished, unable to believe
my own senses, [ glanced round behind me,
and there, on little rising ground above
the lake, saw house which corresponded
to the reflection below, and which was, in
every respect, the realization of my vision.
Just then the clock of some distant church
up among the hills struck 8.
The whole circumstance and coincidence
was so singular that 1 could not help being
impressed and startled byit. Antagonistic
though my whole energetic nature was to
all imaginary fears and beliefs, approached
the gate of the garden, and noted how, in
every smallest particular, even to the star
like flowers of the creeper on the wall, even
to the fresco of the old woman with the
basket of oranges at her feet, even to the
slightly opened window with the ray of
light gliding through it, it was the COM
plete likeness of the house which had so
often met nv view in the mirror The