The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-08-14

But, whether IL was tnaU was Out VI ooAoo'
or whether it was that my mother was
alarmed, don't know, but | resolved to
make an example, and | turned the man
out of the house next day. The third IN
cident was more important, and shall be
told at length.
lam good sleeper; don't dream much;
don't believe in dream warnings and such
things. L have nofaith in ghosts-though
know for fact that my cousins the Mac
Mocks have a banshee in their family-as
fact, I say. But about that time | used
to try and dream of certain lady, and SO
one night l fell asleep and | did dream,
And this is what dreamed;
thought I was in Edinburg, standing
in Princes s-street, (and let me find any
street in England or anywhere else which
can compare with that, and waiting by the
Waverley Monument Opposite me was
hotel, which l suppose | was watching, for
out of it presently came, as clear and vivid
as in life, Nellie Fraser, with veil over
her head. She came slowly toward me:
and lifted her veil, revealing face so white
and miserable that / scarcely knew it; and
then as 1 stepped forward, she raised one
hand and, pointing up across the gorge
toward the High-street Hill, vanished into
moving mist Then the shadows began
to shift and shuttle themselves, and pres
emily out came another vision from my
dream. I was there still, standing, but all
the surroundings had changed. | seemed
to be in sort of shop or office. A coun-
ter was before me, and all around me were
thin phantom figures, with no features that
l could see. Only one among these misty
shapes had visible human face. And
that one advanced toward me with smile
shall never forget. 1t was the face of
Young man, slightly dropped, as if its owner
shy or deferential, with blue, bright eyes
and gentle, handsome features, and fair
hair, and lips that seemed to be made for
laug ghter, and smile that shone like
CLEAN of sunshine there.
And in a moment the face and forms
had vanished. The darkness seemed to
grow darker l heard soft steps walking
in the air I felt as if cold wind was
blowing in my face Suddenly 1 saw the
chill sea shining far off under the white
stars. A voice that was harsh broke out
in. hoarse laughter beside me, and them
woke.
Two days after set out for Edinburgh
with three objects. wanted to consult
an eminent advocate. wanted to get
new servant. And l wanted at least to
find out where the Frasers were.
saw the great advocate and he con-
firmed my fears. "Unless the missing deed
is found my dear sir, he said in his bland
est accents, ''your title is so defective as to
be legally worthless should rival claim
ant arise.
1 did not see the Frasers, but got their
address and wrote one letter to the father
and four to the daughter.
l engaged new man servant, in this
way:
Our need of a servant being pressing went,
for the first and last time in my life, to a
registry office. The shop lay in the south
of the town, up beyond the High-street,
and when I entered it there were several
subdued.looking beings, unfortunate apph-
cants suppose, standing around, Behind
the counter were man and woman, and
to the former, having prejudice in favor
of doing business with my own sex, begot-
ten perhaps of shyness, I applied. He
kept me waiting long time. Then he
looked over prodigious ledger, and read
me out numerous applications which were
perfectly useless. At last, however, he
came to one which 1 thought would do.
l told him so, and he thereupon invited me
to wait little longer, as the ''young man"
in question was likely to call shortly. At
first I refused, but oR consideration | de-
cided to go out and have my hair cut, and
then to return and see if the young man
were there.
When | came back some twenty minutes
LATER the small Office was full Of people.
As entered, something in the look of the
place and the attitude Of the figures struck
me as familiar. But | dismissed the idea
at once. The shopman came to meet me.
"The young man is here, Sir" he said,
and he turned with wave of his hand to
a figure behind him. The figure advanc-
ed. 1t was the figure of a good-looking
boy rather than of man, slight and fair,
and with the head little dropping. As
the boy raised his face to look at me, /
started back. Feature for feature, as clear
as it could be, it was the face | had seen
in my dream
don't know what followed; | don't
know whether my conduct appeared very
strange. l don't know what the boy said
to me, or what | said to him. have only
vague idea that generally assented to
everything. And l know that when I
went home to Tullybardane, Sydney Loch
went with me as my man.
Fullyhardape is desolate place. 1t lies
in narrow gorge which runs down straight
to the shore. The hills slope up on either
hand and end in tumbled rocks and caverns
where the sea foam breaks and the sea
waves sing The old Grange is rambling
house. From its windows you can look
over the beach, and only the falling gar
deps separate you from it. On the right
hand is the library, which faces down a
long avenue of frs to the sea, and beyond
the library stretches the deserted part of
tuc uOuSc, WHlCu Atc-duu-tLiEGy years
l have been meaning to repair. The Ii
brary was rather gloomy room, commune
eating only by long passage with the other
inhabited parts of the house. Indeed, the
whole house was rather lonely. For my
self, l never minded that, but I fancy it
struck my new servant as bit solitary and
weird.
Now 1 must tell you about the doings of
this young fellow. A day or two after my
return both my mother and I began to
notice something strange about him. 1t
was not that did not like him, for I took
strong fancy to him at once, and here,
fve-and-thirty years after, he lives to this
day, less, l think, of servant to us than
faithful and trusted friend. But GER
tainly his behavior was odd, and the first
thing we observed was this
One afternoon l was sitting with my
mother in the drawing ROOM My mother
had ordered tea. Personally, am afraid
of these unwholesome drinks, and never
have taken to that surreptitious fashion of
working in an extra meal in the afternoon.