The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-05-28
SELECT STORY.
THE WALLED-UP DOOR,
A STRANGE STORY OF A JEALOUS HUs-
BAND AND A DESERTED HOUSE.
FROM THE FRENCH OF HoNoRE DE
BALIAC. .... .I


On the banks of the Loire, short
distance from Vendome, there stands
an old house, brown gabled and solitary.
There is no other house near it. There
is not even one of those taverns that
are usually to be found on the out.
skirts of small towns. Extending
down before it to the river is a garden
where the once orderly box-trees that
marked the alleys now interangle at
will The house itself is partially con-
cealcd from sight by number of will
lows. The sloping shore is covered by
a luxuriant growth of weeds. The
fruit trees, neglected for years, no long
er produce, while the fallen leaves and
broken twigs form dense coppice be-
meath them. The paths, which once
were sanded, have entirely disappeared.
1t looks as though it had once been the
habitation of gentleman who had a
fondness for cultivating fruits and
flowers. An arbor, or rather the rem
nants of an arbor, in which table
stands, is still to be seen.
The roof of the house is utterly de.
cay ed. The shutters are never opened,
the balconies are covered with swallows
nests, the doors are closed. Weeds
have lined the steps with green. The
iron work is brown with rust. Sun.
moon, Summer, Winter, rain and snow
have rotted the wood, warped the
boards and destroyed the paint The
mournful silence that reigns there is
disturbed, if at all, only by the coming
and going of birds and reptiles. Over
it all the word "Mystery" has been
written with an invisible hand.
On approaching it from the road a
curved-topped wooden gate is TO be
seen, in which the children of the town
have made number of holes. This
gate | afterwards learned, had been
locked for ten years. Through the
holes a view can be obtained of the
fcourtyard. There the disorder is the
same. The stones are framed in bou-
quets of weeds. The walls are furrow-
ed by .crevices and festooned with climb
ing plants the steps that lead to the
front door of the house are out of
place the belrope is worn away the
waterspouts are broken. Instinctiv ely
one wonders what can have happened
there. But the walls give no answer
and the reptiles crawl on without reply.
All l knew was that the house had
once been occupied by the Comte and
Comtesse de Merret. q
This empty and deserted house was
an enigma to me. found the first
key to its solution from the narrative
of the landady of tavern in the town
81 must tell you," said she, sin the
first place, that two months before |
came here the Comte de Merret went
to Paris, where he died, after giving
himself up to excesses of every kind.
The day he went away his wife took
all the furniture out of the house and
left the place. Some say she burned
the furniture, tapestries, and all the
other'objects, in the open field at Mer-
ret. For the preceding three months
the Count and Countess had been act
ing iE very queer manner. They re-
ceived no one. The Countess lived on
the ground floor, and the Count on the
one above. After the Count went a.
way the Countess was never seen, ex-
cept at church. Later on, at her chat
eau, she refused to see her relatives
and friends that came to visit her She
gave all her property to the hospital here
in Vendome. But the property she dis
posed of in this wise: The house and
grounds were to remain for fifty years,
dating from the day of death, in the
condition in which they might be at
the time of her decease. She forbade
any one to enter them, under any pre-
text whatsoever, and left sum of mon
ey for the pay of keepers should they
be necessary for the execution of her
wishes. AT the expiration OF this term,
provided the wishes Of the testatrix had
been observed, the house is to belong
to the heirs of her lawyer.
Gas for Nj. de Merret. why, be was
an elegant gentleman. He paid cash
for everything, You see, he was ex-
citable. The ladies all liked him. You
see, he must have had something about
him TO marry Nine. de Merret, who,
not that want to disparage any one
else, was by far the preltiest and rich
est girl in Vendome. She had some
thing like 10000 francs a year. The
whole town was at the wedding. The
bride looked lovely, a real jewel of a
woman. Nine. de Merret was a nice
little thing who had to put up with a
great deal from her husband and his
temper. She was proud, too; but we
all liked her. -
"When the Emperor sent the span
ish prisoners here, | lodged, at
the Governments expense, young
Spaniard who had como to Vendome
on parols. In spite of his parole he
went every day to show himself to the
prefect. He was grandee-think of
it! lie had name which ended in
ne and in H;I onp,at b;,,, Ill no~.os