The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-09-08

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of nerve. In fact, terror had reached that
climax, that either my senses must have
deserted me, or | must have burst through
thespell. Ibid burstthrough it. found
voice, though the voice was shrek.
remember that l broke forth with words
like these; 81 do not fear, my soul does
not fear" and at the same time 1 found
strength to rise. Still in that profound
gloom | rushed to one of the windows, tore
aside the curtain, flung open the shutters
my first thought was light. And when l
saw the moon, high, clear, and calm, felt Q
joy that almost compensated for the pre-
vious terror. There was the moon, there
was also the light from the gas-lamps III
the deserted, slumberous street 1 turned
to look back into the room; the moon pen.
etrated its shadow very palely and partially
but still there was light. The dark thing
whatever it might be, was gone; except
that l could yet see dim shadow, which
seemed the shadow Of that head, against
the opposite wall.
My eye now rested on the table, and
from under the table (which was without
cloth or cover, an old mahogany round
table, rose hand, visible as far as the
wrist. 1t was hand, seemingly, as much
of flesh and blood as my own, but the
hand of an aged person, lean, wrinkled
small too, a woman's hand. That hand
very softly closed on two letters that lay
on the table; hand and letters both vanish
ed. Then came the same three loud,
measured knocks l had heard at the bed
head before this extraordinary drama had
commenced.
As these sounds slowly ceased, felt the
whole room vibrate sensibly, and at the far
end rose, as from the floor, sparks or glob-
ules like bubbles of light, many colored, :
green, yellow, fre-red, azure,-up and
down, to and fro, hither, thither, as tiny
will-o'-the wisps the sparks moved, slow or
swift, each at its own caprice. A chair
Gas in the drawing-room below was now
advanced from the wall without apparent
agency, and placed at the opposite side of
the table, Suddenly, as forth from the
chair, grew shape, woman's shape. 1t
was distinct as a shape of life, CHASTITY as a
shape of death. The face was that of
youth, with a strange, mournful beauty;
the throat and shoulders were bare, the
rest of the form in loose robe of cloudy
white. 1t began sleeking its long yellow
hair, which fell over its shoulders its eyes
were not turned toward me, but to the
door; it seemed listening, watching, wait
ing. The shadow of the shade in the back
ground grew darker, and again L thought
l beheld the eyes cleaning out from The
summit of the shadow, eyes fixed upon
that shape
As If from tho door, though it did not
open, grew out another shape equally dis
tinct, equally ghastly,-a mans shape, a
young mans 1t was in the dress of the
last century, or rather in likeness of such
dress; for both the male shape and the fe-
male, though defined, were evidently unsub
stantial, impalpable,- sim9l phantasmsi
and there was something incongruous, gro
tesque, yet fearful, in the contrast between
the elaborate dnery, the courtly precision
of that old.fashioned gaFh, with its ruffies
and lace and buckles, and the corpse-like
aspect and ghost-like stiffness of the fit
ting wearer. just as the male shape ap-
preached the female, the dark shadow
darted from the wall, all three for moment
wrapped in darkness. When the pale
light returned, the two phantoms were as
if in the grasp of the shadow that lowered
between them, and there was blood-stain
ON the breast of the female; and the phan-
tom male was leaning on its phantom sword,
and blood seemed trickling fast from the
rufies, from the lace; and the darkness of
the intermediate shadow swallowed them
up, they we're gone. And again the bub-
bles of light shot, and sailed, and undulated,
growing thicker and more wildly confused
in their movements.
The closet door to the right of the fire.
place now opened, and from the aperture
came the form of woman, aged. In her
hand she held letters, very letters over
which had seen the hand close; and be-
hind her heard footstep. She turned
around as if to listen, and then she opened
the letters and seemed to read and over
her shoulder / saw livid face, the face Of
a man long drowned, -bloated, bleached,
sea-weed tangled in its dripping hair; and
at her feet lay form of a corpse, and be-
side the corpse covered child, a miserable
squalid child, with famine In its cheeks and
fear in its eyes. And as l looked in the
old woman's face, the wrinkles and lines
vanished, and it became face of youth
hard-eyed, stony, but still youth; and the
ahadow darted forth and darkened over
these phautoms, as it had darkened over
the last
Nothing now was left but the shadow,
and on that my eyes were intently fixed,
till again eyes grew out of the shadow
malignant, serpent eyes. And the bubbels
of light again rose and fell, and in their
disordered, irregular, turbulent maze miu-
gled with the wan moonlight. And now
from these globules themselves,as from the
shell of an egg, monstrous things burst out;
the air grew filed with them, larv@ SO
bloodless and SO hideous that I can in no
way describe them, except to remind the
reader of the swarming life which the solar