Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-09

4
binary walking or stepping backwards
till the whole of her figure and the clear
| profile of her face and head were distinct
ly visible, and when at last she stopped
and stood there full in my view, just,
5ut only just, beyond the door, saw-lt
came upon me like 1ash-that she was
no stranger to me, this mysterious visi-
tant! 1 recognized, unchanged, it seem
| ed to me since the day, ten years ago,
when l had last seen her, the beautiful
features of Maud Bertram.
''I should not have said unchanged
| There was one great change in the sweet
face. You remember me telling you
that one of my girl friends greatest
charms was her bright, sunny hapEi-
ness-she never seemed gloomy or de-
pressed or dissatisfied, seldom even PEN
sive. But in this respect the face l sat
| there gazing at was utterly unlike Maud
| Bertram's. It's expression, as sheer
'it'-sOood there looking, not towards me,
| but out beyond, as if at some one or
something outside the doorway, was of
! the profoUndest sadness. Anything so
| sad nave never seen in a human face,
| and trust never may. But [ sat on, as
motionless almost as she, gazing at her
| fixe6ly, with no desire, no power perhaps,
| to move or approach more nearly TO the
! phantom. I was not in the least fright
ened. l knew it was a phantom, but
| felt paraly zed, and as if I myself had
| somehow got outside of ordinary CON
ditions. And there I sat, staring at
Maud, and there she stood, gazing before
| her with that terrible, uns peakable sad
| ness in her face, which, even though I
| felt no fear, seemed TO freeze me with a
kind of unutterable pity.
81 don't know how long sat thus, or
| how long I might have continued to sit
| there, almost as if in a trance. when sud
denly heard the front door bell ring. 1t
! seemed TO awaken me. started up and
glanced round, half expecting tkat
should find the vision dispelled. But no;
she was still there, and [ sank back into
my seat just as I heard my brother com
| ing quickly up stairs. He came toward
| the library, ard, seeing the door wide
| open, walked in; and l, still gazing saw
his figure pass through that OF a woman
IN the doorway as you may walk through
a wreath of mist or smoke, only-don't
misunderstood me-the figure of Maud
| till that moment had nothing unsubstantial
! about it. She had looked to me, as she
stood there, literally and exactly like a
| living woman; the shade of her dress, the
| color of her hair, She few ornaments she
wore, all were as defined and clear as
! yours, Nina, at the present moment, and
remained so, or perhaps became SO again
| as soon as my brother was well within
/ the room. He came forward, addressing
me by name, but [ answered him in a
whisper, aging him to be silent and to
sit down on the seat opposite to me for a
I ror ant Crt ruD Ia a ha
was taken aback by my strange manner,
for still kept my eyes fixed on the door.
| I had a queer consciousness that if [
looked away it would fade, and I wanted
/ to keep cool and see what would happen.
| l asked Herbert in a low voice if he saw
nothing, but though he mechanically fol-
lowed the direction of my eyes, he shook
| his head in bewiiderment. And for mo-
| ment or two he remained thus. Then
! began TO notice that the figure was grow
] ing less clear, as If it were receding, yet
without growing smaller to the sight; 1T
grew fainter and wagner, the colors grew
| haZy. l rubbed my eyes once or twice
with the half idea that my long watching
was making them misty, bat it was not So.
Ny eyes we're not at fault-sloWly but
surely Maud Bertram, or her ghost, melt
ed away, till all trace Of her had gone. l
saw again the familiar pattern of the car
! pet where she had stood and the objects
of the room that had been hidden by her
draperies-all again in the most common
| place way; but she was gone, quite gone.
"Then Herbert, seeing me relax my in
tense gaze began to question me. l told
| him exactly what l have told you. He
answered as every COMMON sensible per-
| son, of course, would, that it was strange,
but that such things did happen some
times, and were classed by the wise IN
der the head of Optical delusiOns.'
was not well, perhaps, he suggested. Been
overworkingf Had l not better see a
doctor? But I shook my head. I was
quite well, and I said so. And perhaps he
was right, it might be an optical delusion
only. [ had never had any experience of
| such things.
'Au the same, L said shall mark down
| the date
Herbert laughed and said that was
what people always did in such cases. If
he knew where Mrs. - then was he
would write to her inst for the fun OF the
! thing, and ask Der TO be so good as TO
/ iooL up in her diary, If she kept one, and
let US know what she had been doing on
/ shat particular day-'the 9Th of April,
isn't it?' he said-when l would have it
her wrath had paid me visit. let him
talk. 1t seemed to remove the strange,
painful mpression-paintul because Of
| that terrible sadness in the sweet face.
But we neither of us knew where she was,
We scarcely remembered her married
name! And so there was nothing TO be
done except-what l did at once, in spite
of Herbert's raiiying-to mark down the
day and hour with scrupulous exactness
in my diary.
"Time passed. 1 had not forgotten my
strange experience, but of course the i'm
preston of it lessened by degrees, till it
seemed more like a curious dream than
anything more real, when one day 1 did
hear of poor Maud again. p oor' Maud
| cannot help calling her. heard of her
indirectly, and probably but tor the sad
ness of her story I should never have
heard it at all. It was a friend of her
husbands family who had mentioned the
circumstances in the hearing of a friend
of mine, and one day something brought
around the conversation ID old times, and
he startled me by suddenly inquiring if
remembered Maud Bertram. I said, of
course [ did. Did ne know anything of
her? And then he told me.
s'She was 6ead-she had died some
months ago after long and trying i'll
ness, the result of a terrible accident
She had caught fire one evening wheu
dressed for some grand entertainment OF
other, and though her injuries did not
seem likely to be fatal at the time, she
had new IT recovered from the shock.
"'She was so pretty my friend said