New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01
THE STORY OF A WALK.

| thoroughly at home with each QUIET, mOsI OF
the individuals present. being cousins, and all OF
Them near relations 10 myself. Some had JUST
returned from riding, others from driving or
walking, and all seemed bent upon hall an ho our
unconstrained, unconventional comfort one
damsel had thrown herself at full length upon
the sofa, two others sat upon cushions placed
ror tnat purpose IN front OF the hre' Wnllc tns
Young men were sprawling about-as young meE
within different attitudes indicative OF each
ones ones peculiar stage Of fatigue or lazlne ets
freight alone illumined the room. Suddenly
one OF the young girls addressed me In coaXing
tone, thus
Dear Aunty Madge do tell us storyl"
about?'
A ghost story" exclaimed chorus of young
Oh, no. l never tell ghost stories, although
know good many. but"
- Well persisted the first speaker. tell US
somethlng-something truly dreadful and dread
fully true!"
Would you like me to tell you something
that d really happened to myself years ago"
Oh, yes better than anything else
| Very well. Poke the fire into blaze-so,
and now if you are all ready will begin; and
remember that what / am going to tell you is
Some years ago l took to the strange habit
OF rising eaIly-but very very early men1,and
| taxing solitary country walk. This would not
nave been such strange thing TO do had the
| hour been less unconventionally early, and had
eohilhed my pedestrian fcats TO the summer time;
| but this did not do. Winter and summer were
alike 10 me then, and az both seasons invariably
| rose at o'clock and ont of the house before
.; and | need hardly remind you that at that
hour, in the winter, il is quite dark, unless, of
course. there should be moon.
Some Of you, no doubt are saying 10 your
seNes, what foolish old woman to leave her
| comfortable warm bed at such an unheard.of
hour instead of waiting, like a sensible person,
TO go out in the daytime
" All foolish it may have been, and. it
turned out II certainly was; but the habit did
not originate in my case from caprice. 1t arose
from q wretched restlessness of mind and body,
the effects of "A great sorrow-the greatest in
my opinion, that can bcfal any woman. especially
q young one as | was thea Some of you here
know 10 what allude, so / need not enter into
the circumstances, beyond saving briefly that on
one wretched winters morning, as the clocks
were striking 3, blow fell upon me, SCATTERING
all my earthly hopes of future happiness.
For months aftcrward | could not sleep and
used TO lie restlessy, fevershly tossing about in
my bed morbdly recalling and living over again
each PARTICULAR Of the awful night which preceded
my trouble, dreadfng also 20 hear the ruthless
clock chime out the fatal hour; and after il had
done so, my agitation and distress would reach
such pitch that nothing could quiet me.
At last ! conceived the plan Of rising early
from my weary, sleeplcss couch, dressing hastily.
and being out and far away before the dreaded
moment should arise. God grant that none of you
may ever experience the torture | did then, only
TO find out too how mpossbp IL is 10 run
away with from oneself
My home at that time in Scotland. l
lived in dear cid house, which poised. like
a bird upon "A rock. and literally hung over the
sea- the silver spray dashng ceasnleSslv against
its windows. On one side Of the house there was
q good sized Old-fashioned garden laid out in
terraces down 10 the sea. and not n quarter of a
mile distant from the other side was thick fir
wood II was into this wood that I generally
strayed Of a morning, and sitting upon one Of the
feled trces-of which there were always a number
lying prone upon the grOund-I would watch the
daylight gradually appearing, and the sun rising
grandly out of the sea After the sun had fairly
risen | always hastcned hcmeward. so as TO avoid
meeting any early rsers who might he about the
place; and the rest Of the day would shut myself
mp with my books and music, prey TO narrowing
memories cannot defend my worse than useless
life AT this time My grief selfish, and there
fore all the harder 20 bear, for God has taught me
since that there is no such comfort in sorrow as
that Of seeking 70 comfort others.
There were no gentlcmens places near my home;
consequently. nerhbors, no visitors ever mo-
Tested me. But not many miles distant there
existed an old melancholy looking mansion called
MornngtOn, which had bceN uninhabited Tor
many years. but atterly, TO the great ANNOYANCE
Of the farmers and small gentry around, it had
been et 10 DR. Sterndale, who kept an establish
ment for incurabie lunatics.
Everything, however. seemed 10 go on quietly
enough there the unhappy patients never APP
shut in by large iron gates. These gates were
always locked, but now and then passers by caught
glimpses through them OF gaunt strangely attired
figures, and sometimes though rarely, Of pale,
anxious-looking faces peering through the iron
work
There was a dilapidated lodge at the en-
trance gates surrounded by what years
by overgrown shrubs. evcrgreens, which seemed
vainy struggling and struggling. out OF kindly
decacy. 10 hide their old friends broken windows
and unhingcd doors Certainly tins lodge had
an uncanny appearance, and the report had once
been spread Ia rdiculously false one of course
that il was az times used as dead-house Tor
no living person ever seen n enter the door,
no smoke 10 issue from the chimney, and when
Or. Sterndale drove ont in his numbering coach |
which he did and again. accompanied by some
Of his most favored patients he invariably opened |
the lodge gates himself and carefully relocEed |
them. thus requiring aid from lodGe-keeper;
The doctors vehicle. just mentioned, rather
struck awe I found in the simple v1llager mind |
for my gardener related that one day as II was |
coming toward him, he saw II suddenly shut itself
up with loud snap. For al the wor-r-rld, sald
the man timorously, like a large mouth gulplhg |
down the puir folk who were inside In vain ] |
assured him that this phenomenon was simply the |
result cf some clever inside mechanism ne ana |
the country people became superstitousy alarmed;
and this sentiment was ny no means leseeneu
when the gardener proceeded TO give further de-
tails. lie stated that az the moment th' car,
riage passed him, one Of the blinds Wmch ha9
been hastily drawn down, was violently pushed
aside by large white hand covered
with gttering rings; that theh
grimaces and gpsticulations hut that both head
and hands hastily disappeared wlth a, JerK AZ
though the individual who claimed them had
been forcibly dragged back Jhe Dl'hu WIS onen
struggle were going on behind it; than the car
riage passed by, vanishing in cIond OF dust
4 laughed at the story TO some ana en- en-
deavored TO explain il simply TO others; nut ind-
mo IL ,r,e i,nnossible to stem The torrent of OBJ
,rinacy or ignorance, BOTH l left the matter
alone
That the lunatcs were of dangerous class
had often heard it. said but such report would
no sure 7 thou Qht to get afoat. were II true or
he reverse: and as Mornington was long way
from my house 1T was, quite mile the other
,ide of the ir-wood. which Itself was nearly
milo hroadl | did not trouble myself about such
ales Nv maid. however, who had lived years
With me, constantly imPored me 70 be less less
NJ fcarNthe greatest calamity that could befal
ne had come so I was callous about anything
Use
Well one morning late in the autumn, having
,oen more restless than usual during the previous
-. L not In enrlier even than WIS my won't