The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-08-20

upper maids in particular, he
regretfully entered the house.
Mounting the stairs to his masters
room he first knocked, and then,
as no answer was made, he soft
ly tried the door, which yielded, and
he quietly stepped within the room.
No, his master had not risen. The
dressing room which lie had entered
revealed his masters garments as
Mr.. Gubbs had arranged them the
night before. Wondering at this UNI
usual lateness, and fearing that the
master was ill, the man cautiously
passed into. the sleeping chamber.
AS he swept aside the portiere,
sickening odor greeted him. He reel
ed for moment and then sprang
swiftly forward. Yes, master slept
late that morning. There on the bed
he slept. But the face was drawn
and white and the eyes would open
when? The valet grasped the hand
that hung by the bedside, then
dropped it horror stricken and has
tened from the room.
"Murder! Murder! Murder!!" From
the terror-stricken. lips of the man
the wild cry went ringing ssdown the
long corridor of the hall. When the
trembling women and blanching men
had gathered about him, he could
Only whisper family and point. to his
masters room. Then, after "a little,
they understood, and some of the
bravest even ventured to the cham
Der of death, and they went close to
one another and the ghastliness Of
their returning faces needed no words
to tell the tale.
y y +
1--WE must have a post-m ortem,"
the pompous coroner said. He was
a man of accredited shrewdness Gas
he himself admitted) and most en-
inently calculated to sit upon an in
quest, if for no other reason than
that he weighed close 2Ostone. eyes,
yes" he repeated, ''we must have a
pOst-mortem." .-
But chen came news, and news the
most amazing possible. No, itcould
not he. 1t was uncomfortable! The
dead body Of Reece Neville, squire
of the hall had vanished! No one
knew whittier! No one could
imagine how! 1t was gone the
perplexed domestics said, and there
was an end ont. Mrs. Neville was in
visible. In vain did the worthy cor.
oner storm and invoke the mighty
phrases of the law. Her lady's maid
was memorable. Her lady was i'll and
unable to see any one. Then the
shrewd man of inquest began a pri-
vate investigation with the wary
Abigail. At it's conclusion the cor
oEer knew nothing, which was his
usual state; while the maid knew that
her mistress was suspected Of the
murder Of her husband and of spirit
ing away the body to prevent the
discovery other crime. Aslong as the
body could not be found she would be
safe, and therefore she had secretly
stolen it away. So said the man of
law.
That night Mrs. Neville left her
home by stealth. She fed, terrified
by the agonized entreaties Of her
maid. to avoid the fate that she
feared awaited her as murderess.
She took nothing but her Jewels
and the small remainder other month
ly allowance. She went alone and
none knew whittier.
And while the good people, and tn e
evil as we'll, wondered at the
success Of the flight OF. this
beautiful murderess, with the re-
cord of whose crime all England
was ringing, she had lost her identity
in that safest Of all retreats-a CITY
hospital. Crazed by her suffering and
fears, she had wandered, raving, in
the streets OF London, until a pitt ul
Sister of Charity had soothed her
wildness to sad apathy and then
coaxed her to a h ospital. There she
remained through the long tedious
illness that followed and there she
remained in tanning as a nurse, after
a pale image of her former heauteo Gus
self began timidly creeping about the
aisles of her haven. Her wealth of
hair had been ruthlessly shorn by
the necessity of disease, and, bowed
by her woe, with hollow eyes and
paid face, she knew that none but
her husband could ever have known
her thus, and he, alas was dead!
For many years she lived there,
and the fame of her labors and piety
went about through the land. She
took no VOWS, she knew that she
needed none to hold her to this work
ofduty, in the active exercise ofwhich
| she could alone find relief.
AS time went On and five years had
passed since the death Of Reece Ne
vile, people had almost forgotten the
murder and the flight, and only to
strangers, who commented upon the
deserted appearance of the hall, was
the strange tale told. The lassies of
the village ceased to dream of the
tedious shape that had lain so cold
and still on that doomful morn, and
nervous matrons no longer feared
to unearth the vanished corpse of
the squire in their own garden plots.
Then, on a sudden, the parish was
| oil oroor Old non,o 1noo M . ,,,@> 49,, :,