The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-01-09


And then, suddenly, the temptation
fell on Inc again like bolt from the in
fernal pit. / trembled, withdrew from
the window and covered my face with
my hands. ] tried to pray-the words
would not come. l tried to sink into the
attitude of prayer-my knees would not
bend
Then, springing to my feet. [ resolved
to master the demon that was shaking
my soul. l rushed to the door. locked it.
and threw the key out Of the window. It
| fell with a sharp clang, and / knew that
| 1t had struck against an iron garden-seat
which stood in the avenue at some little
distance.
| Then a new expedient occurred to me
suppose l dropped out of the window,
alighted on the top of a Toulouse that
STOOD beneath and make my way to the
seashore? l remembered that / had
| clambered into the house by that way on
| one occasion, when 1 had come home I'M
| eXpectedly, and had found my house
keeper gone and the house shut up. If
had come IN by that way~it would be easy
to go out by it.
Shutting the window with bang I
went to nay medicine cupboard, poured
out dose of laudanum, drank il Off and
threw myself on the bed
There lay unable to sleep. Perhaps I
had taken too little of the drug. At any
| rate L felt as one benumbed, and yet my
fancy was morbldly alive. | began to
wonder whether l was alone. l turned,
| and in a half-dazed state looked across
toward the window. And there-merci-
full heaven-I saw, sitting on the window
seat distinct in the moonlight. the very
| image and figure of myself.
| 1t was my second self-or rather the
! specter, the optical illusion which l had
often amused myself creating. 1t sat with
its head between its hands just as 1 my
self had sat an hour before. And as
watched it | trembled.
| There was nothing surprising in the
! fact that my optic nerves and the delicate
organs of the eyes, excited and not
! soothed to sleep by the opium, should be
capable OF presenting me with an image
OF myself. The thing had often hap
pened to me before; but never had
shrunk from the phantom as / shrank
now. What if it should lift its head and
look at me? What if it should renew the
| temptation l dreaded? Was that l myself
sitting with hidden face? Did I merely
| imagine that l was lying in bed?
! When | awoke the wintry sun was
| sending cold radiance through my ROOM
/ sprang up, dressed myself, and then,
leaping from the window, picked up the
| key of my door with smile at the weak
ness [ had exhibited the night before.
felt stronger, better than l had done for
some time.
The morning passed as usual In the
afternoon my housekeeper brought me
my tea, and as she placed the teapot on
the table l noticed that her face was big
with news.
''Such terrible thing, sir, has hap
| pened on the West Cliff young lady
was missing from her home last night,
and in the morning they found her lying
at the foot of the rocks quite dead. She
| must have gone out alone and fallen over
] 111tt Il l.,
! say the police think some one pushed her
over the edge"
! Hal ha! haE' My laugh sounded dread
| full to the old woman / dare say, but was
only yielding to the uncomfortable i'm
| pulse we all have 10 smile at moments
when levity would be indecent, and think
J ing, at the same moment, how odd was
the coincidence in point of time between
the struggle / had undergone on the
| preceding evening and the accident itself
! / could see, however, that my house
! keeper was shocked, and l fastened to
say: Don't look SO grave, Mrs. Morri-
son. 1t is very dreadful for the poor
! young lady, no doubt, and for her
friends, but could not help laughing at
the folly Of the police in imagining that
same one had pushed the girl over. Who
could have wished TO injure her? Why, it
would have been murder!"
True enough, SIR" answered Mrs
| Morrison; land to my mind any one as
! did it must be devil in the shape of a
man." With these words, and rather
pertinent look at me, the old woman left
/ the room.
/ felt that I must go and see the spot
where she had fallen, not to see the-I
could not bear that. That must have been
removed long ago. l went down at once
| to the seashore, but a crowd of people had
gathered round the place, and after a hur-
rled glance down the cliff l retired, deter
| mining to return when night had driven
! those idle busy-bodies indoors.
Having returned home went up stairs,
and, happening to go into my bedroom, I
noticed that the suit of tweeds which I
| had worn the day before were marked
all over with greenish mold 1t was an
other curious coincidence. Had l been,
| by some absurd freak of fortune, accused
/ Of having caused poor Ida's death, would
not some say that l had soiled my clothes
| by leaving my room by the window at
night? They might call it, in their legal
| jargon, "circumstantial evidence Ha.
| ha! / got brush and made short work
of the circumstantial evidence.
| Night came, the moon arose. and i
| went down to the cliffs. / was alone
How softly the water Tapped upon the
| stones far below! And it was here-yes,
1t was here. There were the marks of q
| struggle on that spot of ground fenced Oft
| by the police. How brightly the moons
rays lit up the dark water out therei
| When had [ seen it shining just in that
way? Not so long ago. l was waiting
for some one. 1t was dream; but L could
not recall il.
| | went home and slept as usual.
In the morning, when / went down
stairs, policeman met me in the hall.
| lie followed me into the Sitting-room.
sat down. and he stood opposite me,
| speaking of the accident which they said
had happened to Ida. He seemed to think
l was mixed up in it.
What's that you have in your hand,
Sir?' he asked, suddenly; and darting
forward he took from me something
which L had drawn from my pocket, and
| had been abSently twining round nv
| fingers. [ looked at it without much in
terest, but he seemed to think it Of great
Importance. 1t was only fragment of
stuff, such as women's dresses are made
| OF. remember Ida used to wear dresses
OF that sort of material; but of course it
could not possibly have belonged to her
or | should not have let him have it.
That very day he took me to see the
magistrates, and they actually sent ne to
| prison.
My trial has not come off yet-or rather
! 1t did come off and was postponed. l
have come here to wait until the assizes
come round again. 1t seems a long, long
| time. | believe they have forgotten me,
or else they have bribed the Superintend-
ent to detain me. Sometimes l think
they mean to keep me here always-al-
! ways-always.
But know now who pushed my darl-
ing over the cliff down among the cruel
stones-it was that fiend in my own
shape that l saw sitting by the window
in the moonlight.-A the Year Round.
HER PERFECT LOVER.
6T had q Iovar onco - che cigbad-