Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1892-02-23
TOLD BY THE CAMERA,


Icame to Cresserton six months
ago, as governess to Lucilla Elqlhart.
AT eighteen any change means hope,
emancipated school girl when ar
rived with my slender luggage. and
my Photographic apparatus, eager for
new effects for my camera. 1t Is a
beautiful house is Cresston, and the
park stretches away to the sea coast
on one side, while fair green eS-
panse, richly timbered in the dis
tance, lies inland as far as the eye can
see.
What delightful home" was my
thought as I hasteued to dress for
dinner on the day of my arrival
But the atmosphere of the place de-
pressed me. The servants moved
about in noiseless solemnity. Mrs.
Elquhart looked very limp and tear
full in her heavy widows weeds, my
pupil had an odd wistful little face,
and the cousin who lived with them,
and who seemed to take the command,
was an object Of adherence 10 me
from the first His name was Her
bert Cowan, he had a self-complacent
air OF mastery, and he treated the
widow and Lucilla with scant courtesy.
Gradually won my silent pupils
confidence. L hate HERBERT" she
said to me one day, but must
marry him."
laughed, this seemed so odd from
the lips of eleven years old.
It's all 50 dreadful" said Lucilla,
"don't laugh"
Tell me, darling"
She hid her face against me and
cried quietly. By degrees I gathered
the story. Lucilla's mother was the
second wife OF the deceased John Ell
quhart. who had died three months
before came. He was old and gouty,
and his death would have led to no
such despairing grief as saw around
me. But a week after the funeral,
his son, Archie, my dear Archiel"
| as Lucilla called him, had gone to
battle with Herbet Cowan, and had
been drowned.
"He was twenty-four," sobbed
Lucilla. mo, his body WASH t found,
the tide was too strong, and then
came the storm, and jackson was
drowned"
"Who was JacksonP"
cone OF the fishermen. Not a nice
man, but Herbert liked him. If
Archie had lived Herbert wouldn't be
master here. Archie would have been
kind to me and mother, he was always
fond of mother, though he wasn't her
own son"
I further learned that only Mrs. Ell
quhart's promise of Lucilla's hand to
the new owner of Cresserton had
saved her from being sent away to
seek home elsewhere with her child
And we should have been so poor"
ended Lucilla, "but Smith says 1
shall be rich at last, and that's why
Herbert wants me to marry him. And
ohi Miss Atkins, Smith says that
Jackson haunts the coast and
Hush, dear, we will go out for
walk"
We went towards the sea- Far out,
on suddenly rising rock, saw an
old tower. resolved to take pho
tograph OF it, but Lucilla hurried me
on.
"oh, don't look at 1T dear Miss At.
kins, that's whore jackson was
drowned, he often went in his boat,
I think he kept nets there"
"There is boat now," said, and
as we watched, we saw Herbert Cowan
nearing the shore, having evidently
just left the tower.
It used to be lighthouse, said
Lucilla; BUTTS all ruined now; and
it's very dangerous to go there
Smith, the lady's maid, who was the
most talkative person at Cresserton,
assured me that evening that the
tower was haunted, and that the
son was seen there on moonlight
ni0hfc r0ufOry in hnoh 4 Il
round the spot.
One day when Lucilla was engaged
with her mother, took my camera
and made several photographs OF the
tower, as it stood clear in the April
sunlight, across the rippling waters.
Nothing could be more lonely than
the outlook, sea-guIl Tapping laziIy
along the water was the only sign of
life. hastened home to develop my
plates in little dark closet which
opened from my room.
1 was intercepted in the hall by Mr..
Cowan, he usually treated me with
the disdain of wealthy landowner
for a poor dependant. But. now he
asked me where had been.
II have been taking some photo
graphs, said. You're much too
pretty to go out alone, fell on my as
tonished ears, come and have
glass of wine" As he spoke he
put his hand on my shoulder, and
then I saw that he had been
drinking. Without answering I
twisted myself from his grasp and ran
upstairs, hearing a sneering laugh
behind me- Rather alarmed, I
locked my door, and tried to forget
the unpleasant encounter by setting
to work in the dark closet. I went on
more and more steadily for an hour
or 80, but it seemed that to- day was to
bring startling disclosures. Every
photograph of the tower came ont
clear and well, but on each and all
was something that had not been re-
yealed to my gaze over that smiling
sea. Aman in boat, pointing up to
the tower Yes, there he was again.
black bearded desperate looking fell
lowi One, and one only had been
able to get of the coast line, for the
light had begun to fail. 1 trembled
as proceeded to develop this, for
whatmight mot find? All, yesi There