People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-02-28
THE POR4EN4.
\ Story of the Inner Vision of the
Highlanders, Commonly Called
the Second Sight.
BY GEORGE MACDONALD.
CHAPTER ".
LADY ALICE.

hllIOu, uef OILY uduSHleT, SlIl Ol
about 13, and the two boys, my pupils.
Lady Hilton would have been pleasant,
could she have been as natural as she
wished to appear. She received me with
some degree of kindness; but the half
cOrdiality of her manner toward me
was evidently founded on the impass-
ableneSS of the gulf between us. I
knew at once that We should never be
friends; that she would never come
down from the lofty table-land upon
which she walked; and that if, after
being years in the house. l should hap
pen to be dying, she would send the
hOusekeeper to see NE. All right, no
doubt; l only say that it was so. She
introduced me to my pupils--fne open
eyed, manly English boys, with sOm-
thing a little Overbearing in their man
ner, which speedily disappeared in
their relation to me. Lord Hilton was
not at home. Lady Hilton led the way
to the dining room; the elder boy gave
his arm to his sister, and | was about
to follow with the younger. when from
one OF the deep bay windows glided
out still in white, the same figure which
had passed me upon the lawn. l start
ed, and drew back. With a slight bow,
she preceded me, and followed the 9TH
erS down the great staircase. Seated
at table, | had leisure to make my Oh
SerGadOnS upon them all, but most Of
my glances found their way to the lady
who, twice that day had affected me
like an apparitiOn.
She was about twenty years of age.
rather above the middle height. and
rather slight in form; her complexion
white rather than pale, her face i1e-
ing only less white than the deep mar5-
ly whiteneSS of her arms. Her eyes
were large, and full of liquid night-a
night thrObbing with the light of in
visible stars. Her hair seemed raven
black, and in quantity profuSe. The
expression Of her face however. gen
orally partOOk more of vaguenesS than
any other characteristic. Lady Hi
ton called her Lady Alice; and she new
er addressed Lady Hilton but in the
same ceremOniOus style.
l afterward learned. from the old
hOuSe-keeper, that Lady Alice's posi-
ton in the family was a very peculiar
one. DiStantly connected with Lord
HiltOn's family on the mothers side.
she was the daughter of the late Lord
GlendarrOch, and Step-daughter to
Lady Hilton, who had become Lady
Hilton within a year after Lord Glen
darrOch's death Lady Alice. then
quite a child, had accompanied her
stepmother, to whom she was mOder-
ately attached and who had been al
lowed to retain undiSputed possession
of her. She had no near relatives. else
the fortune l afterward found to De
at her disposal would have aroused
contending claims to the right of guard
ianShip.
Although she was in many respects
kindly treated by her Stepmother, GER
tain peculiaritieS tended to her isOIa-
ton from the family pursuits AMI
pleasures. Lady Alice had no accom-
plishmentS. She could neither smell
her own language, nor even read il
aloud. Yet she delighted in reading 10
herself, though for the most part booLs
which Mrs. Wilson characterized rs
very odd. Her voice when she spoke
had a quite indeScribable music in if.
yet she neither sang nor played. Her
habitual motion was more like .
rhythmical gliding than an ordinary
walk, yet she could not dance. Mrs
Wilson limited at other and more
serious peculiaritieS. which she either
could not or would not describe: al
ways shaking her head gravely and
sadly, and becoming quite silent. when
l pressed for further explanation: so
that, at last, | gave up all attempts to
arrive at an understanding of the mys-
terry by her means.
There was something to me exceed.
lngly touching in the SOlitarineSS of this
girl; for no one spoke to her as if she
were like other people, or if any heartl.
ness were possible between them. Per.
hapS no one could have felt quite N
home with her but a mother, whose
heart had been one with hers from =
season long anterior to the DEVELOPMENT
of any repulSive oddly. But her posi.
ton was one of peculiar isolation. for
no one really approached her indiyid.
ual being; and that she should be nm
aware of this loneliness seemed to mo
SaddeSt of all.
After making arrangements for COM
mencing work in the morning. I tool;
my leave, and retired to my own room.
intent upon carrying out with more
minuteneSS the survey l had already
commenced; several cupboardS in the
wall, and one or two doors. apparently
Of closets, had especially attracted nv
attention. Strange was its look rs I
entered-aS of a room followed ont of
the past, for a memorial of dead times
The fire had sunk low. and Law smol-
dering beneath the white ashes. like
the life of the world beneath the snow
or the heart of a man beneath cold and
gray thoughts. l lighted the candle
which stood upon the table. but tho
room, instead of being frightened
looked blacker than before. for tbe
light revealed its essential blackness.
With the candle in my hand. | nro-
ceeded TO open the various cupboardS
and closets. At first l found nothing
remarkable about any of them. The
latter were quite empty, except the last
l came TO, which was a piece of very
old elaborate tapestry hanging at the
back of it. Lifting this up l saw what
seemed at first to be panels, CORE
spending to those which formed the
room; but, on looking more closely. l
discovered that this back of the closet
was, or had been, a door. There was
nothing unusual in this, especially in
such an old house, but the discovery
reused in me a strong desire to know
what lay behind the old door. | found