The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-26

laughed In their faces, for / knew 1t
was not resting in peace at all, but
careering away somewhere in the body
of that black rat"
Sir William, who had been looking
very grave during this TRADE, here
broke into q smile, and observed:
well, old fellow, I dare say you are
not SO far out: II would be the fittest
punishment for such a scoundrel as
you describe. But, did you never see
the rat again.
Yes, many times, but the last time
Of all was here, In this very house"
cried Jasper. excitediy.
Indeed said Sir William. eWhy,
then, you must have brought it with
you"
No such thing" retorted Jasper,
scornfully; "a rat like that does not
he continued, II am confident 1t Is also
identical with a little dark man who
has taken the lawyers house, and goes
to business every day carrying a
black. shiny bag. I watch him every
day as he passes, and l always say
good morning, sir rat under my
breath. You mark my words, though,
and look out for that rat. got UP and
chased 1t all around the room and out
into the passage and am confident 1t
disappeared in the drains. You have
not seen the last of 1t yet"
Before Jasper had been very long in
the house, 1t became evident that his
mental arrangement was of a more
serious character than had been i'm
agined. At times he was quiet and
lucid enough, and then would suddenly
break out into some incoherent ro-
domontade. His inconvenient pen
chant for me still continued, and he
would haunt the schoolroom with gifts
Of flowers and fruit, or sweets and
music, or anything for which he heard
me express a liking.
One morning, soon after breakfast, I
was on the lawn with May, shipping
dead roses off the bushes and gather
ing fresh supply for the table.
Here comes Uncle Jasper; lets
hide" said May
I turned and beheld Mr.. Jasper adj
vancing in his peculiar ambling fash
ion. Flight was impossible, so I held
Mays hand and waited until he came
up with US. He held an enormous full
blown crimson picoteS in his hand and
came eagerly up to me.
''Ah, my princess, 1 have found you;
I have been looking everywhere for
you to give you this" pressing the
gaudy blossom into my hand. Don't
you remember the old rhyme, Miss
Monroe:
The rose Is red-the violets blue,
Carnations sweet, and so are you.
You, you," he cried, you are my rose,
and my carnation and my morning
star all rolled into one. L" Where this
outburst of poetic eloquence would
have ended 1 know not, for this mo-
ment Simpson, the butler, came up to
Mr.. Jasper.
''Mr Jasper" he said, twill you
please come and speak to Sir William
in the study? He wants to see you on
business very particular"
Nov, why do you come and talk to
me about business when you see me
conversing with Miss Monroe?" de-
manded Jasper testify. go away!
cannot attend to you or to business
now
On my representing to Mr.. Jasper,
however, that 1 must attend to mine,
and take May to do her lessons, he con-
sented to accompany Simpson to the
study, saying as he walked away:
We'll. I will go now, but / shall
come again; / have something very
/ particular to say to you
About week after this Sir William
and Lady Northumberland by the
doctor that though Mr.. Jasper was not
dangerously violent at present he
might at any time become so-went
up to town to see Mrs. Jasper and ar
ranged with her about having her hus-
band placed under proper control, even
if only for short time.
Simpson has had experience in men
tai cases and will take charge of Jas
per, so you need not feel nervous" said
Lady Mordaunt to me as she went
away.
| I resolved that would spend the day
in the schoolroom and give my eccent-
! ric lover a wide berth In the after
noon, however, May complained of a
! headache, and I sent her to her nurse
/ to lie down. Then, tempted by the beau
| ty Of the day, took my book and went
out, intending to spend the afternoon
| on the cliffs. walked through the
Crowley woods, now lovely in their
| autumnal tints, out on to the rabbit
! warren, and over that to the cliffs.
made my way to one much higher and
! sleeper than the rest known as the
Great Tor, and climbed to it's summit,
moss-covered bit of tableland jutting
| out over the beach and commanding
! a grand view of the surrounding coun-
try. 1t was dangerous spot and one
| to which never ventured when / had
my restless little pupil with me. I es-
| tablished myself as close to the edge
| as I dared venture and sat for some
minutes lazily enjoying the quiet beau
| ty of the scene. Before me lay Three
! Cliffs bay, with the silver simmer of
the water shining through the arch of
the first tall cliff, while on the other
hand was Oxwich point, s1oping down
! in a grand, richly wooded curve to the
waters edge, with the quaint little
square-towered church nesting at it's
foot and looking as though 1t rose
directly out of the sea. The waves
sparkled and rippled in the bright sun
| shine, as they gently kissed the long
stretch of golden sand lying between
Oxwich and Penard For a few min
utes 1 gave myself up to the luxury of
! enjoying the beauty of this fair scene
and to the dreamy influences of the
surroundings, nor thought of danger
1 and peril so close at hand; then 1 open
ed my book, and was soon absorbed in
| its contents.
For little while I read on undis-
| turbed. Then sudden shadow across
my book made me look up, and there,
| with wild glare in his eyes and a
look Of savage frenzy on his face, stood
Mr.. Jasper.
1 started to my feet with a cry Of
horror; there was no mistaking the
deadly light Of insanity in his eyes.
was on the edge of a dangerous cliff
with a mailman!
MY gem, my princess and star" he
cried, II have found you at last; they
have been trying to keep US apart all
day, but now we have found each other
and will never part any more"
His gem, princess and star"-though
I imagined / must have resembled
frightened thunder cloud more than any
of the above similes-turned on him
Indignantly, and did the most foolish
thing, under the circumstances, that
could do; 1 forgot that was dealing
with lunatic, and spoke to him as If
he were sane.