The Penn's Grove record., 1896-09-11
srYf. Now that man Aad not the soul Of

aud when be died his soul went into
rats body. 1t was late one evenini
when ] saw a big black rat run throug'
NV room, which was on the other sid
" the wall to this. 1t was an enormou
rot, quite black. with long white whis
kers, and very bright eyes, and it RAJ
~squenkiDg and shrieking through m.
rom. and then disappeared. ! coal
not see where it went to.
THE next morning | heard the mai
had shot himself. Then l knew 1t wa.
the mans soul which had gone into tn
body OF this black rat. OF course, the,
mad an inquest, and brought In the yer
diet. Temporary insanity and thel
mad a big funeral and all his relations
came. They invited me, and l went
out of ~politeness, you know, but wher
they came to that bit Of the servic,
about the soul Of our dear brothe
resting in peace why, / could have
laughed in their faces, for l knew Il
was not resting in peace at all, but ca
reering away somewhere in the body OIL
that black rat"
Sir William, who had been looking
sery grave during this TRADE, here
broke into a smile and observed: well
old fellow, l dare say you are not far
out; 1t would be the 1ttest punishment
for such a scoundrel n you describe
But did you never see the rat again.
Yes, many times; but the last time
- oil y-nu horr tn Nbfz uaHu lnrrcN "
cried Jasper, excitedly.
'Indeedr' said Sir William. "'why,
then, you must have brought 1t with
you"
mo such thing" retorted Jasper.
scornfully. "a rat like hat does not
want to be brought anywhere. But
he continued, II am confident it is also
identical with a little dark man who
has taken the lawyers house and goes
10 business every day carrying a black.
81 my bag. l 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. l got up and chased
it all around the room and out into the
passage, and l am confident 1t disap-
reared in the drains. You have not
seen the last of it yet"
Before Jasper had been very long n
;he house 1t became evident that his
mental arrangement was of a more Sc
r'ous character than had been imagin-
"a. AT times he was quiet and lucid
enough, and then would suddenly
break out into some incoherent rodO-
montade. His in%convenient penchant
Tor me still continued and he would
haunt the schoolroom with gifts of
flowers and fruits, or sweets and mu-
sic, or anything for which he heard me
express a liking.
One morning, soon after breakfast, I
was one the lawn with May, shipping
dead roses off the bushes and gathering
u fresh supply for the tebles.
Here comes Uncle Jasper; let's
hide" said May.
l turned and beheld Mr.. Jasper adj
y~ancing in his peculiar ambling fash
ion. Flight vas impossible. SO l held
Mays hand and waited until he came
up with us. He held an enormous full
blown crimson picotes in his hand and
anne eagerly up to me.
"Ah, my princess. I have found YOU; /
have been looking everywhere for you
20 give you this" pressing the gaudy
blossoms into my hand. Don't you
remember the old rhyme, Miss Monroe:
The rose is red-the yiOlets blue,
Carnations sweet, and so. are you.
You, you" he cried, you are my
rose and my carnation and my mora
ing star all rolled into one, /" Where
this outburst of poetic eloquence would
ment Simpson, the butler, came up 10
Jasper.
mfr. Jasper" he said, Twill you please
tome and speak to Sir William in the
study? lie wants to see you ON bust
ness very particular"
Now, why do you come and talk 10
me about business when you see ME
t%onycrsing with Miss Monroe?" de
handed Jasjer, testify. go away! |
attend to you or to business
uuw."
On my representing TO Mr.. Jasper,
however, that l must attend to mine,
and take May to do her lessons, he con
scented to accompany Simpson to the
study, saying as he walked away:
We'll. / will 60 now, but l shall come
l have something very p%articu.
ar to say to you"
About a week after this Sir William
and Lady Northumberland by the
doctor that though Mr.. Jasper was not
dangerously violent at present, ne
might at any time become Solvent up
20 town to see Mrs. Jasper and arrane-
ed with her about having her husband
placed under proper control, even If
only for a short time.
simpson has had experience In NEIL
tai cases and will take charge of Jas
per, so you need not feel nervous" said
Lady Mordaunt to me as she went
away.
l resolved that l would spend the day
N the Schoolroom and give my eccentric
lever a wide berth. In the afternoon,
however, May complained of a head
ache, and l sent her to her nurse to lie
down. Then, tempted by the beauty of
the day, I took my book and went out,
intending to spend the afternoon on the
oils. l walked through the Crowley
woods, nowvlovely in their autumnal
t.nts, out on to the rabbit warren, and
over hat to the cliffs. l made my way
to one much higher and sleeper than
tie rest, known as the Great Tor, and
climbed to its summit, a m~oss-covered
bit of tablcland jutting out over the
beach and commanding a grand view of,
the surrounding country. 1t was a dan
rcrous spot, and n to which l never
ventured when l had my restless little
Pupil with me.
l established myself as close to the
edge as l dared venture and sat for
some minutes lazily enjoying the quiet
trauiv of the scene. Before me lay
- - H