The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-05-24

81 generally do" 1 said, sapiently.
A few days after our memorable
conversation Charley babe me good.
by, and full Of courage and hope, ano
with many promises and assurances fol
the future, set out on the long journey
to his distant field of labor and enter.
prise. Silence fell between us, for my
parents objected to any correspon.
dence between us. ] danced and hirt
ed; the mise en- scene of my life called
for such diversion, in fact; but on tn,
31st of the following October | de
clined the most seductive Halloween
parties, in order that, alone, at mid.
night, in front of the old mirror,
might keep my tryst.
Had he forgotten me, amid strang-
ers and in the ardor of money-gettingi
Had some other woman already led
astray the heart too young to have
anchored all its hopes upon one wo.
man, albeit myself?
What did | expect? 1t was a piece OF
folly; and yet, on the night of the
31st of October, the mystic night when
strange things used to be thought pos
sible, and weird influences were sup
posed to rise in their might to weave
their puzzing manifestations about
wondering, 1esh-incumbered mortals-
on that night | slipped from my bed
room few minutes before ~ o'clock,
and with a fast-beating heart | felt
my way down the stairs, through the
hall to the long parlor which opened
upon it,
| reached the door, felt for the knob,
gently turned it, and opened the door
noiselessly. As l did so | could have
sworn that someone glided behind it.
| was in darkness. but Involuntary
/ turned my head toward the door Had
not someone closed 1t? / could have
swooned with terror. Nonsense At
all events, it was as bad to retreat as
to go forward now.
Again | turned my head to listen.
My knees touched at last the marble
shelf which held the mirror; ] stopped
and struck a match upon it's under
surface, lit the candle with which |
was provided, raised it we'll above my
head, and looked Into the mirrors
depths.
No sound of joyous awe escaped
from my lps-hardly, while that look
of fascinated horror filed my eyes. My
knees gave way like props suddenly
withdrawn. | should have fallen, but
that a strong mans arms were about
me; my head fell, perforce, upon his
breast, being unable to sustain itself.
'ln heavens name control yourself"
he whispered, and neither face nor
voice was Charey's.
This adventure ought to have cured
me of all desire to keep unhallowed
Halloween trysts; but on three success
sive anniversaries l looked in the old
mirror at midnight. l might ask as
did on the first occasion. what did
expect? and repeat what | said then;
that it was piece of childishness. But
to renounce it seemed like renouncing
Charley, | did it half playfully, half
loyalty, wistfully too, as a sort of me-
mortal service to his image, which still
lived in my dreams and threw Its ra-
dance over my reveries AS the years
went by the sentiment assumed tinge
OF superstition. and the little midnight
service became obligatory.
What had become of him? | knew
not; darkness and silence had swal-
lowed him; but the sea sometimes
yields up its dead and was it not Just
possible that beside the antique mirror,
where he had promised to meet me,
laughingly swearing that he never
broke his word-was not it just posi-
BILE some message. some revelation
might come to me?
October had come again, the firth
since Charley had left me He had had
almost five years to cultivate an aura
and collect his auriferous deposits.
See here, Charley" | said. as the
last night of the years sweetest month
was waning, 81 am going to give up
mysticism for matrimony. I'll have
to marry to get rid of this awful habit
of expecting the 3lst OF October. III
have to accept Tom Alln in self-de-
Tense. There's insanity in this mad
ness
| got up from the lounge on which
had thrown myself face downward,
and, despite my bravado, there were
tears of desperate longing in my eyes.
The clock was striking the last quar-
ter before twelve. | looked disheveled,
and | felt forlorn, and yet, contradic-
torly, there swept over me something
like an emotion of hatred for him when
! thought that in all likelihood he was
gay and happy and heart-whole, while
was on the eve of my yearly de-
votional ceremouy-my dark and
trembling pilgrimage downstairs. The
futility, the imbecility of it made me
heartsick.
| pressed my fingers to my eyes
fiercely as if to wipe his features from
my retina. In vain; | shuddered with
delight, for he seemed to be right there
beside me, and every trail and charm
that had won my soul appealed to it
resstlessy again. Indeed it was as IL
the eloquent page one has learned to
love had revealed fresh features, sub
tier meanings, in type and text.
al at he al