Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-07-17

WHEN FEAR REIGNED

~ UST before the civil war broke
I'll out, I, with my cousin, was in
New York. We had many friends
the city. but being both of an indie
ldent turn of character, we preferred
wing by ourselves. SO we looked about
for boarding house. The one we hit
upon was situated in the best part of
Fourteenth street, and was n fine
brown stone building, with a most pre-
Stentious portico, and a flight of some
Stwelve steps up to the entrance door.
Now, to understand what follows, 1t is
Necessary the reader should know the
petition of the room we engaged.
As yau entered the hall, the reception
parlor, asSit was called, lay on your
right hand, and was very fine room;
at the end Of itiYere two doors which
slid back and led into the room which
we were to occupy. These said doors
were ground glass halfway down, with
flowers on 1t, but SO thick us to exclude
any view Of what wns passing in the
other room, unless you pressed your
face against the glass. and then it
would be but an imperfect vision. Our
apartment was large, and had three
windows. two only halfway down, but
the third, a French one, opening on to
the wooden balcony that ran along the
back of the house, with Alright of steps
down to u piece of groundA Our room
had also another entrance, Loor lead
ing into little lobby, very coEyenient
for putting our trunks. dresses. etc., in;
this had again another door into the
hall
The dining room was situated in the
basement, on a level with the Kitchens.
as were also the servants bedrooms,
three in number. The house was sew
eral stories high, and either by chance.
or because the purses Of the other
borders We're, like our own, not too
heavy, two or three floors above us
We're at present unoccupied, and the
other boarders slept on the top of the
house. Thus we We're cut off from
the rest of the community by a lot
Of empty rooms; this did not trouble
us, and all went on well for some
weeks. but In the middle of November,
when the season was Mt Its dreariest,
our landlady, who had not the best of
tempers, fell out with her servants,
md they one and all left her at days
Z notice. Now, as everybody knows, do
Amestics In New Fork a &c &c rather diff
Cult to obtain, SO the reader can I'M
Agine the dismny of the mistress Of the
house. For Two days we managed In
some way or other; but the boarders
grumbled, and the merchant said he
must leave unless he got his meals
properly; SO. driven to her wits end,
Mrs. Andrews engaged three servants
who applied for her place.
They had only just landed. they said,
to account for their having no charac
tiers. and, with the fear of losing her
boarders, 1t would not do to be too par
ticular, and the women who, by the
way. were all friends, entered on their
duties. My cousin and myself pos
sessed several articles of fine jewclry;
these things saw the new housemaid,
the day after her arrival, when tidying
up our room, examining very infinitely.
did not think much of 1t at the time,
putting 1t down to curiosity This
girls name was Margaret, and must
say a more unprepossessing- looking
person l have seldom seen; not that
she was ugly, hut there was cum
, ming light in her gray eyes, which she
never raised to give you fair. honest
look, ana an evil expression In her face
that, would have gone against her In
any court of justice; but 1t was nothing
to me, and, beyond remarking to my
cousin Bertha that the girl was not
pleasant-looking, dismissed her from
my mind.
The third day after the advent of the
new domestics we went to spend the
day with some friends who lived at
Brooklyn; there the conversation turn
ed on the number of burglaries, nearly
always attended with murder, that had
lately taken place in New York, said
to be committed by a gang of ruf1ians
who wore light linen masks, and who
had managed to elude justice. This
description made a great impression
on me; the idea of waking and seeing
a white mask bending over one haunt
ed me all the way home. We were
too late for anything to ent when we
arrived at our clearinghouse, for din
ner was the last meal, and that was
served at seven, now 1t was nearly ten;
SO, feeling rather hungry, we got Mar.
garet to go out and get us some rolls,
made frugal meal, and then prepared
for bed.
What induced me cannot tell, but
for the tirst time since we had occu-