The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-15

1t to a modern architect unhampered by any thought of time or money. All the rooms were spacious and lof- , ty; the carved woodwork was superb; and the outlook from the windows was far more cheerful than the view of the house from the gardens.
 After all,' said John Shil. as he inspected it. "a house is meant to live in, not to look at"
 And the. interior of Black Hall was truly magnificent. For several months engineers, architects, builders. furnish CTS and artists had been at work or it. John Shil had spared no expense and everyone had worked with the knowledge that they could spend as much as they liked so long as they gave value for the money. The fur niture was old and costly and beauti- full and the decorations were in per- feet harmony with the ancient char acter of the place. The modern bath rooms suggested the splendors of an cient Rome; the stablss. cool, spacious and blue-tiled would have seemed paradise to many a working man, Electric lights had been installed ev- anywhere. and there had been no ques- ton of economy in volts and units. At night time the whole building was veritable blaze of light. There was no lack of cheerfulness in Black Hall. only the outer walls were grim and dark, like the walls of some prison in a smoke grined town.
 Such was the home that John Shil had made for himself, and where he had Sresolved to live his life alone. As he drove up from the station and descended the sloping hills which bounded his property on the west, he saw the mansion glitfering like some jewel among the dark trees. Beyond it lay narrow fringe of woodland. black even in the light of the full moon oyerhead: and then came the gray expanse of the marshes stretch ing to the seas--a dull flat country that struck chill into his heart. The creeks that interseeted the land in .ev- cry direction and shone like silver in the moonlight lent a touch of beauty to the scene. but he shuddered as he looked at them. To his fancy they seemed cold and still and slimy, like serpents lying in wait for some hu- man prey.
 But in the morning. when the whole country lay green and quiet in the sunshine. and the salt breath of the sea came floating up through tlie winding channels with the tide, he re- Earded his new home in a more fa- vorable light. and set to work to fight out the battle that had been forced upon hinl--a battle with his own heart in which victory would only come from forgetfulness.
 Day after day he flung himself into his new life with untiring energy. He had purchased. Ave thousand acres of land with the house. and he intended to be his own, land agent He had his own ideas of what constituted a model estate and here was a field for his labors. The property had been shamefuliy neglected. and he re- solved to make 1t the envy of every farmer and land owner in Sussex. There were a thousand things to be done and a thousand things to be planned 'out under his supervision. He did not spare himself. From morn ing till night he rode around his prop erty. And when dinner time came, he was so tired that he was glad to get the meal over and go to bed
 Sunday was the only day of rest he allowed himself and each week he looked forward to it with increasing dread for rest meant time for thought and thought meant all the terrors of regret.
 He had always spent part of this day of idIeness in place which was particularly unsuitable for a man who was inclined to melancholy. But 1t attracted him for two very dissimilar reasons; one. because 1t seemed in har- mony with his thoughts. and the other because he had an idea of doing away with the place altogether and he could not decide how to carry out the work
 On the eastern edge of the park there was a wide belt of trees which stretched along the very boundary of the estate. At one point large clear ing had been made in this wood. and the space, which gradually sloped to- ward the center, had been laid out in a most peculiar manner. Against the trees themselves there was a wide fringe of lawn, studded with flower beds. Then there was a circular gray el path running parallel to the fringe of lawn, and then a low wall orna- mented at intervals with small and grot4que statues