Greene County herald., 1912-06-21
The Panelled Bedroom
Copyright. by w. G. Chapman.)~
BY A. T. MEAD


of an invitation to visit my friends,
iish country home.
The Perownes of Queens Marvel
belonged to one of the oldest families
In Staffordshire. Their country seat
was remarkable for all that renders
family residences attractive. Some
parts of the house were centuries old,
and acres OF broad lands surrounded
the ancient mansion, which at the
time of my arrival held large party
Of Christmas guests.
Edward Perowne, the present own
er, was an imposing looking man of
about sixty. He came into the hall to
welcome me, accompanied by his
pretty daughter-in-law, and a girl
whom he introduced as his grand
child. When I dressed for dinner /
noticed the great beauty of the room
which had been allotted to my use.
1t had three doors, which at this mo-
ment stood slightly ajar; one opened
on to the landing, one into a dressing
room and bathroom combined, and
one into a small and beautifully fur
nished sitting room. This room con-
tanned writing table, easy lounge,
many comfortable chairs, cabinets
full of curios, and a large book case
well stocked. / entered, but finding
that / had no time to examine the
books, returned to my bedroom, clos
ing as did so all three DOORS Then
gazed around in perplexity. l found
myself in a spacious bedroom, but
there was a certain air of emptiness
which struck. me as strange; there
was scarcely any furniture. The bed
occupied an alcove, a large fire blazed
In the opposite corner, there were
few chairs and one or two tables;
nothing else-no wardrobe, no chest
of drawers. examined the walls
more carefully and found they were
all made up Of panels decorated in
blue and white. I discovered in each
what looked like spring, touched it,
and Immediately the panel revolved
on pivot and revealed furniture of
different kinds within. Wardrobes and
ell other necessary articles of furi-
ture were on view behind each panel,
an By this odd means pushed out Of
sight except when required for use.
But the most remarkable thing was
that the three doors were also in
panels, and when shut absolutely dis
appeared. The effect was strange.
Standing in the middle of the room,
/ was, to all appearance, in an apart
ment without any door. Just then the
gong sounded for dinner, but familiar
as l seemed with the room, could
not find the right exit I looked in
vain for handle in any one of the
panels, but presently saw a button in
a panel at one end of the room. /
pressed it and a door opened. found
myself then in my sitting room,
which, like the bedroom, was lighted
from above with electricity, and going
down the stairs joined the rest of the
guests at dinner.
was seated next to the pretty girl
who was my hosts granddaughter.
Her name was Constance Perowne;
she was nearly seventeen. Immediate
ly she volunteered to tell me who the
different guests were.
"That is mother sitting opposite
us. You know my father is dead, so
mother lives here with grandfather.
That lady at the further end of the
table in black velvet, with diamond
star in her hair, is my cousin, Louisa
Enderby. Her mother is grandfathers
only daughter. Grandfather married
twice, and Louisa Enderby's mother
is his daughter by his first wife. My
father was dear grannie's only child.
Louisa has spent the greater part Of
her life abroad. She is a wonderful
ly clever woman, and the most amaz-
ing mesmerist you ever came across"
I glanced in the direction of the
lady. She was heavily built, with
thick, dark eyebrows, a swarthy COM
plexion and sternly set jaw. Alto
gether an uncommon sort of woman,
and with something peculiarly mag
netic In her sharp gaze. After din
ner we gathered In the drawing room,
and at Constance's request Miss En-
derby consented to give an exhibition
of her mesmeric powers. Constance
offered to be the subject and seated
herself in preparation for the ordeas.
Miss Enderby commenced to make
the usual passes which are supposed
to produce hypnotic sleep. 1t was
evident that Constance was an easy
subject, for soon her eyes closed, she
uttered a deep sigh, and Miss Ender-
by removing her gaze from the sub
ject, announced that she was asleep.
The rest of the visitors crowded
around and began to ask questions
through the mesmerizer. Constance
answered each remark, however silly.
Professionally, have always been
opposed to performances of this ma
ture, considering them distinctly dan
gerous, and was glad to accept an
invitation from my host to accompany
him to his study. We had not been