Year: 1868

cannot describe that awful night, shud- |
der even now, as recall it, IL was hope |
less misery. We had but the frames and
hearts OF young boys to bear up under an
amount Of terror which would have been
| almost too much for a young man to en-
dure. We all undressed in silence, and
crept into bed.


"Oh, isn't 1t dreadful" cried Borlase,
sitting up in his bed to listen, thinking he
heard some sound, but all was quiet


Don't cry so, Borlase," l said, ready to
you know" After awhile we fell off into
a wearied, disturbed sleep.


When l awoke the next morning from
my troubled slumber found that Thorn
ton, already dressed, was just leaving the
room. Borlase was still fast asleep, with
| his arm lying outside the coverlet, but the
nervous twitching of his fingers seemed
to show that he was disquieted with pain
tul dreams. l was sitting up, trying to
collect my thoughts, when Thornton burst
into the room, shouting out, Hurrah
Mary is found, and she's all right"


"Stop that, Thornton" said /, "and
| don't be such fool"


| Borlase had sprung up, and looking wild
ly about him, he said ooh, Thornton, you
needn't, but what did you sayP l
didn't hear" he added, in an excited, inn
ploring tone.


"WRy, old fellow, said that Mary is
all right I've just seen her in the kitchen,
as fresh as a lark. She said to me, as
as soon as she saw me, We'll, Master
Thornton, you won't carry on such game
as this again in hurry, m be bound"
Borlase turned round aud hid his face
in his pillow; and when went to him at-
ter few minutes, and told him he had
better get up, his pillow was wet with
| tears I Ia ~ aNI


In order to account for Mary's reap
pearance safe and sound it is necessary
to remind the reader that when we
brought home the skull Jack had lent us,
Thornton concealed the bag in which it
was contained under his bed Mary found
it there, as a matter of course, the next
morning We might have known this, if
we had given the matter thought, for 1t
was very unlikely it would escape her
quick eye. She wondered, when first she
discovered it, what in the world we wanted
| with it. She scented mischief in a mo-
ment but what particular kind of mis-
chief we had on hand she could not
imagine. She had no doubt, however,
that she should be able to find it out, if she
kept her eyes open. And so it happened
that while Thornton and Borlase were up
stairs dressing their phantom, Mary was
perfectly aware of their doings, and &C.
tually enjoyed a private view of their
handiwork, when we had all come down
into the hall after everything had been
made ready. Her own counterplot was
planned. With semblance of the most
perfect unconsciousness she answered our
bell and when, at Thornton's request, she
went up stairs to fetch the book he had
named, from under his pillow, she uttered
the loud scream which had alarmed us so
terribly and then running to the window,
she threw it up Her object in doing this
was to render her temporary disappear
ance, more unaccountable, as she had al
ready arranged in her own mind way of
escaping our notice. One of the panes
of glass was broken as she threw up the
window, but this was an accident. AT
the same time her cap fell of, and q swirl
of wind carried it beyond her reach. She
concealed herself Immediately behind the
door; and when we had rushed into the
room, and passed at once into the adioin-
ing chamber, she quietly came out of her
retreat, and slipped down the stairs, leav-
ing the house by the door which opened
into the playground. On she walked by
the garden walk into the lane, intending
to run down to her mothers house, which
was not far distant, and remain there for
half an hour, until she thought we had
been well frightened by her mysterious
disappearance.


AS she was hurrying down the lane, she
passed the door of a young married friend !;
it was partly open, and hearing her baby
cry, she peeped in. Her friend was sitting
up for her husband, whom she was expect
ing every minute, as his boat had come up
the river with the last tide Mary took
the baby,t and carried it about the room
until il was quiet, but the mother, in the
meanwhile, had fallen asleep.


Seating herself before the fire, with the
baby on her lap, she became so drowsy as
to be unconscious of the lateness of the
hour. She was astonished and very much
alarmed when the young sailor came in
and told her it was past / o'clock. He
went with her along the lane, but they
must have arrived at the school-hOuse
some time after the Doctor and Smithson
had returned from their fruitless search
by the river side Looking up at the win


dows, and observing that all was quiet, she
concluded that her absence had not at
tracted much notice. She returned, there
fore, to her friends house, intending to be


back in time for her mornings work, and
hoping that her explanation of what had
occurred would satisfy Mrs. Bloxam


1t was some two years after these
events, that went down to Fairmead to
visit the doctor and my old school. / in
quired for Mary.


"Poor Mary" said the doctor, "died
about a year after you left. Fever broke


out among my boys; and it was due, un-
der the good providence of God, mainly to
, poor Mary's unremitting attention and de-
voted nursing, that it did not prove more
fatal than it did. We only lost one-oi


whom we were beginning to form high
3 xpectations-young Borlase; you knew


him. When the crisis seemed to have
3 passed. he took turn for the worse, and
7 gradually sunk. Poor Mary herself was
the last to be attacked, and nothing could
3 save her. A memorial in the cEurchyar6
! was erected by the friends of the boys
| and SO large sum was collected, in proc
4 of their gratitude that her poor mother il
? beyond the reach of want as long as she
t lives. You remember the fright she gavt
1 you, which you richly deserved. Yor
= did not know, perhaps, that the whole
G neighborhood would have been aroused
}, the next morning to search for the mis-


sing girl, and that the drags were beinE
q made ready for dragging the river.
e "No, doctor, l did not know that; but
9 as long as | live, / shall remember thu
T. wretchedness of that miserable night; anC
= have made a resolution, with respect Il
" practical Joking, that would never havt
d hand in anything of the kind again.
6 Once Week.


II PEOPLE who are apprehensive that som
> of these days this globe may be SMASHED
u to atoms by wandering comet, and VIII


have not been reassured by the assertion