Year: 1874

/


far from being strong minded woman


[ cannot say as much. Perhaps I an
too easily alarmed. / am, for instance
afraid of COW. It may be very silly


but can't help it. All the pleasure O
country walk through fine Landscape
has often been spoilt for me because O.
cattle in the field. If pass through
them without being tossed or gored
the recollection that have got to come
back again remains with me the rest o.
| the day. As for a bull, would rather
never see the country than run the
chance of meeting with such a creature
A dog is thought to be very harmless
animal-a domestic animal-and the
"friend of man." He is not, however
the friend of woman-or at least nerv.
GUS woman like me. Ishouid be afraid
to write down how often I have been
prevented from calling at a friends
house by the presence of little poodle
or terrier upon their doorstep. 1 should
as soon have thought of disturbing an
adder. The Romans Ga people quite
remarkable for their courage) used,
am told, to paint Gaze canen1, "Be-
ware of the dog" at their front doors
but such a warning would have been
unnecessary in my case. [ am always
fully "beware of it. Every farm
yard in the country has a dog, and that
is why don't like farm yards.


My widowed sister-in law (the fat
one) and myself once lived in such a
place a whole summer, during which
time lost morefiesh than if I had been
all the time in a Turkish bath. From
sunset to sunrise was in a perpetual
fright, from fear of robbers; and when
the days grew shorter, and the nights
longer, the place became insupportable,
and fled from it. The usual nightly
programme was as follows Ny sister
in-law, who occupied the same apart
ment as myself, would fall asleep as
soon as her head touched the pillow, and
leave me, as it were, alone, a prey to
my terrors. She always reminded me
of the irritating bed-fellow described
in ghost stories, who will not wake
while the apparition is peeping through
the bed curtains at yOu, and who, when
all the dreadful things are over, cannot
be persuaded tnat they actually occurred.
Next to ghosts themselves dislike peo-
pie of this cast, and would as soon
almost have no companion at all. If
the wind was up I at once began to pic
tdre to myself band of ruffians effect
ing forcible entry into all the rooms
below stairs, and giving shouts of
triumph at the ease with which they
accomplished their purpose. We could
not afford to keep a man servant, and
even if we had dOre so I should have
always imagined him the accomplice of
the burglars, or coming up stairs upon
his own account with a carving. knife
concealed in a scuttle of Goals, as I had
once read of in a book. Our house
pretended no means of resistance, and
I always placed the plate-basket and its
contents upon the landing of the stairs,
in hopes that the gang might take what
they came for and go away without ask
ing for my money or my life. On a
particular occasion, being unable to
sleep, fancied I heard the approach
of robbers up the stairs. Being no
longer able to contain myself, with an
effort reused Charlotte, who, however,
pooh-poohed the whole affair, and
dropped to sleep again, leaving me to
my fears.


However, one very wet and dark night
she got pretty fright herself. It was
p little past midnight. The drip, drip,
drip of the rain was ceaseless, but for
all that, as lay awake, I could hear
mems steps, as the wretches walked
the house looking for the most conven-
lent point of entry. Then I heard the
back door go ut burst open with a
sort of mufied violence, like the sud
den outpour of waste -pipe-and then
chat "pit-a pat I knew so we'll, of feet


ming up the stairs. Then pause of
trightful significance.


"CharIotte :" cried I, in an agony,
They are really here. They are re-
ally are, this time. Wake, wake !"


"Rubbish, cried she. clam wide
awake, and hear nothing"


"They are just outside the door,"
whispered I "they are listening at the
key-hole. Hark!"


81 certainly hear caves dropping"
was her heartless answer (she was wo-
man who enjoyed joke, and her fat
sides wobbled with mirth at this One)
/" but it's only the rain from the roof "


I tell you" said solemnly, 'there
are robbers in the"


Here something fell in the drawing
room beneath us with hideous crash.
In an instant, and before could recover
from the sort of collapse into which
this shock had thrown me, Charlotte
had Topped out of bed, seized the lamp
and was about to hurry from the room.
No" said she, pausing in the door
way " it is better that they should not
see me, but that should see them"


1t was certainly much better, consid-
eripg Charlotte's very slight attire, that
TIE robbers should not see her but
why she should want to see the robbers
w8s quite unintelligible to me.


"Stop " cried / but the fatal deed
was done, and / was left in the dark
ness.


Dreadful as it was to accompany her
upon such such an expedition, it seemed
a thousand times worse to remain in the
room clone and, trembling in every
limb, hurried after her.


To reach the drawing-room, it was
necessary to pass through the dining
room. It was pitch dark, but I could
hear her breathing hard (for her stout
ness made her very short of BREATH as
she made her way round the table that
occupied the center of the room. Fear
lent me wings, and I hurried round the
other way to meet her, and rushed into
her arms just as she was feeling for the
drawing-room doorway. Directly I
did so, she uttered shrill scream, and
fell on the floor in dead faint. had
forgotten that the poor dear did not
know was pursuing her, and she very
naturally took me for the robbers. l
suppose I tainted, too; for the first
thing I remembered was hearing loud
purr close to my ear, which proceeded
from our favorite cat, who, having
knocked down the fire-irons in the next
room (which was the noise we had
haardl had come as IL were to assure