Year: 1866

: for me in counting house at BARGE
Iona, and after lecture and hearty
cry from sister Laura, a blessing and
akiss from mamma, and great sob
kept down by a hurricane laugh from
tire governor, / went adrift.


-Four years passed rapidly away. l
had attained my. full hight, and more
than my just share of inches al
ready enjoyed a far modicum of whis-
ker, and even made some progress in
the cultivation of pair of mustaches,
when suddenly the house / was con-
nected with failed. .0rrah r~
What to do? The governor insis-
ted upon my return to England, where
his interest among the mercantile
class was considerable; Laura limited
m.ysteriously that my presence, @ j in a the II.
importance to her father; and mamma
let out the secret, by writing Ine Ii that {


Laura was going to "change her con-
dition." was glad to hear this, for
l knew he would be model of a fell
low who would be Laura's husband;
and gulping down my pride, which
would fain have persuaded me that it
was unmanly to go back again like
the ill sixpehce, l set cut on my re-
turn homo.


The family, I know, had removed
TO another house; but being well ac-
quainted with the town, 1 had no diff
fculty in finding the place. 1t was q
range OF handsome buildings which
had sprung up in the fashionable out
skirts during my absence; and, al
though it was far on in the evening,
my accustomed eyes soon deserted
through the gloom, the governors
old-fashioned door-plate. l was just
about to knock, really agitated with
delight and struggling memories,
when temptation came in my way.
One of the area windows was open,
gaping as If for my reception. A
quantity Of plate lay upon table
close by. Why should / not enter,
and appear unannouced in the draw
ing-room, a sunburnt phantom of five
feet eleven? Why should 1 not pre-
sent the precise aud careful Laura
with handful Of her own spoons and
forks, left 80 conveniently at the SER
vice Of any area-sneak who might
chance to pass by? Why? That is
only a figure of speech. / asked no
question about tho matter; the idea
was hardly yet across my brain when
my legs were across the rails. In an
other moment / had crept in by the
window; and chuckling at my own
cleverness, and the great moral lesson
| was about to teach, l was stufling
my pockets with the plate. r,4.


While thus engaged, the opening Of
a door in the hall above alarmed me;
and afraid of the failure of my plan,
stepped lightly up the stair, which
was partially lighted by the hall lamp.
AS i was about to emerge at the top,
serving girl was coming out from a
room on the opposite side. She in
stantly retroated, shut the door with
a bang, and, 1 could hear half-sup-
pressed hysterical cry. Ibounded on,
tsprang up the drawing-room stair and
entered the first door at a venture. -
All was dark, and stopped for mo-
ment to listen. Lights were hurrying
across the hall; and / heard the rough
voice Of a man as if scolding and
tauuting some person. The girl had
doubtless given the alarm, although
her information must have been very
indistinct; for when she saw me L was
in tho shadow of tho stair, and she
could have had little more than
Vague impression that she beheld
human figure. However this may be,
the mans voice appeared to descend
the stairs to the area room, and pres.
ently l heard crashing noise, not as
if he was counting the plate, but ra-
ther thrusting it aside en- masse. Then
/ heard the window closed, the shut
ters bolted, and an alarm bell hung
upon them, and the man reascended
the stair half scolding, half laughing
Mt the girls superstition. He took
care, Notwithstanding, to examine the
fastenings of the street door, and even
to lock it, and put the key in his pock-
ct. He then retired into room, and
all was silence. -


l began to feel pretty considerably
queer. The governor kept no male
servant that l knew of, and had never
done so. 1T was impossible that he
could have introduced this change in
to his household without my being in
formed of it by sister Laura, whose
letters were an exact chronicle of eve-
rything, down to the health of the cat.
This was puzzling. And now that 1.
had time to think, tho house was much
too large for a family requiring only
three sleeping rooms, even when j
was at homo. 1t was what is called
q double house, with rooms on both
sides of the hall; and tho apartment
on the threshold of Which L was lin
geriIg appeared from the dim light of
the windows TO be of considerable
size. L now rccollected that the guam
tity Of the plate 1 had seen-a por-
ton OF which at this very moment felt
preternaturally heavy i'll my pockets
must have been three times greater
than any the governor ever possessed,
and that various pieces were Of size
and massiveness 1 had never before
seen In the establishment. In vain l
oethought myself that had seen and
recognized the well-known door-plato,
and that the area from which l en-
tered was Immediately under; in vain
| argued that since Laura was about
to be married, the extra quantity of
plate might be intended to form part
of her housseaT / could not convince
myself. But the course Of my thoughts
suggested an idea, and pulling hastily
from my pocket tablespoon, felt,
for / could not see, the legend which
contained my fate. But my fingers