Year: 1866

Colonel Lomond's bronzed cheek looked
even darker than usual, and his eyes seem
ed to burn with intense hate as he stood


gazing at his antagonist from under his
lowering brows but his extended arm
was firm as bar of steel. Varrel was ev.
identity nervous. His lips had faded to a
dull blush white he pressed one hand to
his chest occasionally, as if to still the
throbbing of the heart beneath while the
other, which held the pistol, trembled
slightly in spite of him.


Four seconds-three seconds--two sec
onds The deathly brooding stiffness that
pervaded the room was something awful.
One second The silvery bell of the little
French clock had not completed its first
stroke before the two triggers were pulled.
A flash, a report, and gush iof smoke from
one of the weapons, and Sir Derwent Var
rel, shot through the heart, fell back dead.
| So perishes thorough scoundrel ]"
said Colonel Lomond as he gazed into the
face of his dead enemy.


| Suddenly door opened, and showed a
very old lady, with white hair, and clad in
| white dressing-robe, standing in the en-
trance. From the movements Of her hands
you understood at once that she was blind,
or nearly so.


"Henry Henry where are you 2" she
cried. "Some one fired pistol just now.
Oh, tell me that you are not hurt !" and she
advanced step or two into the room.


A spasm of anguish passed over the face
of Colonel Lomond 81 am here and well,
mother" he said. "Pray, return to your
own room. am sorry to have disturbed
you"


"And Lenore," said the old lady, plain
lively, "why has not Lenore been to kiss
me, and say goodnight ? Has the child
gone to bed 2"


Lenore is asleep, mother" said the
Colonel, in a whisper awe must not dis
turb her She shall come to you in the
morning"


"Strange-strange," murmured the old
lady 'she never forgot me before )" and
with that she turned and went slowly
away, cropping with her hands before her
amp the Colonel, falling on his knees, bur-
led his face in the white dress of his dead
daughter At which point the whole ma
chinery of my dream dissolved away, and
| awoke


There was no more sleep for me that
night, So lifelike and vivid was my ex-
traordinary dream, so much did it seem
like part of my own personal experience,
that the effect left by it on my mind was
not lightly to be shaked off IGNORES wild
cry as she flung herself into her fathers
arms, the voices of Varrel and Lomond in
angry dispute, seemed still to echo in my
brain and | felt that every minute Incl
dent of that terrible tragedy must hence
no II Of 70
Impelled by some vague feeling which |
and wandered, halfdressed, into the great
desolate drawing-room, the scenei of all
the strange incidents Of my dream. The
ghostly splendor Of the moonlight filled it
no longer; it was as cold, dark, and silent,
as some vast tomb AS | stood in the
doorway, longing, and yet afraid to enter,
gust of nj, ht-wind sweeping up the val
ley ratified the windows of the old mansion;
and what seemed like low, responsive
sigh, came to me out of the gloom, sigh
so unutterably sad, that, with a shudder,
stepped backward and shut the door


| was very glad when ten o'clock came,
and brought Mr. Lomond, punctual to the
minute. alt is only what | expected" he
said, when | had given him an outline of
my singular dream "and may now tell
you, Sir, that precisely the same dream
which impressed you so strongly last night
is dreamed by every one, no matter who
they may be, the first time they sleep at
Gledhills, and never afterward and this
Curse---for l may truly call it by that name
has hung over the house from the night
on which the tragedy, which you witnessed
only in Imagination was WOr ked ont in all
its dismal reality within these walls. You
will now understand why l requested you
to sleep one night at Gledhills before final
ly deciding that you would take the house;
and it remains for you to consider whether
you wife, whose health you say is delicate,
could undergo such an ordeal as she would
assuredly have to pass through the first
night of her sojourn under this roof"


| decided that she could not endure the
trial, and gave up Gledhills.