Year: 1872




All now she can 90 no farther, unless
her intention be, as doubtless it is, to de
scend to the reception-rooms below by the
grand staircase, for she has reached the
end of the Oaken Gallery. Such was my
solioquy as | eudgeled my brains in the
effort to devise a reason for these extraor-
dinary proceedings ON the part of girl Of
my cousins age. 1t was just possible that
she, like myself, might have left down
stairs some object of which she was now in
search; but if 50, why this ghost-like Gid
ing with bare feet about the mansion of
which she was the heress, INDUCED and
loved by all These thoughts came into
my head as for an instant she stood still,
near the angle of the broad landing place,
while in front of her was the great French
window, filling up nearly two-thirds of the
width of the wide passage, by which the
Oakcn Gallery was lighted The window
was an innovation, no doubt, but an i'm
provement on the small-pnned easement of
stained glass, through which the sun had
scarcely had power to illumne the old pic
lures that lined the walls, which it had
superseded


By Heaven she is lost r. was my hasty
exclamation, as. to my infinite horror |
saw Blanche turn from the staircase. and
deliberately yet quickly throw open the
tall French window That very day, just
after sunset, Sir Charles had insisted on
my admiring the view from that west win
dow, which commanded bold sweep of
country, swelling moorland and black pine
woods, rocky fort and the distant sea. The
window was at Il great height above the
ground, since from it one could look down.
sheer over the edge of the stone terrace on
which the mansion stood, to rocky dell.
where far below brawling stream made
music among the boulders that fretted its
waters into foam. All this | remembered
at the same instant that the dreadful truth
flashed upon me. Blanche was a sleep
walker-her actions were prompted by the
strange mechanical semi-consciousness of
the somnambulist--and from this terrible
slumber that was not rest her awakening
would be in another world Nearer and
nearer yet she drew to the giddy verge,
her eyes steadily fixed on vacancy. She
stood poised on the very sill of the open
window, through which the bleak night air
rushed in, causing the candle in her un-
conscious hand to flare and flicker. | dared
not raise my voice, lest should startle
her, and precipitate the catastrophe that
seemed imminent. There was chance.
though poor one, that she would close
the window and return to her room. as |
had heard that slecp-walkers sometimes do,
ignorant of the mortal peril so nearly ell
countered


Now she seems to bend slightly forward.
her slender figure actually overhanging the
abyss \ fall from such a height must be
fatal. Bitterly blaming myself for my own
lack of prudence in allowing things to pro
coed to this pitch before | interfered, |





mustered all my strength for one desperate
bound, sprang to her side. and caught the
girls falling weight in my arms, at the
very moment when she stepped from the
window-ledge A second or two would
have made my hasty movement too late;
and as ii was it was well that Blanche was
light burden, and that | was active and
strong, or both might have fallen from that
dizzy perch, Blanche, abruptly awakened,
broke the silence of the house by an agonized
scream as Of mingled pain and terror, and
for an instant she struggled, while the can
dlestick dropped from her hand. The
candle was extinguished in its fall but |
looked down and saw the tiny luminous
spark of the burning wick falling, through
the midnight darkness, and then heard the
dull clangas the silver candestick reached
the rocks below.


Blanches shrieks had effectually arous-
ed the household, and before | could
soothe her natural alarm she was clasped
in her mothers arms; while Babel Of
voices rose elamorously around us, and
eonjectures, exclamation of horror or of
thankfulncss, were uttered on all hands. as
visitors and servants came successfully
hurying TO the spot whence the cries had
been heard That the young heiress of
the Trehernes was somnambulist was
what no one, even her own parents, knew,
nor had the poor frightened child herself
the least suspicion that this was the case !;
but at any rate the incipient ghost stories
with reference to Bramshaw Hall were now
nipped in the bud, and the most supersti.
tiously disposed could not doubt the con-
nection between the mysterious occurrences
ofwhich they had whispered and Blanche 5
unlucky popularity. The candlestick,
dinted and battered, was found next morn
ing among the rocks below the terrace.





prefer to pass lightly over the deep
and fervent expressions of gratitude and
strong feeling with which Sir Charles and
Lady Treherne acknowledged the preserya-
tion of their only child; but | remember
to have Redeemed and WINGED excessively
under the weight of praises undeseryed,
since any one else in my place would
surely have done as much, and it rather
annoyed me than otherwise that the com
pany persisted in treating me as sort Of
hero during the rest of my stay, and in
humoripg and defering to me as if had
been some great public benefactor The