Year: 1870

A foreign newspaper correspondent, who
like any other member of his profession, i -
confidant of the most illustrious noble tamil
les abroad, and chosen repository of all their
compromising secrets relates a story of an
arristocratic English house which must make
cold the blood of each very young reader,
and induce imaginative young servant maids
to refuse to go up stairs in the dark. The
Earl OF Blanklyne, Il brilliant British noble
man and a frequent occurrence in weekly
journals of romance, lately married a fair
young bride, with the approval other parents
and took her home to his patrimonial castle
The lady liked the building generally, and
considered the moat, dOnjon. turretS. and
things quite satisfactory; but She wanted 4
boudoir in the neighborhood other bed-cham
ber, and. until that was supplied, curtain lee
lures were the Earrs portion in lite. II was
found that the rooms, as sometimes happened
in castles running too much to tower, bas
ton and other freaks of architecture, were so
arranged that blank space had been left for
another room. (ArchitectS may understand
what that means). 50 the Earl, in great ag
ony of mind summoned Il great builder down
from London TO give an opinion and charge
shamelessly for it. Down came the great
builder. with little gold country houses hang


ing as ''charms" from his watch chain, ami





and staying a long time in the wine cellar
gave 1t as his opinion that there must already
be another room in the immediate neighbor
hood Of my lady's chamber. This apparent
abSurdity on the part of the great builder
provoked the Earl into calling him "sirrah"
to his face, and asking him ifhc took the
whole illustrious family of Blanklynes to hr
mentally vacuous in a protane sense; la
which the builder replied, that seeing how
his lordship felt he would bore him no more
on the subject but that, if he might be per-
mittcd to bore the wall, he thought he could
prove the soundncss of his argument Per-
mission was given, the suspected wall wa
duly bored, and not only was, another room
found, but its contents batfled description
with great slaughter As is always the case
when description is battled, description now
comes out stronger than ever, and presents
the following horrors. with intense enjoy
ment of them:


The secret apartment thus brought To light
by persistent boring was furnished in the
most luxurious and useless style of 4 centu-
ry and 4 half ago, when chairs were like
small churches and windows looked like
combinations of collins. A quantity OF tr-
male apparel lay about the room, Jewels were
strewn upon the dressing table and but for
the faded aspect of everything the chamber
might have been tenanted half an hour pre-
yiously. Upon the couch was the skeleton
of woman, and at the foot thereon was Il
masculine skeleton with Il rusted sword be
meath it. The secret ola century and Il halt
was thus brought to light; and although
quickly hushed up again, is yet talked about
with batel breath by the third nobility and
gentry Of our newspaper correspondent
more intimate acquaintance. What was the
dread secret thus Theoretically walled in for
an age? Probably some ancient Earl Blank
lyme, about retiring for the night, discover
that his wife was dead of apoplexy, and in
his frenzy of grief Immediately felt upon hi
own sword ANY other explanation would
be such as could not be tolerated in the inter
ests of morality.