Year: 1870

This mystery, certainly not u yer.


great one in itself, puzzled and annoy


ed her more than it would be easy t,


say. She stood still, and looked a


the door, telling herself that it wa


very, very singular. If she could on


ly have made up her mind to eXamin


the closet, all would have been over


but this was exactly what she ceulC


not do. She was brave woman, a


women go; even more than brave


when strung up to a high pitch by
some great emergency; but like many


indeed, we may say, like most of hel


sex, she could face real danger much


more readily and coolly than she was
able to meet vague terror.


If she had been sure, or had even
had anv good grounds for suspectiDg
that this closet was the lurking place
of some burglar or midnight murder
er, the odds are twenty to one that
she would have flung the door open,
and faced him undauntedly- But so
far from that, reason, probability,
everything worth listening to, de-
clared it certain that the closet was rs
empty as The room on which she
gazed, and feeling this, she also felt a
positive incapacity to overcome the
half superstitious dread that held her
from satisfying herself on the point.
OF course, if she had been strong
minded, or bent on controlling her.
self, she would have done so; but,
with all her bright, ready wit, she was
the farthest in the world from being
| lol oil
doubted fund of resolution, she had
never set herself III guard over herself.
So Fear carried the day against Pluck;
and. taking up her lamp. LETT the un-
explored closet and unlocked door be-
hind her.


when she reached her own cham
Der, she found the baby fast asleep in
its crib, and Rose fast asleep on the
floor. She walked the latter, and babe
her 90 to bel, which the girl very
sleepily did, vanishing in the little back
room, which WIS her domicile, while
Mrs. Somers began the pleasant Ia
Dor of disrobing, exchanging her dress
for robe de- chqnsJre, and combing out
the abundant lengths of her hair
She had not more than accomplished
this, when the occupant of the crib
stirred restless Y, and gave evident to-
kens of an intention TO cry. The lit
! tie lady thought better of this inten-
! ton, however, when she felt the light,
soft touch of her mothers hand, and
sank back INTO repose very easily when
that hand lifted her up, and, having
extinguished the lamp. Mrs. Somers
sat down in the Pickering freight to
indulge in that low lullaby which ba-
! bies like-or seem to like-better than
anything else in the world. She made
! lovely picture, as she sat there in
her bright scarlet dressing gown, her
rich brown hair all unoound about
her shoulders, and the white draperies
of the baby cradled in her arms, soft
ly rocking to and fro, and singing,
! but little above her breath, the eX
quisitc Cradle Song from the ''Prin-
cess" She had charming voice al
ways, and it never sounded better than
as she went over and over again the
! first verse:


Sweet and low, sweet and low,
| Wind of the western sea,


! Low, low, breathe and blow,


| Wind of the western sea!


Over the rolling waters go,


Come from the dying moon, and blow,
i Blow him again to me;


I While my little one, while my pretty one,


sleeps"


She was repeating it for, perhaps,
the third time, and thinking of poor
John, who was by this time safely
! housed from the cold, and not at all
an object of compassion, when she was
startled by sharp click, as if hand
ha0Ne euched the knob of the dco: -
keen attention, distrusting her ears,
but still listening with all her might;
though she had presence of mind
enough not to cease her song. She
was sitting with her back to tie door,
and she also had sufficient self-control
. not to turn round, but size looked up
to large mirror over the mantel, and
in the reflection, there saw the knob
slowly turned! Her heart gave one
great leap into her throat, and a
spasm of terror, like an icy chill,
seemed to settle over her, but still she
did not turn, did not move, did not
cease singing, but went on steadily to
the next verse.


''Slccp and rest. sleep and rest,
Father will come to thee soon;
Rest. rest, on mothers breast.


Father will come to thee soon;
Silver sails all out of the west,


Under the silver moon;


Sleep, my little one sleep. my pretty one,


sleep.


Before she finished, she saw that
the door was opening, slowly but sure
ly. And, while word after word drop
ped from her lips, she was thinking,
with the lightning-like thought OF dire
emergency, what she could do. Es-
cape there was none. The only other
door of the apart tnent opened into
the small dressing closet where Rose
slept, and which was entirely without
any means OF outside egress. The
windows were barred, and were, be-
sides, fifteen feet from the ground.


As to crying aloud for help-what
ear was there TO hearken? Weapons
of defence she had none even if she
over the whole ground in second,
and realized in the same second that,
after God, she had only herself to re-
ly upon. More from instinct than
from anything else, she still went on
with the lullaby, and it only hushed
on her lips when a hand was intro
duced through the aperture of the
door-a hand which showed distinctly
against the dark wall, and was plainly
flat of n nnMerElllly huilt lahnrino