Year: 1873

was welcome one, or Wnetner III Cllne he
succeeded in persuading himself that such
was really the case (for the arch-fend works
by subtle means on a willing minD he scarce
| ly knew himself; but, step by step, urged on
by his temper and prompted by his own evil
passion, he decided to take measures to have
his innocent wife put out of his way, having
learned from Gresham that if her insanity
once became an established fact, it would be
easy to have everything else arranged to his
satisfaction.


It was necessary to obtain the certificate of
two physicians, and this seemed the most Sc
rious obstacle in their way. But Gresham,
whose cleverness equaled his villainy, under
took to arrange the matter for him, and the
certificates were finally produced, without
Stanley actually knowing how the result had
been accomplished.


The next step was to find out suitable re-
treat, to which the helpless Bertha might be
conveyed. Here again Gresham, acting al
ways under the show Of friendship, exerted
himself with his usual success, and it was de-
cided that the private asylum kept by Leroy
and his wife Ga pair of needy adventures,
who had fixed upon this occupation as means
of earning their livelihoodD would be the
place best adapted to their purpose.


My readers are already Informed Of the
manner in which poor Bertha was conveyed,
under the influence of powerful drugs, which
stupe6ed her senses and made her incapable
of resistance to this fatal prison, where the
treatment she received, and the agonizing re-
Elections she endured, finally destroyed her
reason; and how she subsequently effected her
escape, though by what means always re-
mained a mystery. The body of woman,
resembling her in general appearance, and
wearing dress similar to hers, was really
found in mill-stream, and supposed to be
hers, though, as was afterward proved, this
must have been some other unfortunate, who
had come to an untimely end. Stanley, mean
while, was enjoying himselfo endeavoring to
enjoy himself-on the fortune of which Gresh-
am had put him in possession-in company
with his accomplice, who aided him in spend
ing his ill.gotten gains, taking care to profit
largely thereby. The two went together to
Europe, and soon afterward Gresham died,
fortunately for Stanley, whom he would prob
ably have ruined had his influence over him
continued much longer. Stanley sent on reg
ular remittances for the support of his little
boy, whom he removed from the care of his
foster-mother and her family the only people
who knew of his relationship to the child)
and sent to different residence, and after
ward to school, under the name Of his nepheac.
He felt no real affection for the little Claude,
whom he had not seen since he was an infant,
and, anxious to obliterate rs completely as
possible all traces Of his past career, fell
upon this expedient to cut of, at least out
wardly, the last tie that bound him to the
memory of his lost wife. Claude, therefore,
never knew but that Stanley was his uncle,
and imagined that both his parents had died
during his infancy, and there was no one with
whom he was permitted to associate who
could refute this idea.


So much for that portion of his life with
which Lucy was unacqualnted.


He then went on to relate how his appre-
tensions had been excited by the interview
Lucy had described to him, which she had
held with the supposed madwoman in the
grounds at Mossgrove. Hehad been aroused
first to sort Of superstitious fear by the &C.
count she gave him, Immediately after their
marriage, of the vision she had seen, or fancied
she had seen in her mirror on her wedding
day, and the idea had occurred to him that it
might be warning from the grave, the pre-
sage of some mysterious fate in store for him.
Thoughts of his dead wife, in spite Of his ef-
forts to shake them off, continually recurred
to his mind, and he was haunted by dread
of her temperance, either in the flesh or in
the spirit, which he tried in vain to reason
away. By chance he met the woman, Leroy,
passing herself off as widow named Ford, in
Unionville, and at first felt only sentiment
of disgust at the sight of one who was connect
ed with so dark period of his life. After
ward, however, he was glad to have an oppor-
tunity of conversing with her, and setting to
rest the fears and doubts that tormented him,
by a recapitulation of all the proofs of his
wife's death. He had also conversed on the
subject with lawyer, setting the case before
him as that of friend of his, and obtained a
satisfactory opinion from him in regard to
the certainty Of the evidence. And then
came the terrible shock of the appearance Of
his long-lost wife, whom at first, as she rose
before him in the moonlight, he actually be-
lieved to be disembodied spirit sent to visit
him.


Then followed a detail of the plan adopted
by him to secure Bertha discovering her to
be confirmed lunatic) and to maintain the
concealment of the plot his sending Lucy to
Charleston, to effect the imprisonment of the
maniac at Mossgrove while she was out of the
way the pretended boarding-up of the room
used as her prison, and the installation of
Mrs. Ford as her guardian, under the assumed
Office of house-keeper.


The light seen from the window of the
"haunted room," and which had been allowed
to appear there in an unguarded moment, was
ofcourse now easily accounted for. In gen.
eral the room was kept in total darkness, and
every other precaution of course used to guard
against discovery.


Claude (whom some prompting Of slum
herinn n q atnral affection had induced his father