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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12828-0.txt b/12828-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cc21fea --- /dev/null +++ b/12828-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2686 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12828 *** + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +AND + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + +Two stories by J.S. LeFanu + + +A Chapter in the History was first published in 1836. +The Murdered Cousin was first published in 1851. + + + + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +Being a Tenth Extract from the Legacy of the Late Francis Purcell, +P.P. of Drumcoolagh + + +INTRODUCTION. In the following narrative, I have endeavoured to give +as nearly as possible the "_ipsissima verba_" of the valued friend +from whom I received it, conscious that any aberration from her mode +of telling the tale of her own life, would at once impair its accuracy +and its effect. Would that, with her words, I could also bring before +you her animated gesture, her expressive countenance, the solemn and +thrilling air and accent with which she related the dark passages +in her strange story; and, above all, that I could communicate the +impressive consciousness that the narrator had seen with her own +eyes, and personally acted in the scenes which she described; these +accompaniments, taken with the additional circumstance, that she +who told the tale was one far too deeply and sadly impressed with +religious principle, to misrepresent or fabricate what she repeated as +fact, gave to the tale a depth of interest which the events recorded +could hardly, themselves, have produced. I became acquainted with +the lady from whose lips I heard this narrative, nearly twenty years +since, and the story struck my fancy so much, that I committed it +to paper while it was still fresh in my mind, and should its perusal +afford you entertainment for a listless half hour, my labour shall not +have been bestowed in vain. I find that I have taken the story down as +she told it, in the first person, and, perhaps, this is as it should +be. She began as follows. + +My maiden name was Richardson,[A] the designation of a family of +some distinction in the county of Tyrone. I was the younger of two +daughters, and we were the only children. There was a difference in +our ages of nearly six years, so that I did not, in my childhood, +enjoy that close companionship which sisterhood, in other +circumstances, necessarily involves; and while I was still a child, my +sister was married. The person upon whom she bestowed her hand, was a +Mr. Carew, a gentleman of property and consideration in the north +of England. I remember well the eventful day of the wedding; the +thronging carriages, the noisy menials, the loud laughter, the merry +faces, and the gay dresses. Such sights were then new to me, and +harmonized ill with the sorrowful feelings with which I regarded the +event which was to separate me, as it turned out, for ever, from a +sister whose tenderness alone had hitherto more than supplied all that +I wanted in my mother's affection. The day soon arrived which was to +remove the happy couple from Ashtown-house. The carriage stood at the +hall-door, and my poor sister kissed me again, and again, telling me +that I should see her soon. The carriage drove away, and I gazed +after it until my eyes filled with tears, and, returning slowly to my +chamber, I wept more bitterly, and so, to speak more desolately, than +ever I had done before. My father had never seemed to love, or to +take an interest in me. He had desired a son, and I think he never +thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate sex. My having come into the +world at all as his child, he regarded as a kind of fraudulent +intrusion, and, as his antipathy to me had its origin in an +imperfection of mine, too radical for removal, I never even hoped to +stand high in his good graces. My mother was, I dare say, as fond of +me as she was of any one; but she was a woman of a masculine and +a worldly cast of mind. She had no tenderness or sympathy for the +weaknesses, or even for the affections of woman's nature, and her +demeanour towards me was peremptory, and often even harsh. It is not +to be supposed, then, that I found in the society of my parents much +to supply the loss of my sister. About a year after her marriage, we +received letters from Mr. Carew, containing accounts of my sister's +health, which, though not actually alarming, were calculated to +make us seriously uneasy. The symptoms most dwelt upon, were loss of +appetite and cough. The letters concluded by intimating that he would +avail himself of my father and mother's repeated invitation to spend +some time at Ashtown, particularly as the physician who had been +consulted as to my sister's health had strongly advised a removal +to her native air. There were added repeated assurances that nothing +serious was apprehended, as it was supposed that a deranged state of +the liver was the only source of the symptoms which seemed to intimate +consumption. In accordance with this announcement, my sister and Mr. +Carew arrived in Dublin, where one of my father's carriages awaited +them, in readiness to start upon whatever day or hour they might +choose for their departure. It was arranged that Mr. Carew was, as +soon as the day upon which they were to leave Dublin was definitely +fixed, to write to my father, who intended that the two last stages +should be performed by his own horses, upon whose speed and safety +far more reliance might be placed than upon those of the ordinary +_post-horses_, which were, at that time, almost without exception, of +the very worst order. The journey, one of about ninety miles, was to +be divided; the larger portion to be reserved for the second day. On +Sunday, a letter reached us, stating that the party would leave Dublin +on Monday, and, in due course, reach Ashtown upon Tuesday evening. +Tuesday came: the evening closed in, and yet no carriage appeared; +darkness came on, and still no sign of our expected visitors. Hour +after hour passed away, and it was now past twelve; the night was +remarkably calm, scarce a breath stirring, so that any sound, such +as that produced by the rapid movement of a vehicle, would have +been audible at a considerable distance. For some such sound I was +feverishly listening. It was, however, my father's rule to close the +house at nightfall, and the window-shutters being fastened, I was +unable to reconnoitre the avenue as I would have wished. It was nearly +one o'clock, and we began almost to despair of seeing them upon that +night, when I thought I distinguished the sound of wheels, but so +remote and faint as to make me at first very uncertain. The noise +approached; it become louder and clearer; it stopped for a moment. I +now heard the shrill screaking of the rusty iron, as the avenue +gate revolved on its hinges; again came the sound of wheels in rapid +motion. + +"It is they," said I, starting up, "the carriage is in the avenue." We +all stood for a few moments, breathlessly listening. On thundered +the vehicle with the speed of a whirlwind; crack went the whip, and +clatter went the wheels, as it rattled over the uneven pavement of +the court; a general and furious barking from all the dogs about the +house, hailed its arrival. We hurried to the hall in time to hear +the steps let down with the sharp clanging noise peculiar to the +operation, and the hum of voices exerted in the bustle of arrival. The +hall-door was now thrown open, and we all stepped forth to greet our +visitors. The court was perfectly empty; the moon was shining broadly +and brightly upon all around; nothing was to be seen but the tall +trees with their long spectral shadows, now wet with the dews of +midnight. We stood gazing from right to left, as if suddenly awakened +from a dream; the dogs walked suspiciously, growling and snuffing +about the court, and by totally and suddenly ceasing their former +loud barking, as also by carrying their tails between their legs, +expressing the predominance of fear. We looked one upon the other +in perplexity and dismay, and I think I never beheld more pale faces +assembled. By my father's direction, we looked about to find anything +which might indicate or account for the noise which we had heard; but +no such thing was to be seen--even the mire which lay upon the avenue +was undisturbed. We returned to the house, more panic struck than +I can describe. On the next day, we learned by a messenger, who had +ridden hard the greater part of the night, that my sister was dead. On +Sunday evening, she had retired to bed rather unwell, and, on Monday, +her indisposition declared itself unequivocally to be malignant +fever. She became hourly worse, and, on Tuesday night, a little after +midnight, she expired.[B] I mention this circumstance, because it was +one upon which a thousand wild and fantastical reports were founded, +though one would have thought that the truth scarcely required to be +improved upon; and again, because it produced a strong and lasting +effect upon my spirits, and indeed, I am inclined to think, upon my +character. I was, for several years after this occurrence, long after +the violence of my grief subsided, so wretchedly low-spirited and +nervous, that I could scarcely be said to live, and during this time, +habits of indecision, arising out of a listless acquiescence in the +will of others, a fear of encountering even the slightest opposition, +and a disposition to shrink from what are commonly called amusements, +grew upon me so strongly, that I have scarcely even yet, altogether +overcome them. We saw nothing more of Mr. Carew. He returned to +England as soon as the melancholy rites attendant upon the event +which I have just mentioned were performed; and not being altogether +inconsolable, he married again within two years; after which, owing to +the remoteness of our relative situations, and other circumstances, we +gradually lost sight of him. I was now an only child; and, as my elder +sister had died without issue, it was evident that, in the ordinary +course of things, my father's property, which was altogether in his +power, would go to me, and the consequence was, that before I was +fourteen, Ashtown-house was besieged by a host of suitors; however, +whether it was that _I_ was too young, or that none of the aspirants +to my hand stood sufficiently high in rank or wealth, I was suffered +by both parents to do exactly as I pleased; and well was it for me, +as I afterwards found that fortune, or, rather Providence, had so +ordained it, that I had not suffered my affections to become in any +degree engaged, for my mother would never have suffered any _silly +fancy_ of mine, as she was in the habit of styling an attachment, +to stand in the way of her ambitious views; views which she was +determined to carry into effect, in defiance of every obstacle, and in +order to accomplish which, she would not have hesitated to sacrifice +anything so unreasonable and contemptible as a girlish passion. + +When I reached the age of sixteen, my mother's plans began to develope +themselves, and, at her suggestion, we moved to Dublin to sojourn for +the winter, in order that no time might be lost in disposing of me to +the best advantage. I had been too long accustomed to consider myself +as of no importance whatever, to believe for a moment that I was in +reality the cause of all the bustle and preparation which surrounded +me, and being thus relieved from the pain which a consciousness of my +real situation would have inflicted, I journeyed towards the capital +with a feeling of total indifference. + +My father's wealth and connection had established him in the best +society, and, consequently, upon our arrival in the metropolis, we +commanded whatever enjoyment or advantages its gaieties afforded. The +tumult and novelty of the scenes in which I was involved did not fail +considerably to amuse me, and my mind gradually recovered its tone, +which was naturally cheerful. It was almost immediately known and +reported that I was an heiress, and of course my attractions were +pretty generally acknowledged. Among the many gentlemen whom it was my +fortune to please, one, ere long, established himself in my mother's +good graces, to the exclusion of all less important aspirants. +However, I had not understood, or even remarked his attentions, nor, +in the slightest degree, suspected his or my mother's plans respecting +me, when I was made aware of them rather abruptly by my mother +herself. We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his +residence in Stephen's-green, and I was, with the assistance of +my waiting-maid, employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich +ornaments which, in profuseness and value, could scarcely have found +their equals in any private family in Ireland. I had thrown myself +into a lounging chair beside the fire, listless and exhausted, after +the fatigues of the evening, when I was aroused from the reverie into +which I had fallen, by the sound of footsteps approaching my chamber, +and my mother entered. + +"Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone. "I wish to say a word +or two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I +hope?" + +"No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my +seat with the formal respect so little practised now. + +"Sit down, my dear," said she, placing herself upon a chair beside me; +"I must chat with you for a quarter of an hour or so. Saunders (to the +maid), you may leave the room; do not close the room door, but shut +that of the lobby." + +This precaution against curious ears having been taken as directed, my +mother proceeded. + +"You have observed, I should suppose, my dearest Fanny; indeed, you +_must_ have observed, Lord Glenfallen's marked attentions to you?" + +"I assure you, madam," I began. + +"Well, well, that is all right," interrupted my mother; "of course you +must be modest upon the matter; but listen to me for a few moments, my +love, and I will prove to your satisfaction that your modesty is quite +unnecessary in this case. You have done better than we could have +hoped, at least, so very soon. Lord Glenfallen is in love with you. I +give you joy of your conquest," and saying this, my mother kissed my +forehead. + +"In love with me!" I exclaimed, in unfeigned astonishment. + +"Yes, in love with you," repeated my mother; "devotedly, distractedly +in love with you. Why, my dear, what is there wonderful in it; look in +the glass, and look at these," she continued, pointing with a smile to +the jewels which I had just removed from my person, and which now lay +a glittering heap upon the table. + +"May there not," said I, hesitating between confusion and real alarm; +"is it not possible that some mistake may be at the bottom of all +this?" + +"Mistake! dearest; none," said my mother. "None, none in the world; +judge for yourself; read this, my love," and she placed in my hand a +letter, addressed to herself, the seal of which was broken. I read +it through with no small surprise. After some very fine complimentary +flourishes upon my beauty and perfections, as, also, upon the +antiquity and high reputation of our family, it went on to make +a formal proposal of marriage, to be communicated or not to me at +present, as my mother should deem expedient; and the letter wound up +by a request that the writer might be permitted, upon our return to +Ashtown-house, which was soon to take place, as the spring was now +tolerably advanced, to visit us for a few days, in case his suit was +approved. + +"Well, well, my dear," said my mother, impatiently; "do you know who +Lord Glenfallen is?" + +"I do, madam," said I rather timidly, for I dreaded an altercation +with my mother. + +"Well, dear, and what frightens you?" continued she; "are you afraid +of a title? What has he done to alarm you? he is neither old nor +ugly." + +I was silent, though I might have said, "He is neither young nor +handsome." + +"My dear Fanny," continued my mother, "in sober seriousness you have +been most fortunate in engaging the affections of a nobleman such as +Lord Glenfallen, young and wealthy, with first-rate, yes, acknowledged +_first-rate_ abilities and of a family whose influence is not exceeded +by that of any in Ireland--of course you see the offer in the same +light that I do--indeed I think you _must_." + +This was uttered in no very dubious tone. I was so much astonished +by the suddenness of the whole communication that I literally did not +know what to say. + +"You are not in love?" said my mother, turning sharply, and fixing her +dark eyes upon me, with severe scrutiny. + +"No, madam," said I, promptly; horrified, as what young lady would not +have been, at such a query. + +"I am glad to hear it," said my mother, dryly. "Once, nearly twenty +years ago, a friend of mine consulted me how he should deal with a +daughter who had made what they call a love match, beggared herself, +and disgraced her family; and I said, without hesitation, take no care +of her, but cast her off; such punishment I awarded for an offence +committed against the reputation of a family not my own; and what +I advised respecting the child of another, with full as small +compunction I would _do_ with mine. I cannot conceive anything more +unreasonable or intolerable than that the fortune and the character of +a family should be marred by the idle caprices of a girl." + +She spoke this with great severity, and paused as if she expected some +observation from me. I, however, said nothing. + +"But I need not explain to you, my dear Fanny," she continued, "my +views upon this subject; you have always known them well, and I have +never yet had reason to believe you likely, voluntarily, to offend me, +or to abuse or neglect any of those advantages which reason and duty +tell you should be improved--come hither, my dear, kiss me, and do not +look so frightened. Well, now, about this letter, you need not answer +it yet; of course you must be allowed time to make up your mind; in +the mean time I will write to his lordship to give him my permission +to visit us at Ashtown--good night, my love." + +And thus ended one of the most disagreeable, not to say astounding, +conversations I had ever had; it would not be easy to describe exactly +what were my feelings towards Lord Glenfallen; whatever might have +been my mother's suspicions, my heart was perfectly disengaged; +and hitherto, although I had not been made in the slightest degree +acquainted with his real views, I had liked him very much, as an +agreeable, well informed man, whom I was always glad to meet in +society; he had served in the navy in early life, and the polish which +his manners received in his after intercourse with courts and cities +had not served to obliterate that frankness of _manner_ which belongs +proverbially to the sailor. Whether this apparent candour went deeper +than the outward bearing I was yet to learn; however there was no +doubt that as far as I had seen of Lord Glenfallen, he was, though +perhaps not so young as might have been desired in a lover, a +singularly pleasing man, and whatever feeling unfavourable to him had +found its way into my mind, arose altogether from the dread, not +an unreasonable one, that constraint might be practised upon my +inclinations. I reflected, however, that Lord Glenfallen was a wealthy +man, and one highly thought of; and although I could never expect to +love him in the romantic sense of the term, yet I had no doubt but +that, all things considered, I might be more happy with him than I +could hope to be at home. When next I met him it was with no small +embarrassment, his tact and good breeding, however, soon reassured me, +and effectually prevented my awkwardness being remarked upon; and I +had the satisfaction of leaving Dublin for the country with the full +conviction that nobody, not even those most intimate with me, even +suspected the fact of Lord Glenfallen's having made me a formal +proposal. This was to me a very serious subject of self gratulation, +for, besides my instinctive dread of becoming the topic of the +speculations of gossip, I felt that if the situation which I occupied +in relation to him were made publicly known, I should stand committed +in a manner which would scarcely leave me the power of retraction. The +period at which Lord Glenfallen had arranged to visit Ashtown-house +was now fast approaching, and it became my mother's wish to form +me thoroughly to her will, and to obtain my consent to the proposed +marriage before his arrival, so that all things might proceed smoothly +without apparent opposition or objection upon my part; whatever +objections, therefore, I had entertained were to be subdued; whatever +disposition to resistance I had exhibited or had been supposed to +feel, were to be completely eradicated before he made his appearance, +and my mother addressed herself to the task with a decision and energy +against which even the barriers, which her imagination had created, +could hardly have stood. If she had, however, expected any determined +opposition from me, she was agreeably disappointed; my heart was +perfectly free, and all my feelings of liking and preference were in +favour of Lord Glenfallen, and I well knew that in case I refused to +dispose of myself as I was desired, my mother had alike the power and +the will to render my existence as utterly miserable as any, even +the most ill-assorted marriage could possibly have done. You will +remember, my good friend, that I was very young and very completely +under the controul of my parents, both of whom, my mother +particularly, were unscrupulously determined in matters of this kind, +and willing, when voluntary obedience on the part of those within +their power was withheld, to compel a forced acquiescence by an +unsparing use of all the engines of the most stern and rigorous +domestic discipline. All these combined, not unnaturally, induced me +to resolve upon yielding at once, and without useless opposition, to +what appeared almost to be my fate. The appointed time was come, +and my now accepted suitor arrived; he was in high spirits, and, if +possible, more entertaining than ever. I was not, however, quite in +the mood to enjoy his sprightliness; but whatever I wanted in gaiety +was amply made up in the triumphant and gracious good humour of my +mother, whose smiles of benevolence and exultation were showered +around as bountifully as the summer sunshine. I will not weary you +with unnecessary prolixity. Let it suffice to say, that I was married +to Lord Glenfallen with all the attendant pomp and circumstance of +wealth, rank, and grandeur. According to the usage of the times, now +humanely reformed, the ceremony was made until long past midnight, the +season of wild, uproarious, and promiscuous feasting and revelry. Of +all this I have a painfully vivid recollection, and particularly of +the little annoyances inflicted upon me by the dull and coarse jokes +of the wits and wags who abound in all such places, and upon all such +occasions. I was not sorry, when, after a few days, Lord Glenfallen's +carriage appeared at the door to convey us both from Ashtown; for any +change would have been a relief from the irksomeness of ceremonial +and formality which the visits received in honour of my newly acquired +titles hourly entailed upon me. It was arranged that we were to +proceed to Cahergillagh, one of the Glenfallen estates, lying, +however, in a southern county, so that a tedious journey (then owing +to the impracticability of the roads,) of three days intervened. I set +forth with my noble companion, followed by the regrets of some, and by +the envy of many, though God knows I little deserved the latter; the +three days of travel were now almost spent, when passing the brow of a +wild heathy hill, the domain of Cahergillagh opened suddenly upon +our view. It formed a striking and a beautiful scene. A lake of +considerable extent stretching away towards the west, and reflecting +from its broad, smooth waters, the rich glow of the setting sun, was +overhung by steep hills, covered by a rich mantle of velvet sward, +broken here and there by the grey front of some old rock, and +exhibiting on their shelving sides, their slopes and hollows, every +variety of light and shade; a thick wood of dwarf oak, birch, and +hazel skirted these hills, and clothed the shores of the lake, running +out in rich luxuriance upon every promontory, and spreading upward +considerably upon the side of the hills. + +"There lies the enchanted castle," said Lord Glenfallen, pointing +towards a considerable level space intervening between two of the +picturesque hills, which rose dimly around the lake. This little plain +was chiefly occupied by the same low, wild wood which covered the +other parts of the domain; but towards the centre a mass of taller and +statelier forest trees stood darkly grouped together, and among them +stood an ancient square tower, with many buildings of an humbler +character, forming together the manor-house, or, as it was more +usually called, the court of Cahergillagh. As we approached the level +upon which the mansion stood, the winding road gave us many glimpses +of the time-worn castle and its surrounding buildings; and seen as it +was through the long vistas of the fine old trees, and with the +rich glow of evening upon it, I have seldom beheld an object more +picturesquely striking. I was glad to perceive, too, that here and +there the blue curling smoke ascended from stacks of chimneys now +hidden by the rich, dark ivy, which, in a great measure, covered the +building; other indications of comfort made themselves manifest as +we approached; and indeed, though the place was evidently one of +considerable antiquity, it had nothing whatever of the gloom of decay +about it. + +"You must not, my love," said Lord Glenfallen, "imagine this place +worse than it is. I have no taste for antiquity, at least I should +not choose a house to reside in because it is old. Indeed I do not +recollect that I was even so romantic as to overcome my aversion to +rats and rheumatism, those faithful attendants upon your noble relics +of feudalism; and I much prefer a snug, modern, unmysterious bed-room, +with well-aired sheets, to the waving tapestry, mildewed cushions, +and all the other interesting appliances of romance; however, though +I cannot promise you all the discomfort generally pertaining to an old +castle, you will find legends and ghostly lore enough to claim your +respect; and if old Martha be still to the fore, as I trust she is, +you will soon have a supernatural and appropriate anecdote for every +closet and corner of the mansion; but here we are--so, without more +ado, welcome to Cahergillagh." + +We now entered the hall of the castle, and while the domestics were +employed in conveying our trunks and other luggage which we had +brought with us for immediate use to the apartments which Lord +Glenfallen had selected for himself and me, I went with him into a +spacious sitting room, wainscoted with finely polished black oak, +and hung round with the portraits of various of the worthies of +the Glenfallen family. This room looked out upon an extensive level +covered with the softest green sward, and irregularly bounded by the +wild wood I have before mentioned, through the leafy arcade formed +by whose boughs and trunks the level beams of the setting sun were +pouring; in the distance, a group of dairy maids were plying their +task, which they accompanied throughout with snatches of Irish songs +which, mellowed by the distance, floated not unpleasingly to the ear; +and beside them sat or lay, with all the grave importance of conscious +protection, six or seven large dogs of various kinds; farther in the +distance, and through the cloisters of the arching wood, two or +three ragged urchins were employed in driving such stray kine as had +wandered farther than the rest to join their fellows. As I looked +upon this scene which I have described, a feeling of tranquillity and +happiness came upon me, which I have never experienced in so strong +a degree; and so strange to me was the sensation that my eyes filled +with tears. Lord Glenfallen mistook the cause of my emotion, and +taking me kindly and tenderly by the hand he said, "Do not suppose, my +love, that it is my intention to _settle_ here, whenever you desire +to leave this, you have only to let me know your wish and it shall +be complied with, so I must entreat of you not to suffer any +circumstances which I can controul to give you one moment's +uneasiness; but here is old Martha, you must be introduced to her, one +of the heirlooms of our family." + +A hale, good-humoured, erect, old woman was Martha, and an agreeable +contrast to the grim, decrepit hag, which my fancy had conjured up, as +the depository of all the horrible tales in which I doubted not this +old place was most fruitful. She welcomed me and her master with +a profusion of gratulations, alternately kissing our hands and +apologising for the liberty, until at length Lord Glenfallen put +an end to this somewhat fatiguing ceremonial, by requesting her to +conduct me to my chamber if it were prepared for my reception. I +followed Martha up an old-fashioned, oak stair-case into a long, dim +passage at the end of which lay the door which communicated with the +apartments which had been selected for our use; here the old woman +stopped, and respectfully requested me to proceed. I accordingly +opened the door and was about to enter, when something like a mass of +black tapestry as it appeared disturbed by my sudden approach, fell +from above the door, so as completely to screen the aperture; the +startling unexpectedness of the occurrence, and the rustling noise +which the drapery made in its descent, caused me involuntarily to step +two or three paces backwards, I turned, smiling and half ashamed to +the old servant, and said, "You see what a coward I am." The woman +looked puzzled, and without saying any more, I was about to draw aside +the curtain and enter the room, when upon turning to do so, I was +surprised to find that nothing whatever interposed to obstruct the +passage. I went into the room, followed by the servant woman, and was +amazed to find that it, like the one below, was wainscoted, and that +nothing like drapery was to be found near the door. + +"Where is it," said I; "what has become of it?" + +"What does your ladyship wish to know?" said the old woman. + +"Where is the black curtain that fell across the door, when I +attempted first to come to my chamber," answered I. + +"The cross of Christ about us," said the old woman, turning suddenly +pale. + +"What is the matter, my good friend," said I; "you seem frightened." + +"Oh, no, no, your ladyship," said the old woman, endeavouring to +conceal her agitation; but in vain, for tottering towards a chair, she +sunk into it, looking so deadly pale and horror-struck that I thought +every moment she would faint. + +"Merciful God, keep us from harm and danger," muttered she at length. + +"What can have terrified you so," said I, beginning to fear that she +had seen something more than had met my eye, "you appear ill, my poor +woman." + +"Nothing, nothing, my lady," said she, rising; "I beg your ladyship's +pardon for making so bold; may the great God defend us from +misfortune." + +"Martha," said I, "something _has_ frightened you very much, and I +insist on knowing what it is; your keeping me in the dark upon the +subject will make me much more uneasy than any thing you could tell +me; I desire you, therefore, to let me know what agitates you; I +command you to tell me." "Your ladyship said you saw a black curtain +falling across the door when you were coming into the room," said the +old woman. + +"I did," said I; "but though the whole thing appears somewhat strange +I cannot see any thing in the matter to agitate you so excessively. + +"It's for no good you saw that, my lady," said the crone; "something +terrible is coming; it's a sign, my lady--a sign that never fails." + +"Explain, explain what you mean, my good woman," said I, in spite of +myself, catching more than I could account for, of her superstitious +terror. + +"Whenever something--something _bad_ is going to happen to the +Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black +handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces; I +saw it myself," continued she, lowering her voice, "when I was only +a little girl, and I'll never forget it; I often heard of it before, +though I never saw it till then, nor since, praised be God; but I +was going into Lady Jane's room to waken her in the morning; and sure +enough when I got first to the bed and began to draw the curtain, +something dark was waved across the division, but only for a moment; +and when I saw rightly into the bed, there was she lying cold and +dead, God be merciful to me; so, my lady, there is small blame to me +to be daunted when any one of the family sees it, for it's many's the +story I heard of it, though I saw it but once." + +I was not of a superstitious turn of mind; yet I could not resist a +feeling of awe very nearly allied to the fear which my companion had +so unreservedly expressed; and when you consider my situation, the +loneliness, antiquity, and gloom of the place, you will allow that +the weakness was not without excuse. In spite of old Martha's boding +predictions, however, time flowed on in an unruffled course; one +little incident, however, though trifling in itself, I must relate as +it serves to make what follows more intelligible. Upon the day after +my arrival, Lord Glenfallen of course desired to make me acquainted +with the house and domain; and accordingly we set forth upon our +ramble; when returning, he became for some time silent and moody, a +state so unusual with him as considerably to excite my surprise, I +endeavoured by observations and questions to arouse him--but in vain; +at length as we approached the house, he said, as if speaking to +himself, "'twere madness--madness--madness," repeating the word +bitterly--"sure and speedy ruin." There was here a long pause; and at +length turning sharply towards me in a tone very unlike that in which +he had hitherto addressed me, he said, "Do you think it possible that +a woman can keep a secret?" + +"I am sure," said I, "that women are very much belied upon the score +of talkativeness, and that I may answer your question with the same +directness with which you put it; I reply that I _do_ think a woman +can keep a secret." + +"But I do not," said he, drily. + +We walked on in silence for a time; I was much astonished at his +unwonted abruptness; I had almost said rudeness. After a considerable +pause he seemed to recollect himself, and with an effort resuming his +sprightly manner, he said, "well, well, the next thing to keeping +a secret well is, not to desire to possess one--talkativeness and +curiosity generally go together; now I shall make test of you in the +first place, respecting the latter of these qualities. I shall be your +_Bluebeard_--tush, why do I trifle thus; listen to me, my dear +Fanny, I speak now in solemn earnest; what I desire is, intimately, +inseparably, connected with your happiness and honour as well as my +own; and your compliance with my request will not be difficult; it +will impose upon you a very trifling restraint during your sojourn +here, which certain events which have occurred since our arrival, have +determined me shall not be a long one. You must promise me, upon your +sacred honour, that you will visit _only_ that part of the castle +which can be reached from the front entrance, leaving the back +entrance and the part of the building commanded immediately by it, to +the menials, as also the small garden whose high wall you see yonder; +and never at any time seek to pry or peep into them, nor to open the +door which communicates from the front part of the house through the +corridor with the back. I do not urge this in jest or in caprice, but +from a solemn conviction that danger and misery will be the certain +consequences of your not observing what I prescribe. I cannot explain +myself further at present--promise me, then, these things as you hope +for peace here and for mercy hereafter." + +I did make the promise as desired, and he appeared relieved; his +manner recovered all its gaiety and elasticity, but the recollection +of the strange scene which I have just described dwelt painfully upon +my mind. More than a month passed away without any occurrence worth +recording; but I was not destined to leave Cahergillagh without +further adventure; one day intending to enjoy the pleasant sunshine in +a ramble through the woods, I ran up to my room to procure my bonnet +and shawl; upon entering the chamber, I was surprised and somewhat +startled to find it occupied; beside the fireplace and nearly opposite +the door, seated in a large, old-fashioned elbow-chair, was placed the +figure of a lady; she appeared to be nearer fifty than forty, and was +dressed suitably to her age, in a handsome suit of flowered silk; she +had a profusion of trinkets and jewellery about her person, and many +rings upon her fingers; but although very rich, her dress was not +gaudy or in ill taste; but what was remarkable in the lady was, that +although her features were handsome, and upon the whole pleasing, the +pupil of each eye was dimmed with the whiteness of cataract, and she +was evidently stone blind. I was for some seconds so surprised at this +unaccountable apparition, that I could not find words to address her. + +"Madam," said I, "there must be some mistake here--this is my +bed-chamber." + +"Marry come up," said the lady, sharply; "_your_ chamber! Where is +Lord Glenfallen?" + +"He is below, madam," replied I; "and I am convinced he will be not a +little surprised to find you here." + +"I do not think he will," said she; "with your good leave, talk of +what you know something about; tell him I want him; why does the minx +dilly dally so?" + +In spite of the awe which this grim lady inspired, there was something +in her air of confident superiority which, when I considered our +relative situations, was not a little irritating. + +"Do you know, madam, to whom you speak?" said I. + +"I neither know nor care," said she; "but I presume that you are some +one about the house, so, again, I desire you, if you wish to continue +here, to bring your master hither forthwith." + +"I must tell you madam," said I, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"What's that?" said the stranger, rapidly. + +"I say, madam," I repeated, approaching her, that I might be more +distinctly heard, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"It's a lie, you trull," cried she, in an accent which made me start, +and, at the same time, springing forward, she seized me in her grasp +and shook me violently, repeating, "it's a lie, it's a lie," with +a rapidity and vehemence which swelled every vein of her face; +the violence of her action, and the fury which convulsed her face, +effectually terrified me, and disengaging myself from her grasp, I +screamed as loud as I could for help; the blind woman continued to +pour out a torrent of abuse upon me, foaming at the mouth with rage, +and impotently shaking her clenched fists towards me. I heard Lord +Glenfallen's step upon the stairs, and I instantly ran out; as I past +him I perceived that he was deadly pale, and just caught the words, "I +hope that demon has not hurt you?" I made some answer, I forget what, +and he entered the chamber, the door of which he locked upon the +inside; what passed within I know not; but I heard the voices of the +two speakers raised in loud and angry altercation. I thought I heard +the shrill accents of the woman repeat the words, "let her look to +herself"; but I could not be quite sure. This short sentence, however, +was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful meaning; the +storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference of more +than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and agitated, +"That unfortunate woman," said he, "is out of her mind; I dare say she +treated you to some of her ravings, but you need not dread any further +interruption from her, I have brought her so far to reason. She did +not hurt you, I trust." + +"No, no," said I; "but she terrified me beyond measure." "Well," said +he, "she is likely to behave better for the future, and I dare swear +that neither you nor she would desire after what has passed to meet +again." + +This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery, +and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very +agreeable food for rumination. All attempts on my part to arrive at +the truth were baffled; Lord Glenfallen evaded all my enquiries, and +at length peremptorily forbid any further allusion to the matter. I +was thus obliged to rest satisfied with what I had actually seen, +and to trust to time to resolve the perplexities in which the whole +transaction had involved me. Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits +gradually underwent a complete and most painful change; he became +silent and abstracted, his manner to me was abrupt and often harsh, +some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to his mind; and under +its influence his spirits sunk and his temper became soured. I +soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and +excitement of society produces, than the result of a healthy habit of +mind; and every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate +good nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than +a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind, +open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, +was rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly +selfish man; this was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it +from myself as long as I could, but the truth was not to be denied, +and I was forced to believe that Lord Glenfallen no longer loved +me, and that he was at little pains to conceal the alteration in his +sentiments. One morning after breakfast, Lord Glenfallen had been for +some time walking silently up and down the room, buried in his +moody reflections, when pausing suddenly, and turning towards me, he +exclaimed, + +"I have it, I have it; we must go abroad and stay there, too, and +if that does not answer, why--why we must try some more effectual +expedient. Lady Glenfallen, I have become involved in heavy +embarrassments; a wife you know must share the fortunes of her +husband, for better for worse, but I will waive my right if you prefer +remaining here--here at Cahergillagh; for I would not have you seen +elsewhere without the state to which your rank entitled you; besides +it would break your poor mother's heart," he added, with sneering +gravity, "so make up your mind--Cahergillagh or France, I will start +if possible in a week, so determine between this and then." + +He left the room and in a few moments I saw him ride past the window, +followed by a mounted servant; he had directed a domestic to inform +me that he should not be back until the next day. I was in very great +doubt as to what course of conduct I should pursue, as to accompanying +him in the continental tour so suddenly determined upon, I felt that +it would be a hazard too great to encounter; for at Cahergillagh I had +always the consciousness to sustain me, that if his temper at any time +led him into violent or unwarrantable treatment of me, I had a remedy +within reach, in the protection and support of my own family, from +all useful and effective communication with whom, if once in France, +I should be entirely debarred. As to remaining at Cahergillagh in +solitude, and for aught I knew, exposed to hidden dangers, it appeared +to me scarcely less objectionable than the former proposition; and yet +I feared that with one or other I must comply, unless I was prepared +to come to an actual breach with Lord Glenfallen; full of these +unpleasing doubts and perplexities, I retired to rest. I was wakened, +after having slept uneasily for some hours, by some person shaking +me rudely by the shoulder; a small lamp burned in my room, and by its +light, to my horror and amazement, I discovered that my visitant was +the self-same blind, old lady who had so terrified me a few weeks +before. I started up in the bed, with a view to ring the bell, and +alarm the domestics, but she instantly anticipated me by saying, "Do +not be frightened, silly girl; if I had wished to harm you I could +have done it while you were sleeping, I need not have wakened you; +listen to me, now, attentively and fearlessly; for what I have to say, +interests you to the full as much as it does me; tell me, here, in +the presence of God, did Lord Glenfallen marry you, _actually marry_ +you?--speak the truth, woman." + +"As surely as I live and speak," I replied, "did Lord Glenfallen marry +me in presence of more than a hundred witnesses." + +"Well," continued she, "he should have told you _then_, before you +married him, that he had a wife living, which wife I am; I feel you +tremble--tush! do not be frightened. I do not mean to harm you--mark +me now--you are not his wife. When I make my story known you will be +so, neither in the eye of God nor of man; you must leave this house +upon to-morrow; let the world know that your husband has another wife +living; go, you, into retirement, and leave him to justice, which will +surely overtake him. If you remain in this house after to-morrow you +will reap the bitter fruits of your sin," so saying, she quitted the +room, leaving me very little disposed to sleep. + +Here was food for my very worst and most terrible suspicions; still +there was not enough to remove all doubt. I had no proof of the truth +of this woman's statement. Taken by itself there was nothing to induce +me to attach weight to it; but when I viewed it in connection with the +extraordinary mystery of some of Lord Glenfallen's proceedings, his +strange anxiety to exclude me from certain portions of the mansion, +doubtless, lest I should encounter this person--the strong influence, +nay, command, which she possessed over him, a circumstance clearly +established by the very fact of her residing in the very place, where +of all others, he should least have desired to find her--her thus +acting, and continuing to act in direct contradiction to his wishes; +when, I say, I viewed her disclosure in connection with all these +circumstances, I could not help feeling that there was at least a +fearful verisimilitude in the allegations which she had made. Still I +was not satisfied, nor nearly so; young minds have a reluctance almost +insurmountable to believing upon any thing short of unquestionable +proof, the existence of premeditated guilt in any one whom they have +ever trusted; and in support of this feeling I was assured that if the +assertion of Lord Glenfallen, which nothing in this woman's manner had +led me to disbelieve, were true, namely, that her mind was unsound, +the whole fabric of my doubts and fears must fall to the ground. +I determined to state to Lord Glenfallen freely and accurately the +substance of the communication which I had just heard, and in his +words and looks to seek for its proof or refutation; full of these +thoughts I remained wakeful and excited all night, every moment +fancying that I heard the step, or saw the figure of my recent visitor +towards whom I felt a species of horror and dread which I can hardly +describe. There was something in her face, though her features had +evidently been handsome, and were not, at first sight, unpleasing, +which, upon a nearer inspection, seemed to indicate the habitual +prevalence and indulgence of evil passions, and a power of expressing +mere animal anger, with an intenseness that I have seldom seen +equalled, and to which an almost unearthly effect was given by the +convulsive quivering of the sightless eyes. You may easily suppose +that it was no very pleasing reflection to me to consider, that +whenever caprice might induce her to return, I was within the reach of +this violent, and, for aught I knew, insane woman, who had, upon that +very night, spoken to me in a tone of menace, of which her mere words, +divested of the manner and look with which she uttered them, can +convey but a faint idea. Will you believe me when I tell you that I +was actually afraid to leave my bed in order to secure the door, lest +I should again encounter the dreadful object lurking in some corner or +peeping from behind the window curtains, so very a child was I in my +fears. + +The morning came, and with it Lord Glenfallen. I knew not, and +indeed I cared not, where he might have been; my thoughts were wholly +engrossed by the terrible fears and suspicions which my last +night's conference had suggested to me; he was, as usual, gloomy and +abstracted, and I feared in no very fitting mood to hear what I had +to say with patience, whether the charges were true or false. I was, +however, determined not to suffer the opportunity to pass, or Lord +Glenfallen to leave the room, until, at all hazards, I had unburdened +my mind. + +"My Lord," said I, after a long silence, summoning up all my firmness, +"my lord, I wish to say a few words to you upon a matter of very great +importance, of very deep concernment to you and to me." I fixed my +eyes upon him to discern, if possible, whether the announcement +caused him any uneasiness, but no symptom of any such feeling was +perceptible. + +"Well, my dear," said he, "this is, no doubt, a very grave preface, +and portends, I have no doubt, something extraordinary--pray let us +have it without more ado." + +He took a chair, and seated himself nearly opposite to me. + +"My lord," said I, "I have seen the person who alarmed me so much a +short time since, the blind lady, again, upon last night"; his face, +upon which my eyes were fixed, turned pale, he hesitated for a moment, +and then said-- + +"And did you, pray madam, so totally forget or spurn my express +command, as to enter that portion of the house from which your +promise, I might say, your oath, excluded you--answer me that?" he +added, fiercely. + +"My lord," said I, "I have neither forgotten your _commands_, since +such they were, nor disobeyed them. I was, last night, wakened from my +sleep, as I lay in my own chamber, and accosted by the person whom I +have mentioned--how she found access to the room I cannot pretend to +say." + +"Ha! this must be looked to," said he, half reflectively; "and pray," +added he, quickly, while in turn he fixed his eyes upon me, "what did +this person say, since some comment upon her communication forms, no +doubt, the sequel to your preface." + +"Your lordship is not mistaken," said I, "her statement was so +extraordinary that I could not think of withholding it from you; she +told me, my lord, that you had a wife living at the time you married +me, and that she was that wife." + +Lord Glenfallen became ashy pale, almost livid; he made two or three +efforts to clear his voice to speak, but in vain, and turning suddenly +from me, he walked to the window; the horror and dismay, which, in +the olden time, overwhelmed the woman of Endor, when her spells +unexpectedly conjured the dead into her presence, were but types +of what I felt, when thus presented with what appeared to be almost +unequivocal evidence of the guilt, whose existence I had before so +strongly doubted. There was a silence of some moments, during which it +were hard to conjecture whether I or my companion suffered most. Lord +Glenfallen soon recovered his self command; he returned to the table, +again sat down and said-- + +"What you have told me has so astonished me, has unfolded such a +tissue of motiveless guilt, and in a quarter from which I had +so little reason to look for ingratitude or treachery, that your +announcement almost deprived me of speech; the person in question, +however, has one excuse, her mind is, as I told you before, unsettled. +You should have remembered that, and hesitated to receive as +unexceptionable evidence against the honour of your husband, the +ravings of a lunatic. I now tell you that this is the last time I +shall speak to you upon this subject, and, in the presence of the God +who is to judge me, and as I hope for mercy in the day of judgment, +I swear that the charge thus brought against me, is utterly false, +unfounded, and ridiculous; I defy the world in any point to taint my +honour; and, as I have never taken the opinion of madmen touching +your character or morals, I think it but fair to require that you will +evince a like tenderness for me; and now, once for all, never again +dare to repeat to me your insulting suspicions, or the clumsy and +infamous calumnies of fools. I shall instantly let the worthy lady who +contrived this somewhat original device, understand fully my opinion +upon the matter--good morning"; and with these words he left me again +in doubt, and involved in all horrors of the most agonizing suspense. +I had reason to think that Lord Glenfallen wreaked his vengeance upon +the author of the strange story which I had heard, with a violence +which was not satisfied with mere words, for old Martha, with whom I +was a great favourite, while attending me in my room, told me that she +feared her master had ill used the poor, blind, Dutch woman, for that +she had heard her scream as if the very life were leaving her, but +added a request that I should not speak of what she had told me to any +one, particularly to the master. + +"How do you know that she is a Dutch woman?" inquired I, anxious to +learn anything whatever that might throw a light upon the history +of this person, who seemed to have resolved to mix herself up in my +fortunes. + +"Why, my lady," answered Martha, "the master often calls her the Dutch +hag, and other names you would not like to hear, and I am sure she +is neither English nor Irish; for, whenever they talk together, they +speak some queer foreign lingo, and fast enough, I'll be bound; but I +ought not to talk about her at all; it might be as much as my place is +worth to mention her--only you saw her first yourself, so there can be +no great harm in speaking of her now." + +"How long has this lady been here?" continued I. + +"She came early on the morning after your ladyship's arrival," +answered she; "but do not ask me any more, for the master would think +nothing of turning me out of doors for daring to speak of her at all, +much less to _you_, my lady." + +I did not like to press the poor woman further; for her reluctance to +speak on this topic was evident and strong. You will readily believe +that upon the very slight grounds which my information afforded, +contradicted as it was by the solemn oath of my husband, and derived +from what was, at best, a very questionable source, I could not +take any very decisive measure whatever; and as to the menace of the +strange woman who had thus unaccountably twice intruded herself into +my chamber, although, at the moment, it occasioned me some uneasiness, +it was not, even in my eyes, sufficiently formidable to induce my +departure from Cahergillagh. + +A few nights after the scene which I have just mentioned, Lord +Glenfallen having, as usual, early retired to his study, I was left +alone in the parlour to amuse myself as best I might. It was not +strange that my thoughts should often recur to the agitating scenes in +which I had recently taken a part; the subject of my reflections, +the solitude, the silence, and the lateness of the hour, as also the +depression of spirits to which I had of late been a constant prey, +tended to produce that nervous excitement which places us wholly +at the mercy of the imagination. In order to calm my spirits, I was +endeavouring to direct my thoughts into some more pleasing channel, +when I heard, or thought I heard, uttered, within a few yards of me, +in an odd half-sneering tone, the words, "There is blood upon your +ladyship's throat." So vivid was the impression, that I started to my +feet, and involuntarily placed my hand upon my neck. I looked around +the room for the speaker, but in vain. I went then to the room-door, +which I opened, and peered into the passage, nearly faint with horror, +lest some leering, shapeless thing should greet me upon the threshold. +When I had gazed long enough to assure myself that no strange object +was within sight. + +"I have been too much of a rake, lately; I am racking out my nerves," +said I, speaking aloud, with a view to reassure myself. I rang the +bell, and, attended by old Martha, I retired to settle for the night. +While the servant was, as was her custom, arranging the lamp which I +have already stated always burned during the night in my chamber, +I was employed in undressing, and, in doing so, I had recourse to a +large looking-glass which occupied a considerable portion of the wall +in which it was fixed, rising from the ground to a height of about +six feet; this mirror filled the space of a large pannel in the +wainscoting opposite the foot of the bed. I had hardly been before it +for the lapse of a minute, when something like a black pall was slowly +waved between me and it. + +"Oh, God! there it is," I exclaimed wildly. "I have seen it again, +Martha--the black cloth." + +"God be merciful to us, then!" answered she, tremulously crossing +herself. "Some misfortune is over us." + +"No, no, Martha," said I, almost instantly recovering my +collectedness; for, although of a nervous temperament, I had never +been superstitious. "I do not believe in omens. You know, I saw, or +fancied I saw, this thing before, and nothing followed." + +"The Dutch lady came the next morning," replied she. + +"Methinks, such an occurrence scarcely deserved a supernatural +announcement," I replied. + +"She is a strange woman, my lady," said Martha, "and she is not _gone_ +yet--mark my words." + +"Well, well, Martha," said I, "I have not wit enough to change your +opinions, nor inclination to alter mine; so I will talk no more of the +matter. Good night," and so I was left to my reflections. After lying +for about an hour awake, I at length fell into a kind of doze; but my +imagination was still busy, for I was startled from this unrefreshing +sleep by fancying that I heard a voice close to my face exclaim as +before, "There is blood upon your ladyship's throat." The words were +instantly followed by a loud burst of laughter. Quaking with horror, I +awakened, and heard my husband enter the room. Even this was a relief. +Scared as I was, however, by the tricks which my imagination had +played me, I preferred remaining silent, and pretending to sleep, to +attempting to engage my husband in conversation, for I well knew +that his mood was such, that his words would not, in all probability, +convey anything that had not better be unsaid and unheard. Lord +Glenfallen went into his dressing-room, which lay upon the right-hand +side of the bed. The door lying open, I could see him by himself, at +full length upon a sofa, and, in about half an hour, I became aware, +by his deep and regularly drawn respiration, that he was fast asleep. +When slumber refuses to visit one, there is something peculiarly +irritating, not to the temper, but to the nerves, in the consciousness +that some one is in your immediate presence, actually enjoying the +boon which you are seeking in vain; at least, I have always found it +so, and never more than upon the present occasion. A thousand annoying +imaginations harassed and excited me, every object which I looked +upon, though ever so familiar, seemed to have acquired a strange +phantom-like character, the varying shadows thrown by the flickering +of the lamp-light, seemed shaping themselves into grotesque and +unearthly forms, and whenever my eyes wandered to the sleeping figure +of my husband, his features appeared to undergo the strangest and most +demoniacal contortions. Hour after hour was told by the old clock, and +each succeeding one found me, if possible, less inclined to sleep than +its predecessor. It was now considerably past three; my eyes, in their +involuntary wanderings, happened to alight upon the large mirror which +was, as I have said, fixed in the wall opposite the foot of the bed. A +view of it was commanded from where I lay, through the curtains, as I +gazed fixedly upon it, I thought I perceived the broad sheet of glass +shifting its position in relation to the bed; I rivetted my eyes +upon it with intense scrutiny; it was no deception, the mirror, as +if acting of its own impulse moved slowly aside, and disclosed a dark +aperture in the wall, nearly as large as an ordinary door; a figure +evidently stood in this; but the light was too dim to define it +accurately. It stepped cautiously into the chamber, and with so little +noise, that had I not actually seen it, I do not think I should +have been aware of its presence. It was arrayed in a kind of woollen +night-dress, and a white handkerchief or cloth was bound tightly about +the head; I had no difficulty spite of the strangeness of the attire +in recognising the blind woman whom I so much dreaded. She stooped +down, bringing her head nearly to the ground, and in that attitude she +remained motionless for some moments, no doubt in order to ascertain +if any suspicious sound were stirring. She was apparently satisfied by +her observations, for she immediately recommenced her silent progress +towards a ponderous mahogany dressing table of my husband's; when she +had reached it, she paused again, and appeared to listen attentively +for some minutes; she then noiselessly opened one of the drawers from +which, having groped for some time, she took something which I soon +perceived to be a case of razors; she opened it and tried the edge +of each of the two instruments upon the skin of her hand; she quickly +selected one, which she fixed firmly in her grasp; she now stooped +down as before, and having listened for a time, she, with the hand +that was disengaged, groped her way into the dressing room where Lord +Glenfallen lay fast asleep. I was fixed as if in the tremendous spell +of a night mare. I could not stir even a finger; I could not lift my +voice; I could not even breathe, and though I expected every moment to +see the sleeping man murdered, I could not even close my eyes to shut +out the horrible spectacle, which I had not the power to avert. I saw +the woman approach the sleeping figure, she laid the unoccupied hand +lightly along his clothes, and having thus ascertained his identity, +she, after a brief interval, turned back and again entered my chamber; +here she bent down again to listen. I had now not a doubt but that the +razor was intended for my throat; yet the terrific fascination which +had locked all my powers so long, still continued to bind me fast. I +felt that my life depended upon the slightest ordinary exertion, and +yet I could not stir one joint from the position in which I lay, nor +even make noise enough to waken Lord Glenfallen. The murderous woman +now, with long, silent steps, approached the bed; my very heart seemed +turning to ice; her left hand, that which was disengaged, was upon +the pillow; she gradually slid it forward towards my head, and in +an instant, with the speed of lightning, it was clutched in my hair, +while, with the other hand, she dashed the razor at my throat. A +slight inaccuracy saved me from instant death; the blow fell short, +the point of the razor grazing my throat; in a moment I know not how, +I found myself at the other side of the bed uttering shriek after +shriek; the wretch was, however, determined if possible to murder me; +scrambling along by the curtains, she rushed round the bed towards me; +I seized the handle of the door to make my escape; it was, however, +fastened; at all events I could not open it, from the mere instinct +of recoiling terror, I shrunk back into a corner--she was now within +a yard of me--her hand was upon my face--I closed my eyes fast, +expecting never to open them again, when a blow, inflicted from behind +by a strong arm, stretched the monster senseless at my feet; at the +same moment the door opened, and several domestics, alarmed by my +cries, entered the apartment. I do not recollect what followed, for I +fainted. One swoon succeeded another so long and death-like, that my +life was considered very doubtful. At about ten o'clock, however, I +sunk into a deep and refreshing sleep, from which I was awakened at +about two, that I might swear my deposition before a magistrate, who +attended for that purpose. I, accordingly, did so, as did also Lord +Glenfallen; and the woman was fully committed to stand her trial +at the ensuing assizes. I shall never forget the scene which the +examination of the blind woman and of the other parties afforded. She +was brought into the room in the custody of two servants; she wore +a kind of flannel wrapper which had not been changed since the night +before; it was torn and soiled, and here and there smeared with blood, +which had flowed in large quantities from a wound in her head; the +white handkerchief had fallen off in the scuffle; and her grizzled +hair fell in masses about her wild and deadly pale countenance. +She appeared perfectly composed, however, and the only regret she +expressed throughout, was at not having succeeded in her attempt, the +object of which she did not pretend to conceal. On being asked her +name, she called herself the Countess Glenfallen, and refused to give +any other title. + +"The woman's name is Flora Van-Kemp," said Lord Glenfallen. + +"It _was_, it _was_, you perjured traitor and cheat," screamed the woman; +and then there followed a volley of words in some foreign language. +"Is there a magistrate here?" she resumed; "I am Lord Glenfallen's +wife--I'll prove it--write down my words. I am willing to be hanged or +burned, so _he_ meets his deserts. I did try to kill that doll of his; +but it was he who put it into my head to do it--two wives were too +many--I was to murder her, or she was to hang me--listen to all I have +to say." + +Here Lord Glenfallen interrupted. + +"I think, sir," said he, addressing the magistrate, "that we +had better proceed to business, this unhappy woman's furious +recriminations but waste our time; if she refuses to answer your +questions, you had better, I presume, take my depositions." + +"And are you going to swear away my life, you black perjured +murderer?" shrieked the woman. "Sir, sir, sir, you must hear me," she +continued, addressing the magistrate, "I can convict him--he bid +me murder that girl, and then when I failed, he came behind me, and +struck me down, and now he wants to swear away my life--take down all +I say." + +"If it is your intention," said the magistrate, "to confess the crime +with which you stand charged, you may, upon producing sufficient +evidence, criminate whom you please." + +"Evidence!--I have no evidence but myself," said the woman. "I will +swear it all--write down my testimony--write it down, I say--we shall +hang side by side, my brave Lord--all your own handy--work, my gentle +husband." This was followed by a low, insolent, and sneering laugh, +which, from one in her situation, was sufficiently horrible. + +"I will not at present hear anything," replied he, "but distinct +answers to the questions which I shall put to you upon this matter." + +"Then you shall hear nothing," replied she sullenly, and no inducement +or intimidation could bring her to speak again. + +Lord Glenfallen's deposition and mine were then given, as also those +of the servants who had entered the room at the moment of my rescue; +the magistrate then intimated that she was committed, and must proceed +directly to gaol, whither she was brought in a carriage of Lord +Glenfallen's, for his lordship was naturally by no means indifferent +to the effect which her vehement accusations against himself might +produce, if uttered before every chance hearer whom she might meet +with between Cahergillagh and the place of confinement whither she was +dispatched. + +During the time which intervened between the committal and the trial +of the prisoner, Lord Glenfallen seemed to suffer agonies of mind +which baffle all description, he hardly ever slept, and when he did, +his slumbers seemed but the instruments of new tortures, and his +waking hours were, if possible, exceeded in intensity of terrors by +the dreams which disturbed his sleep. Lord Glenfallen rested, if +to lie in the mere attitude of repose were to do so, in his +dressing-room, and thus I had an opportunity of witnessing, far +oftener than I wished it, the fearful workings of his mind; his agony +often broke out into such fearful paroxysms that delirium and total +loss of reason appeared to be impending; he frequently spoke of flying +from the country, and bringing with him all the witnesses of the +appalling scene upon which the prosecution was founded; then again +he would fiercely lament that the blow which he had inflicted had not +ended all. + +The assizes arrived, however, and upon the day appointed, Lord +Glenfallen and I attended in order to give our evidence. The cause was +called on, and the prisoner appeared at the bar. Great curiosity and +interest were felt respecting the trial, so that the court was crowded +to excess. The prisoner, however, without appearing to take the +trouble of listening to the indictment, pleaded guilty, and no +representations on the part of the court availed to induce her to +retract her plea. After much time had been wasted in a fruitless +attempt to prevail upon her to reconsider her words, the court +proceeded according to the usual form, to pass sentence. This having +been done, the prisoner was about to be removed, when she said in a +low, distinct voice-- + +"A word--a word, my Lord:--is Lord Glenfallen here in the court?" On +being told that he was, she raised her voice to a tone of loud menace, +and continued-- + +"Hardress, Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of +justice of two crimes--first, that you married a second wife, while +the first was living, and again, that you prompted me to the murder, +for attempting which I am to die--secure him--chain him--bring him +here." + +There was a laugh through the court at these words, which were +naturally treated by the judge as a violent extemporary recrimination, +and the woman was desired to be silent. + +"You won't take him, then," she said, "you won't try him? You'll let +him go free?" + +It was intimated by the court that he would certainly be allowed "to +go free," and she was ordered again to be removed. Before, however, +the mandate was executed, she threw her arms wildly into the air, and +uttered one piercing shriek so full of preternatural rage and despair, +that it might fitly have ushered a soul into those realms where hope +can come no more. The sound still rang in my ears, months after the +voice that had uttered it was for ever silent. The wretched woman was +executed in accordance with the sentence which had been pronounced. + +For some time after this event, Lord Glenfallen appeared, if possible, +to suffer more than he had done before, and altogether, his language, +which often amounted to half confessions of the guilt imputed to him, +and all the circumstances connected with the late occurrences, formed +a mass of evidence so convincing that I wrote to my father, detailing +the grounds of my fears, and imploring him to come to Cahergillagh +without delay, in order to remove me from my husband's control, +previously to taking legal steps for a final separation. Circumstanced +as I was, my existence was little short of intolerable, for, besides +the fearful suspicions which attached to my husband, I plainly +perceived that if Lord Glenfallen were not relieved, and that +speedily, insanity must supervene. I therefore expected my father's +arrival, or at least a letter to announce it, with indescribable +impatience. + +About a week after the execution had taken place, Lord Glenfallen one +morning met me with an unusually sprightly air-- + +"Fanny," said he, "I have it now for the first time, in my power to +explain to your satisfaction every thing which has hitherto appeared +suspicious or mysterious in my conduct. After breakfast come with me +to my study, and I shall, I hope, make all things clear." + +This invitation afforded me more real pleasure than I had experienced +for months; something had certainly occurred to tranquillize my +husband's mind, in no ordinary degree, and I thought it by no means +impossible that he would, in the proposed interview, prove himself the +most injured and innocent of men. Full of this hope I repaired to his +study at the appointed hour; he was writing busily when I entered the +room, and just raising his eyes, he requested me to be seated. I took +a chair as he desired, and remained silently awaiting his leisure, +while he finished, folded, directed, and sealed his letter; laying it +then upon the table, with the address downward, he said-- + +"My dearest Fanny, I know I must have appeared very strange to you and +very unkind--often even cruel; before the end of this week I will show +you the necessity of my conduct; how impossible it was that I should +have seemed otherwise. I am conscious that many acts of mine must have +inevitably given rise to painful suspicions--suspicions, which indeed, +upon one occasion you very properly communicated to me. I have +gotten two letters from a quarter which commands respect, containing +information as to the course by which I may be enabled to prove the +negative of all the crimes which even the most credulous suspicion +could lay to my charge. I expected a third by this morning's post, +containing documents which will set the matter for ever at rest, but +owing, no doubt, to some neglect, or, perhaps, to some difficulty in +collecting the papers, some inevitable delay, it has not come to hand +this morning, according to my expectation. I was finishing one to the +very same quarter when you came in, and if a sound rousing be worth +anything, I think I shall have a special messenger before two days +have passed. I have been thinking over the matter within myself, +whether I had better imperfectly clear up your doubts by submitting to +your inspection the two letters which I have already received, or +wait till I can triumphantly vindicate myself by the production of +the documents which I have already mentioned, and I have, I think, not +unnaturally decided upon the latter course; however, there is a person +in the next room, whose testimony is not without its value--excuse me +for one moment." + +So saying, he arose and went to the door of a closet which opened from +the study, this he unlocked, and half opening the door, he said, "It +is only I," and then slipped into the room, and carefully closed and +locked the door behind him. I immediately heard his voice in animated +conversation; my curiosity upon the subject of the letter was +naturally great, so smothering any little scruples which I might have +felt, I resolved to look at the address of the letter which lay as my +husband had left it, with its face upon the table. I accordingly drew +it over to me, and turned up the direction. For two or three moments I +could scarce believe my eyes, but there could be no mistake--in +large characters were traced the words, "To the Archangel Gabriel in +heaven." I had scarcely returned the letter to its original position, +and in some degree recovered the shock which this unequivocal proof +of insanity produced, when the closet door was unlocked, and Lord +Glenfallen re-entered the study, carefully closing and locking the +door again upon the outside. + +"Whom have you there?" inquired I, making a strong effort to appear +calm. + +"Perhaps," said he musingly, "you might have some objection to seeing +her, at least for a time." + +"Who is it?" repeated I. + +"Why," said he, "I see no use in hiding it--the blind Dutchwoman; I +have been with her the whole morning. She is very anxious to get +out of that closet, but you know she is odd, she is scarcely to be +trusted." + +A heavy gust of wind shook the door at this moment with a sound as if +something more substantial were pushing against it. + +"Ha, ha, ha!--do you hear her," said he, with an obstreperous burst +of laughter. The wind died away in a long howl, and Lord Glenfallen, +suddenly checking his merriment, shrugged his shoulders, and +muttered-- + +"Poor devil, she has been hardly used." + +"We had better not tease her at present with questions," said I, in as +unconcerned a tone as I could assume, although I felt every moment as +if I should faint. + +"Humph! may be so," said he, "well, come back in an hour or two, or +when you please, and you will find us here." + +He again unlocked the door, and entered with the same precautions +which he had adopted before, locking the door upon the inside, and +as I hurried from the room, I heard his voice again exerted as if in +eager parley. I can hardly describe my emotions; my hopes had been +raised to the highest, and now in an instant, all was gone--the +dreadful consummation was accomplished--the fearful retribution had +fallen upon the guilty man--the mind was destroyed--the power to +repent was gone. The agony of the hours which followed what I would +still call my _awful_ interview with Lord Glenfallen, I cannot describe; +my solitude was, however, broken in upon by Martha, who came to inform +me of the arrival of a gentleman, who expected me in the parlour. I +accordingly descended, and to my great joy, found my father seated by +the fire. This expedition, upon his part, was easily accounted for: +my communications had touched the honour of the family. I speedily +informed him of the dreadful malady which had fallen upon the wretched +man. My father suggested the necessity of placing some person to watch +him, to prevent his injuring himself or others. I rang the bell, and +desired that one Edward Cooke, an attached servant of the family, +should be sent to me. I told him distinctly and briefly, the nature +of the service required of him, and, attended by him, my father and I +proceeded at once to the study; the door of the inner room was still +closed, and everything in the outer chamber remained in the same order +in which I had left it. We then advanced to the closet door, at which +we knocked, but without receiving any answer. We next tried to open +the door, but in vain--it was locked upon the inside; we knocked more +loudly, but in vain. Seriously alarmed, I desired the servant to force +the door, which was, after several violent efforts, accomplished, and +we entered the closet. Lord Glenfallen was lying on his face upon a +sofa. + +"Hush," said I, "he is asleep"; we paused for a moment. + +"He is too still for that," said my father; we all of us felt a strong +reluctance to approach the figure. + +"Edward," said I, "try whether your master sleeps." + +The servant approached the sofa where Lord Glenfallen lay; he leant +his ear towards the head of the recumbent figure, to ascertain whether +the sound of breathing was audible; he turned towards us, and said-- + +"My lady, you had better not wait here, I am sure he is dead!" + +"Let me see the face," said I, terribly agitated, "you _may_ be +mistaken." + +The man then, in obedience to my command, turned the body round, and, +gracious God! what a sight met my view--he was, indeed, perfectly +dead. The whole breast of the shirt, with its lace frill, was drenched +with gore, as was the couch underneath the spot where he lay. The head +hung back, as it seemed almost severed from the body by a frightful +gash, which yawned across the throat. The instrument which had +inflicted it, was found under his body. All, then, was over; I was +never to learn the history in whose termination I had been so deeply +and so tragically involved. + +The severe discipline which my mind had undergone was not bestowed in +vain. I directed my thoughts and my hopes to that place where there is +no more sin, nor danger, nor sorrow. + +Thus ends a brief tale, whose prominent incidents many will recognize +as having marked the history of a distinguished family, and though +it refers to a somewhat distant date, we shall be found not to have +taken, upon that account, any liberties with the facts, but in our +statement of all the incidents, to have rigorously and faithfully +adhered to the truth. + +[Footnote A: I have carefully altered the names as they appear in the +original MSS., for the reader will see that some of the circumstances +recorded are not of a kind to reflect honour upon those involved +in them; and, as many are still living, in every way honoured and +honourable, who stand in close relation to the principal actors in +this drama, the reader will see the necessity of the course which we +have adopted.] + +[Footnote B: The residuary legatee of the late Francis Purcell, +who has the honour of selecting such of his lamented old friend's +manuscripts as may appear fit for publication, in order that the lore +which they contain may reach the world before scepticism and utility +have robbed our species of the precious gift of credulity, and +scornfully kicked before them, or trampled into annihilation, those +harmless fragments of picturesque superstition, which it is our object +to preserve, has been subjected to the charge of dealing too largely +in the marvellous; and it has been half insinuated that such is his +love for _diablerie_, that he is content to wander a mile out of his +way, in order to meet a fiend or a goblin, and thus to sacrifice all +regard for truth and accuracy to the idle hope of affrighting the +imagination, and thus pandering to the bad taste of his reader. He +begs leave, then, to take this opportunity of asserting his perfect +innocence of all the crimes laid to his charge, and to assure his +reader that he never _pandered to his bad taste_, nor went one inch +out of his way to introduce witch, fairy, devil, ghost, or any other +of the grim fraternity of the redoubted Raw-head and bloody-bones. His +province, touching these tales, has been attended with no difficulty +and little responsibility; indeed, he is accountable for nothing more +than an alteration in the names of persons mentioned therein, when +such a step seemed necessary, and for an occasional note, whenever he +conceived it possible, innocently, to edge in a word. These tales have +been _written down_, as the heading of each announces, by the Rev. +Francis Purcell, P.P. of Drumcoolagh; and in all the instances, +which are many, in which the present writer has had an opportunity +of comparing the manuscript of his departed friend with the actual +traditions which are current amongst the families whose fortunes +they pretend to illustrate, he has uniformly found that whatever +of supernatural occurred in the story, so far from having been +exaggerated by him, had been rather softened down, and, wherever it +could be attempted, accounted for.] + + + + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + "And they lay wait for their own blood: they lurk privily for + their own lives. + + "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh + away the life of the owner thereof." + + +This story of the Irish peerage is written, as nearly as possible, +in the very words in which it was related by its "heroine," the late +Countess D----, and is therefore told in the first person. + +My mother died when I was an infant, and of her I have no +recollection, even the faintest. By her death my education was left +solely to the direction of my surviving parent. He entered upon his +task with a stern appreciation of the responsibility thus cast +upon him. My religious instruction was prosecuted with an almost +exaggerated anxiety; and I had, of course, the best masters to perfect +me in all those accomplishments which my station and wealth might seem +to require. My father was what is called an oddity, and his treatment +of me, though uniformly kind, was governed less by affection and +tenderness, than by a high and unbending sense of duty. Indeed I +seldom saw or spoke to him except at meal-times, and then, though +gentle, he was usually reserved and gloomy. His leisure hours, which +were many, were passed either in his study or in solitary walks; +in short, he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness or +improvement, than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own +duty would seem to impose. + +Shortly before my birth an event occurred which had contributed much +to induce and to confirm my father's unsocial habits; it was the fact +that a suspicion of _murder_ had fallen upon his younger brother, though +not sufficiently definite to lead to any public proceedings, yet +strong enough to ruin him in public opinion. This disgraceful and +dreadful doubt cast upon the family name, my father felt deeply and +bitterly, and not the less so that he himself was thoroughly convinced +of his brother's innocence. The sincerity and strength of this +conviction he shortly afterwards proved in a manner which produced the +catastrophe of my story. + +Before, however, I enter upon my immediate adventures, I ought to +relate the circumstances which had awakened that suspicion to which +I have referred, inasmuch as they are in themselves somewhat +curious, and in their effects most intimately connected with my own +after-history. + +My uncle, Sir Arthur Tyrrell, was a gay and extravagant man, and, +among other vices, was ruinously addicted to gaming. This unfortunate +propensity, even after his fortune had suffered so severely as to +render retrenchment imperative, nevertheless continued to engross him, +nearly to the exclusion of every other pursuit. He was, however, a +proud, or rather a vain man, and could not bear to make the diminution +of his income a matter of triumph to those with whom he had hitherto +competed; and the consequence was, that he frequented no longer the +expensive haunts of his dissipation, and retired from the gay world, +leaving his coterie to discover his reasons as best they might. He +did not, however, forego his favourite vice, for though he could +not worship his great divinity in those costly temples where he was +formerly wont to take his place, yet he found it very possible to +bring about him a sufficient number of the votaries of chance to +answer all his ends. The consequence was, that Carrickleigh, which +was the name of my uncle's residence, was never without one or more of +such visiters as I have described. It happened that upon one occasion +he was visited by one Hugh Tisdall, a gentleman of loose, and, indeed, +low habits, but of considerable wealth, and who had, in early youth, +travelled with my uncle upon the Continent. The period of this visit +was winter, and, consequently, the house was nearly deserted excepting +by its ordinary inmates; it was, therefore, highly acceptable, +particularly as my uncle was aware that his visiter's tastes accorded +exactly with his own. + +Both parties seemed determined to avail themselves of their mutual +suitability during the brief stay which Mr. Tisdall had promised; the +consequence was, that they shut themselves up in Sir Arthur's private +room for nearly all the day and the greater part of the night, during +the space of almost a week, at the end of which the servant having one +morning, as usual, knocked at Mr. Tisdall's bed-room door repeatedly, +received no answer, and, upon attempting to enter, found that it was +locked. This appeared suspicious, and the inmates of the house having +been alarmed, the door was forced open, and, on proceeding to the bed, +they found the body of its occupant perfectly lifeless, and hanging +halfway out, the head downwards, and near the floor. One deep wound +had been inflicted upon the temple, apparently with some blunt +instrument, which had penetrated the brain, and another blow, less +effective--probably the first aimed--had grazed his head, removing +some of the scalp. The door had been double locked upon the _inside_, +in evidence of which the key still lay where it had been placed in the +lock. The window, though not secured on the interior, was closed; a +circumstance not a little puzzling, as it afforded the only other +mode of escape from the room. It looked out, too, upon a kind of +court-yard, round which the old buildings stood, formerly accessible +by a narrow doorway and passage lying in the oldest side of the +quadrangle, but which had since been built up, so as to preclude all +ingress or egress; the room was also upon the second story, and the +height of the window considerable; in addition to all which the stone +window-sill was much too narrow to allow of any one's standing upon it +when the window was closed. Near the bed were found a pair of razors +belonging to the murdered man, one of them upon the ground, and both +of them open. The weapon which inflicted the mortal wound was not to +be found in the room, nor were any footsteps or other traces of the +murderer discoverable. At the suggestion of Sir Arthur himself, the +coroner was instantly summoned to attend, and an inquest was held. +Nothing, however, in any degree conclusive was elicited. The walls, +ceiling, and floor of the room were carefully examined, in order to +ascertain whether they contained a trap-door or other concealed mode +of entrance, but no such thing appeared. Such was the minuteness of +investigation employed, that, although the grate had contained a +large fire during the night, they proceeded to examine even the very +chimney, in order to discover whether escape by it were possible. But +this attempt, too, was fruitless, for the chimney, built in the old +fashion, rose in a perfectly perpendicular line from the hearth, to +a height of nearly fourteen feet above the roof, affording in its +interior scarcely the possibility of ascent, the flue being smoothly +plastered, and sloping towards the top like an inverted funnel; +promising, too, even if the summit were attained, owing to its great +height, but a precarious descent upon the sharp and steep-ridged roof; +the ashes, too, which lay in the grate, and the soot, as far as it +could be seen, were undisturbed, a circumstance almost conclusive upon +the point. + +Sir Arthur was of course examined. His evidence was given with +clearness and unreserve, which seemed calculated to silence all +suspicion. He stated that, up to the day and night immediately +preceding the catastrophe, he had lost to a heavy amount, but that, +at their last sitting, he had not only won back his original loss, +but upwards of £4,000 in addition; in evidence of which he produced +an acknowledgment of debt to that amount in the handwriting of the +deceased, bearing date the night of the catastrophe. He had mentioned +the circumstance to Lady Tyrrell, and in presence of some of his +domestics; which statement was supported by _their_ respective +evidence. One of the jury shrewdly observed, that the circumstance of +Mr. Tisdall's having sustained so heavy a loss might have suggested to +some ill-minded persons, accidentally hearing it, the plan of robbing +him, after having murdered him in such a manner as might make it +appear that he had committed suicide; a supposition which was strongly +supported by the razors having been found thus displaced and removed +from their case. Two persons had probably been engaged in the attempt, +one watching by the sleeping man, and ready to strike him in case of +his awakening suddenly, while the other was procuring the razors and +employed in inflicting the fatal gash, so as to make it appear to have +been the act of the murdered man himself. It was said that while the +juror was making this suggestion Sir Arthur changed colour. There +was nothing, however, like legal evidence to implicate him, and the +consequence was that the verdict was found against a person or persons +unknown, and for some time the matter was suffered to rest, until, +after about five months, my father received a letter from a person +signing himself Andrew Collis, and representing himself to be the +cousin of the deceased. This letter stated that his brother, Sir +Arthur, was likely to incur not merely suspicion but personal risk, +unless he could account for certain circumstances connected with +the recent murder, and contained a copy of a letter written by the +deceased, and dated the very day upon the night of which the murder +had been perpetrated. Tisdall's letter contained, among a great deal +of other matter, the passages which follow:-- + +"I have had sharp work with Sir Arthur: he tried some of his stale +tricks, but soon found that _I_ was Yorkshire, too; it would not +do--you understand me. We went to the work like good ones, head, +heart, and soul; and in fact, since I came here, I have lost no time. +I am rather fagged, but I am sure to be well paid for my hardship; I +never want sleep so long as I can have the music of a dice-box, and +wherewithal to pay the piper. As I told you, he tried some of his +queer turns, but I foiled him like a man, and, in return, gave him +more than he could relish of the genuine _dead knowledge_. In short, +I have plucked the old baronet as never baronet was plucked before; I +have scarce left him the stump of a quill. I have got promissory notes +in his hand to the amount of ----; if you like round numbers, say +five-and-twenty thousand pounds, safely deposited in my portable +strong box, alias, double-clasped pocket-book. I leave this ruinous +old rat-hole early on to-morrow, for two reasons: first, I do not +want to play with Sir Arthur deeper than I think his security would +warrant; and, secondly, because I am safer a hundred miles away from +Sir Arthur than in the house with him. Look you, my worthy, I tell +you this between ourselves--I may be wrong--but, by ----, I am sure +as that I am now living, that Sir A---- attempted to poison me last +night. So much for old friendship on both sides. When I won the last +stake, a heavy one enough, my friend leant his forehead upon his +hands, and you'll laugh when I tell you that his head literally smoked +like a hot dumpling. I do not know whether his agitation was produced +by the plan which he had against me, or by his having lost so heavily; +though it must be allowed that he had reason to be a little funked, +whichever way his thoughts went; but he pulled the bell, and ordered +two bottles of Champagne. While the fellow was bringing them, he wrote +a promissory note to the full amount, which he signed, and, as the +man came in with the bottles and glasses, he desired him to be off. He +filled a glass for me, and, while he thought my eyes were off, for I +was putting up his note at the time, he dropped something slyly into +it, no doubt to sweeten it; but I saw it all, and, when he handed +it to me, I said, with an emphasis which he might easily understand, +'There is some sediment in it, I'll not drink it.' 'Is there?' said +he, and at the same time snatched it from my hand and threw it into +the fire. What do you think of that? Have I not a tender bird in +hand? Win or lose, I will not play beyond five thousand to-night, and +to-morrow sees me safe out of the reach of Sir Arthur's Champagne." + +Of the authenticity of this document, I never heard my father express +a doubt; and I am satisfied that, owing to his strong conviction +in favour of his brother, he would not have admitted it without +sufficient inquiry, inasmuch as it tended to confirm the suspicions +which already existed to his prejudice. Now, the only point in this +letter which made strongly against my uncle, was the mention of the +"double-clasped pocket-book," as the receptacle of the papers likely +to involve him, for this pocket-book was not forthcoming, nor anywhere +to be found, nor had any papers referring to his gaming transactions +been discovered upon the dead man. + +But whatever might have been the original intention of this man, +Collis, neither my uncle nor my father ever heard more of him; he +published the letter, however, in Faulkner's newspaper, which was +shortly afterwards made the vehicle of a much more mysterious attack. +The passage in that journal to which I allude, appeared about four +years afterwards, and while the fatal occurrence was still fresh in +public recollection. It commenced by a rambling preface, stating that +"a _certain person_ whom _certain_ persons thought to be dead, was not +so, but living, and in full possession of his memory, and moreover, +ready and able to make _great_ delinquents tremble": it then went on +to describe the murder, without, however, mentioning names; and in +doing so, it entered into minute and circumstantial particulars of +which none but an _eye-witness_ could have been possessed, and by +implications almost too unequivocal to be regarded in the light of +insinuation, to involve the "_titled gambler_" in the guilt of the +transaction. + +My father at once urged Sir Arthur to proceed against the paper in +an action of libel, but he would not hear of it, nor consent to my +father's taking any legal steps whatever in the matter. My father, +however, wrote in a threatening tone to Faulkner, demanding a +surrender of the author of the obnoxious article; the answer to this +application is still in my possession, and is penned in an apologetic +tone: it states that the manuscript had been handed in, paid for, +and inserted as an advertisement, without sufficient inquiry, or any +knowledge as to whom it referred. No step, however, was taken to +clear my uncle's character in the judgment of the public; and, as he +immediately sold a small property, the application of the proceeds of +which were known to none, he was said to have disposed of it to enable +himself to buy off the threatened information; however the truth might +have been, it is certain that no charges respecting the mysterious +murder were afterwards publicly made against my uncle, and, as far as +external disturbances were concerned, he enjoyed henceforward perfect +security and quiet. + +A deep and lasting impression, however, had been made upon the public +mind, and Sir Arthur Tyrrell was no longer visited or noticed by the +gentry of the county, whose attentions he had hitherto received. He +accordingly affected to despise those courtesies which he no longer +enjoyed, and shunned even that society which he might have commanded. +This is all that I need recapitulate of my uncle's history, and I now +recur to my own. + +Although my father had never, within my recollection, visited, or +been visited by my uncle, each being of unsocial, procrastinating, +and indolent habits, and their respective residences being very far +apart--the one lying in the county of Galway, the other in that +of Cork--he was strongly attached to his brother, and evinced his +affection by an active correspondence, and by deeply and proudly +resenting that neglect which had branded Sir Arthur as unfit to mix in +society. + +When I was about eighteen years of age, my father, whose health had +been gradually declining, died, leaving me in heart wretched +and desolate, and, owing to his habitual seclusion, with few +acquaintances, and almost no friends. The provisions of his will were +curious, and when I was sufficiently come to myself to listen to, or +comprehend them, surprised me not a little: all his vast property was +left to me, and to the heirs of my body, for ever; and, in default +of such heirs, it was to go after my death to my uncle, Sir Arthur, +without any entail. At the same time, the will appointed him my +guardian, desiring that I might be received within his house, and +reside with his family, and under his care, during the term of my +minority; and in consideration of the increased expense consequent +upon such an arrangement, a handsome allowance was allotted to him +during the term of my proposed residence. The object of this last +provision I at once understood; my father desired, by making it the +direct apparent interest of Sir Arthur that I should die without +issue, while at the same time he placed my person wholly in his power, +to prove to the world how great and unshaken was his confidence in +his brother's innocence and honour. It was a strange, perhaps an +idle scheme, but as I had been always brought up in the habit of +considering my uncle as a deeply injured man, and had been taught, +almost as a part of my religion, to regard him as the very soul of +honour, I felt no further uneasiness respecting the arrangement than +that likely to affect a shy and timid girl at the immediate prospect +of taking up her abode for the first time in her life among strangers. +Previous to leaving my home, which I felt I should do with a heavy +heart, I received a most tender and affectionate letter from my uncle, +calculated, if anything could do so, to remove the bitterness of +parting from scenes familiar and dear from my earliest childhood, +and in some degree to reconcile me to the measure. It was upon a fine +autumn day that I approached the old domain of Carrickleigh. I shall +not soon forget the impression of sadness and of gloom which all that +I saw produced upon my mind; the sunbeams were falling with a rich +and melancholy lustre upon the fine old trees, which stood in lordly +groups, casting their long sweeping shadows over rock and sward; there +was an air of neglect and decay about the spot, which amounted almost +to desolation, and mournfully increased as we approached the building +itself, near which the ground had been originally more artificially +and carefully cultivated than elsewhere, and where consequently +neglect more immediately and strikingly betrayed itself. + +As we proceeded, the road wound near the beds of what had been +formerly two fish-ponds, which were now nothing more than stagnant +swamps, overgrown with rank weeds, and here and there encroached upon +by the straggling underwood; the avenue itself was much broken; and in +many places the stones were almost concealed by grass and nettles; the +loose stone walls which had here and there intersected the broad park, +were, in many places, broken down, so as no longer to answer their +original purpose as fences; piers were now and then to be seen, but +the gates were gone; and to add to the general air of dilapidation, +some huge trunks were lying scattered through the venerable old trees, +either the work of the winter storms, or perhaps the victims of some +extensive but desultory scheme of denudation, which the projector had +not capital or perseverance to carry into full effect. + +After the carriage had travelled a full mile of this avenue, we +reached the summit of a rather abrupt eminence, one of the many which +added to the picturesqueness, if not to the convenience of this rude +approach; from the top of this ridge the grey walls of Carrickleigh +were visible, rising at a small distance in front, and darkened by the +hoary wood which crowded around them; it was a quadrangular building +of considerable extent, and the front, where the great entrance was +placed, lay towards us, and bore unequivocal marks of antiquity; the +time-worn, solemn aspect of the old building, the ruinous and deserted +appearance of the whole place, and the associations which connected +it with a dark page in the history of my family, combined to depress +spirits already predisposed for the reception of sombre and dejecting +impressions. When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown court-yard +before the hall-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well +accorded with that of the place which they tenanted, alarmed by +the obstreperous barking of a great chained dog, ran out from some +half-ruinous outhouses, and took charge of the horses; the hall-door +stood open, and I entered a gloomy and imperfectly-lighted apartment, +and found no one within it. However, I had not long to wait in this +awkward predicament, for before my luggage had been deposited in the +house, indeed before I had well removed my cloak and other muffles, +so as to enable me to look around, a young girl ran lightly into the +hall, and kissing me heartily and somewhat boisterously exclaimed, "My +dear cousin, my dear Margaret--I am so delighted--so out of breath, we +did not expect you till ten o'clock; my father is somewhere about the +place, he must be close at hand. James--Corney--run out and tell your +master; my brother is seldom at home, at least at any reasonable hour; +you must be so tired--so fatigued--let me show you to your room; see +that Lady Margaret's luggage is all brought up; you must lie down and +rest yourself. Deborah, bring some coffee--up these stairs; we are +so delighted to see you--you cannot think how lonely I have been; how +steep these stairs are, are not they? I am so glad you are come--I +could hardly bring myself to believe that you were really coming; +how good of you, dear Lady Margaret." There was real good nature +and delight in my cousin's greeting, and a kind of constitutional +confidence of manner which placed me at once at ease, and made me feel +immediately upon terms of intimacy with her. The room into which +she ushered me, although partaking in the general air of decay which +pervaded the mansion and all about it, had, nevertheless, been fitted +up with evident attention to comfort, and even with some dingy attempt +at luxury; but what pleased me most was that it opened, by a second +door, upon a lobby which communicated with my fair cousin's apartment; +a circumstance which divested the room, in my eyes, of the air of +solitude and sadness which would otherwise have characterised it, to a +degree almost painful to one so depressed and agitated as I was. + +After such arrangements as I found necessary were completed, we both +went down to the parlour, a large wainscotted room, hung round with +grim old portraits, and, as I was not sorry to see, containing, in its +ample grate, a large and cheerful fire. Here my cousin had leisure to +talk more at her ease; and from her I learned something of the manners +and the habits of the two remaining members of her family, whom I had +not yet seen. On my arrival I had known nothing of the family +among whom I was come to reside, except that it consisted of three +individuals, my uncle, and his son and daughter, Lady Tyrrell having +been long dead; in addition to this very scanty stock of information, +I shortly learned from my communicative companion, that my uncle was, +as I had suspected, completely retired in his habits, and besides +that, having been, so far back as she could well recollect, always +rather strict, as reformed rakes frequently become, he had latterly +been growing more gloomily and sternly religious than heretofore. Her +account of her brother was far less favourable, though she did not say +anything directly to his disadvantage. From all that I could gather +from her, I was led to suppose that he was a specimen of the idle, +coarse-mannered, profligate "_squirearchy_"--a result which might +naturally have followed from the circumstance of his being, as it +were, outlawed from society, and driven for companionship to grades +below his own--enjoying, too, the dangerous prerogative of spending +a good deal of money. However, you may easily suppose that I found +nothing in my cousin's communication fully to bear me out in so very +decided a conclusion. + +I awaited the arrival of my uncle, which was every moment to be +expected, with feelings half of alarm, half of curiosity--a sensation +which I have often since experienced, though to a less degree, when +upon the point of standing for the first time in the presence of one +of whom I have long been in the habit of hearing or thinking with +interest. It was, therefore, with some little perturbation that I +heard, first a slight bustle at the outer door, then a slow step +traverse the hall, and finally witnessed the door open, and my uncle +enter the room. He was a striking looking man; from peculiarities both +of person and of dress, the whole effect of his appearance amounted to +extreme singularity. He was tall, and when young his figure must have +been strikingly elegant; as it was, however, its effect was marred by +a very decided stoop; his dress was of a sober colour, and in fashion +anterior to any thing which I could remember. It was, however, +handsome, and by no means carelessly put on; but what completed the +singularity of his appearance was his uncut, white hair, which hung +in long, but not at all neglected curls, even so far as his shoulders, +and which combined with his regularly classic features, and fine dark +eyes, to bestow upon him an air of venerable dignity and pride, which +I have seldom seen equalled elsewhere. I rose as he entered, and +met him about the middle of the room; he kissed my cheek and both my +hands, saying-- + +"You are most welcome, dear child, as welcome as the command of this +poor place and all that it contains can make you. I am rejoiced to see +you--truly rejoiced. I trust that you are not much fatigued; pray be +seated again." He led me to my chair, and continued, "I am glad to +perceive you have made acquaintance with Emily already; I see, in your +being thus brought together, the foundation of a lasting friendship. +You are both innocent, and both young. God bless you--God bless you, +and make you all that I could wish." + +He raised his eyes, and remained for a few moments silent, as if +in secret prayer. I felt that it was impossible that this man, with +feelings manifestly so tender, could be the wretch that public opinion +had represented him to be. I was more than ever convinced of his +innocence. His manners were, or appeared to me, most fascinating. +I know not how the lights of experience might have altered this +estimate. But I was then very young, and I beheld in him a perfect +mingling of the courtesy of polished life with the gentlest and +most genial virtues of the heart. A feeling of affection and respect +towards him began to spring up within me, the more earnest that I +remembered how sorely he had suffered in fortune and how cruelly in +fame. My uncle having given me fully to understand that I was most +welcome, and might command whatever was his own, pressed me to take +some supper; and on my refusing, he observed that, before bidding me +good night, he had one duty further to perform, one in which he was +convinced I would cheerfully acquiesce. He then proceeded to read a +chapter from the Bible; after which he took his leave with the same +affectionate kindness with which he had greeted me, having repeated +his desire that I should consider every thing in his house as +altogether at my disposal. It is needless to say how much I was +pleased with my uncle--it was impossible to avoid being so; and I +could not help saying to myself, if such a man as this is not safe +from the assaults of slander, who is? I felt much happier than I +had done since my father's death, and enjoyed that night the first +refreshing sleep which had visited me since that calamity. My +curiosity respecting my male cousin did not long remain unsatisfied; +he appeared upon the next day at dinner. His manners, though not so +coarse as I had expected, were exceedingly disagreeable; there was an +assurance and a forwardness for which I was not prepared; there was +less of the vulgarity of manner, and almost more of that of the mind, +than I had anticipated. I felt quite uncomfortable in his presence; +there was just that confidence in his look and tone, which would read +encouragement even in mere toleration; and I felt more disgusted and +annoyed at the coarse and extravagant compliments which he was pleased +from time to time to pay me, than perhaps the extent of the atrocity +might fully have warranted. It was, however, one consolation that he +did not often appear, being much engrossed by pursuits about which +I neither knew nor cared anything; but when he did, his attentions, +either with a view to his amusement, or to some more serious object, +were so obviously and perseveringly directed to me, that young and +inexperienced as I was, even _I_ could not be ignorant of their +significance. I felt more provoked by this odious persecution than I +can express, and discouraged him with so much vigour, that I did +not stop even at rudeness to convince him that his assiduities were +unwelcome; but all in vain. + +This had gone on for nearly a twelvemonth, to my infinite annoyance, +when one day, as I was sitting at some needlework with my companion, +Emily, as was my habit, in the parlour, the door opened, and my cousin +Edward entered the room. There was something, I thought, odd in his +manner, a kind of struggle between shame and impudence, a kind of +flurry and ambiguity, which made him appear, if possible, more than +ordinarily disagreeable. + +"Your servant, ladies," he said, seating himself at the same time; +"sorry to spoil your _tête-à -tête_; but never mind, I'll only take +Emily's place for a minute or two, and then we part for a while, fair +cousin. Emily, my father wants you in the corner turret; no shilly, +shally, he's in a hurry." She hesitated. "Be off--tramp, march, I +say," he exclaimed, in a tone which the poor girl dared not disobey. + +She left the room, and Edward followed her to the door. He stood there +for a minute or two, as if reflecting what he should say, perhaps +satisfying himself that no one was within hearing in the hall. At +length he turned about, having closed the door, as if carelessly, with +his foot, and advancing slowly, in deep thought, he took his seat at +the side of the table opposite to mine. There was a brief interval of +silence, after which he said:-- + +"I imagine that you have a shrewd suspicion of the object of my early +visit; but I suppose I must go into particulars. Must I?" + +"I have no conception," I replied, "what your object may be." + +"Well, well," said he becoming more at his ease as he proceeded, "it +may be told in a few words. You know that it is totally impossible, +quite out of the question, that an off-hand young fellow like me, and +a good-looking girl like yourself, could meet continually as you and +I have done, without an attachment--a liking growing up on one side or +other; in short, I think I have let you know as plainly as if I spoke +it, that I have been in love with you, almost from the first time +I saw you." He paused, but I was too much horrified to speak. He +interpreted my silence favourably. "I can tell you," he continued, +"I'm reckoned rather hard to please, and very hard to _hit_. I can't +say when I was taken with a girl before, so you see fortune reserved +me--." + +Here the odious wretch actually put his arm round my waist: the +action at once restored me to utterance, and with the most indignant +vehemence I released myself from his hold, and at the same time +said:-- + +"I _have_, sir, of course, perceived your most disagreeable +attentions; they have long been a source of great annoyance to me; and +you must be aware that I have marked my disapprobation, my disgust, as +unequivocally as I possibly could, without actual indelicacy." + +I paused, almost out of breath from the rapidity with which I had +spoken; and without giving him time to renew the conversation, I +hastily quitted the room, leaving him in a paroxysm of rage and +mortification. As I ascended the stairs, I heard him open the +parlour-door with violence, and take two or three rapid strides in the +direction in which I was moving. I was now much frightened, and ran +the whole way until I reached my room, and having locked the door, I +listened breathlessly, but heard no sound. This relieved me for +the present; but so much had I been overcome by the agitation and +annoyance attendant upon the scene which I had just passed through, +that when my cousin Emily knocked at the door, I was weeping in great +agitation. You will readily conceive my distress, when you reflect +upon my strong dislike to my cousin Edward, combined with my youth and +extreme inexperience. Any proposal of such a nature must have agitated +me; but that it should come from the man whom, of all others, I +instinctively most loathed and abhorred, and to whom I had, as clearly +as manner could do it, expressed the state of my feelings, was almost +too annoying to be borne; it was a calamity, too, in which I could not +claim the sympathy of my cousin Emily, which had always been extended +to me in my minor grievances. Still I hoped that it might not be +unattended with good; for I thought that one inevitable and most +welcome consequence would result from this painful _éclaircissement_, +in the discontinuance of my cousin's odious persecution. + +When I arose next morning, it was with the fervent hope that I +might never again behold his face, or even hear his name; but such +a consummation, though devoutedly to be wished, was hardly likely to +occur. The painful impressions of yesterday were too vivid to be +at once erased; and I could not help feeling some dim foreboding of +coming annoyance and evil. To expect on my cousin's part anything like +delicacy or consideration for me, was out of the question. I saw that +he had set his heart upon my property, and that he was not likely +easily to forego such a prize, possessing what might have been +considered opportunities and facilities almost to compel my +compliance. I now keenly felt the unreasonableness of my father's +conduct in placing me to reside with a family, with all the members of +which, with one exception, he was wholly unacquainted, and I bitterly +felt the helplessness of my situation. I determined, however, in the +event of my cousin's persevering in his addresses, to lay all the +particulars before my uncle, although he had never, in kindness or +intimacy, gone a step beyond our first interview, and to throw myself +upon his hospitality and his sense of honour for protection against a +repetition of such annoyances. + +My cousin's conduct may appear to have been an inadequate cause for +such serious uneasiness; but my alarm was awakened neither by his acts +nor by words, but entirely by his manner, which was strange and even +intimidating. At the beginning of our yesterday's interview, there was +a sort of bullying swagger in his air, which, towards the end, +gave place to something bordering upon the brutal vehemence of an +undisguised ruffian, a transition which had tempted me into a belief +that he might seek, even forcibly, to extort from me a consent to his +wishes, or by means still more horrible, of which I scarcely dared to +trust myself to think, to possess himself of my property. + +I was early next day summoned to attend my uncle in his private +room, which lay in a corner turret of the old building; and thither +I accordingly went, wondering all the way what this unusual measure +might prelude. When I entered the room, he did not rise in his usual +courteous way to greet me, but simply pointed to a chair opposite to +his own; this boded nothing agreeable. I sat down, however, silently +waiting until he should open the conversation. + +"Lady Margaret," at length he said, in a tone of greater sternness +than I thought him capable of using, "I have hitherto spoken to you as +a friend, but I have not forgotten that I am also your guardian, and +that my authority as such gives me a right to controul your conduct. +I shall put a question to you, and I expect and will demand a +plain, direct answer. Have I rightly been informed that you have +contemptuously rejected the suit and hand of my son Edward?" + +I stammered forth with a good deal of trepidation:-- + +"I believe, that is, I have, sir, rejected my cousin's proposals; and +my coldness and discouragement might have convinced him that I had +determined to do so." + +"Madame," replied he, with suppressed, but, as it appeared to me, +intense anger, "I have lived long enough to know that _coldness and +discouragement_, and such terms, form the common cant of a worthless +coquette. You know to the full, as well as I, that _coldness and +discouragement_ may be so exhibited as to convince their object that +he is neither distasteful nor indifferent to the person who wears that +manner. You know, too, none better, that an affected neglect, when +skillfully managed, is amongst the most formidable of the allurements +which artful beauty can employ. I tell you, madame, that having, +without one word spoken in discouragement, permitted my son's most +marked attentions for a twelvemonth or more, you have no _right_ to +dismiss him with no further explanation than demurely telling him that +you had always looked coldly upon him, and neither your wealth nor +_your ladyship_ (there was an emphasis of scorn on the word which +would have become Sir Giles Overreach himself) can warrant you in +treating with contempt the affectionate regard of an honest heart." + +I was too much shocked at this undisguised attempt to bully me into +an acquiescence in the interested and unprincipled plan for their +own aggrandisement, which I now perceived my uncle and his son had +deliberately formed, at once to find strength or collectedness to +frame an answer to what he had said. At length I replied, with a +firmness that surprised myself:-- + +"In all that you have just now said, sir, you have grossly misstated +my conduct and motives. Your information must have been most +incorrect, as far as it regards my conduct towards my cousin; my +manner towards him could have conveyed nothing but dislike; and if +anything could have added to the strong aversion which I have long +felt towards him, it would be his attempting thus to frighten me into +a marriage which he knows to be revolting to me, and which is sought +by him only as a means for securing to himself whatever property is +mine." + +As I said this, I fixed my eyes upon those of my uncle, but he was too +old in the world's ways to falter beneath the gaze of more searching +eyes than mine; he simply said-- + +"Are you acquainted with the provisions of your father's will?" + +I answered in the affirmative; and he continued:--"Then you must be +aware that if my son Edward were, which God forbid, the unprincipled, +reckless man, the ruffian you pretend to think him"--(here he spoke +very slowly, as if he intended that every word which escaped him +should be registered in my memory, while at the same time the +expression of his countenance underwent a gradual but horrible change, +and the eyes which he fixed upon me became so darkly vivid, that +I almost lost sight of everything else)--"if he were what you have +described him, do you think, child, he would have found no shorter way +than marriage to gain his ends? A single blow, an outrage not a degree +worse than you insinuate, would transfer your property to us!!" + +I stood staring at him for many minutes after he had ceased to speak, +fascinated by the terrible, serpent-like gaze, until he continued with +a welcome change of countenance:-- + +"I will not speak again to you, upon this topic, until one month has +passed. You shall have time to consider the relative advantages of the +two courses which are open to you. I should be sorry to hurry you to +a decision. I am satisfied with having stated my feelings upon the +subject, and pointed out to you the path of duty. Remember this day +month; not one word sooner." + +He then rose, and I left the room, much agitated and exhausted. + +This interview, all the circumstances attending it, but most +particularly the formidable expression of my uncle's countenance while +he talked, though hypothetically, of _murder_, combined to arouse all +my worst suspicions of him. I dreaded to look upon the face that +had so recently worn the appalling livery of guilt and malignity. I +regarded it with the mingled fear and loathing with which one looks +upon an object which has tortured them in a night-mare. + +In a few days after the interview, the particulars of which I have +just detailed, I found a note upon my toilet-table, and on opening it +I read as follows:-- + +"_My Dear Lady Margaret_, + +You will be, perhaps, surprised to see a strange face in your room +today. I have dismissed your Irish maid, and secured a French one to +wait upon you; a step rendered necessary by my proposing shortly to +visit the Continent with all my family. + +Your faithful guardian, "_ARTHUR TYRELL_." + +On inquiry, I found that my faithful attendant was actually gone, and +far on her way to the town of Galway; and in her stead there appeared +a tall, raw-boned, ill-looking, elderly Frenchwoman, whose sullen and +presuming manners seemed to imply that her vocation had never before +been that of a lady's-maid. I could not help regarding her as a +creature of my uncle's, and therefore to be dreaded, even had she been +in no other way suspicious. + +Days and weeks passed away without any, even a momentary doubt upon my +part, as to the course to be pursued by me. The allotted period had +at length elapsed; the day arrived upon which I was to communicate my +decision to my uncle. Although my resolution had never for a moment +wavered, I could not shake off the dread of the approaching colloquy; +and my heart sank within me as I heard the expected summons. I had +not seen my cousin Edward since the occurrence of the grand +_éclaircissement_; he must have studiously avoided me; I suppose from +policy, it could not have been from delicacy. I was prepared for a +terrific burst of fury from my uncle, as soon as I should make known +my determination; and I not unreasonably feared that some act of +violence or of intimidation would next be resorted to. Filled with +these dreary forebodings, I fearfully opened the study door, and the +next minute I stood in my uncle's presence. He received me with +a courtesy which I dreaded, as arguing a favourable anticipation +respecting the answer which I was to give; and after some slight delay +he began by saying-- + +"It will be a relief to both of us, I believe, to bring this +conversation as soon as possible to an issue. You will excuse me, +then, my dear niece, for speaking with a bluntness which, under other +circumstances, would be unpardonable. You have, I am certain, given +the subject of our last interview fair and serious consideration; +and I trust that you are now prepared with candour to lay your answer +before me. A few words will suffice; we perfectly understand one +another." + +He paused; and I, though feeling that I stood upon a mine which might +in an instant explode, nevertheless answered with perfect composure: +"I must now, sir, make the same reply which I did upon the last +occasion, and I reiterate the declaration which I then made, that I +never can nor will, while life and reason remain, consent to a union +with my cousin Edward." + +This announcement wrought no apparent change in Sir Arthur, except +that he became deadly, almost lividly pale. He seemed lost in dark +thought for a minute, and then, with a slight effort, said, "You have +answered me honestly and directly; and you say your resolution is +unchangeable; well, would it had been otherwise--would it had been +otherwise--but be it as it is; I am satisfied." + +He gave me his hand--it was cold and damp as death; under an assumed +calmness, it was evident that he was fearfully agitated. He continued +to hold my hand with an almost painful pressure, while, as if +unconsciously, seeming to forget my presence, he muttered, "Strange, +strange, strange, indeed! fatuity, helpless fatuity!" there was here a +long pause. "Madness _indeed_ to strain a cable that is rotten to +the very heart; it must break--and then--all goes." There was again +a pause of some minutes, after which, suddenly changing his voice and +manner to one of wakeful alacrity, he exclaimed, + +"Margaret, my son Edward shall plague you no more. He leaves this +country to-morrow for France; he shall speak no more upon this +subject--never, never more; whatever events depended upon your answer +must now take their own course; but as for this fruitless proposal, it +has been tried enough; it can be repeated no more." + +At these words he coldly suffered my hand to drop, as if to express +his total abandonment of all his projected schemes of alliance; and +certainly the action, with the accompanying words, produced upon my +mind a more solemn and depressing effect than I believed possible to +have been caused by the course which I had determined to pursue; it +struck upon my heart with an awe and heaviness which _will_ accompany +the accomplishment of an important and irrevocable act, even though +no doubt or scruple remains to make it possible that the agent should +wish it undone. + +"Well," said my uncle, after a little time, "we now cease to speak +upon this topic, never to resume it again. Remember you shall have +no farther uneasiness from Edward; he leaves Ireland for France +to-morrow; this will be a relief to you; may I depend upon your +_honour_ that no word touching the subject of this interview shall +ever escape you?" I gave him the desired assurance; he said, "It is +well; I am satisfied; we have nothing more, I believe, to say upon +either side, and my presence must be a restraint upon you, I shall +therefore bid you farewell." I then left the apartment, scarcely +knowing what to think of the strange interview which had just taken +place. + +On the next day my uncle took occasion to tell me that Edward had +actually sailed, if his intention had not been prevented by adverse +winds or weather; and two days after he actually produced a letter +from his son, written, as it said, _on board_, and despatched while +the ship was getting under weigh. This was a great satisfaction to me, +and as being likely to prove so, it was no doubt communicated to me by +Sir Arthur. + +During all this trying period I had found infinite consolation in the +society and sympathy of my dear cousin Emily. I never, in after-life, +formed a friendship so close, so fervent, and upon which, in all its +progress, I could look back with feelings of such unalloyed pleasure, +upon whose termination I must ever dwell with so deep, so yet +unembittered a sorrow. In cheerful converse with her I soon recovered +my spirits considerably, and passed my time agreeably enough, although +still in the utmost seclusion. Matters went on smoothly enough, +although I could not help sometimes feeling a momentary, but horrible +uncertainty respecting my uncle's character; which was not altogether +unwarranted by the circumstances of the two trying interviews, the +particulars of which I have just detailed. The unpleasant impression +which these conferences were calculated to leave upon my mind was fast +wearing away, when there occurred a circumstance, slight indeed +in itself, but calculated irrepressibly to awaken all my worst +suspicions, and to overwhelm me again with anxiety and terror. + +I had one day left the house with my cousin Emily, in order to take +a ramble of considerable length, for the purpose of sketching some +favourite views, and we had walked about half a mile when I perceived +that we had forgotten our drawing materials, the absence of which +would have defeated the object of our walk. Laughing at our own +thoughtlessness, we returned to the house, and leaving Emily outside, +I ran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils which lay +in my bed-room. As I ran up the stairs, I was met by the tall, +ill-looking Frenchwoman, evidently a good deal flurried; "Que veut +Madame?" said she, with a more decided effort to be polite, than I +had ever known her make before. "No, no--no matter," said I, hastily +running by her in the direction of my room. "Madame," cried she, in a +high key, "restez ici s'il vous plaît, votre chambre n'est pas faite." +I continued to move on without heeding her. She was some way behind +me, and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance, for +I was now upon the very lobby, she made a desperate attempt to seize +hold of my person; she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl, +which she drew from my shoulders, but slipping at the same time upon +the polished oak floor, she fell at full length upon the boards. A +little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange +woman, I hastily pushed open the door of my room, at which I now +stood, in order to escape from her; but great was my amazement on +entering to find the apartment preoccupied. The window was open, and +beside it stood two male figures; they appeared to be examining the +fastenings of the casement, and their backs were turned towards the +door. One of them was my uncle; they both had turned on my entrance, +as if startled; the stranger was booted and cloaked, and wore a heavy, +broad-leafed hat over his brows; he turned but for a moment, and +averted his face; but I had seen enough to convince me that he was no +other than my cousin Edward. My uncle had some iron instrument in his +hand, which he hastily concealed behind his back; and coming towards +me, said something as if in an explanatory tone; but I was too +much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be. He said +something about "_repairs_--window-frames--cold, and safety." I did +not wait, however, to ask or to receive explanations, but hastily left +the room. As I went down stairs I thought I heard the voice of +the Frenchwoman in all the shrill volubility of excuse, and others +uttering suppressed but vehement imprecations, or what seemed to me to +be such. + +I joined my cousin Emily quite out of breath. I need not say that my +head was too full of other things to think much of drawing for that +day. I imparted to her frankly the cause of my alarms, but, at +the same time, as gently as I could; and with tears she promised +vigilance, devotion, and love. I never had reason for a moment to +repent the unreserved confidence which I then reposed in her. She was +no less surprised than I at the unexpected appearance of Edward, whose +departure for France neither of us had for a moment doubted, but +which was now proved by his actual presence to be nothing more than an +imposture practised, I feared, for no good end. The situation in which +I had found my uncle had very nearly removed all my doubts as to his +designs; I magnified suspicions into certainties, and dreaded night +after night that I should be murdered in my bed. The nervousness +produced by sleepless nights and days of anxious fears increased the +horrors of my situation to such a degree, that I at length wrote a +letter to a Mr. Jefferies, an old and faithful friend of my father's, +and perfectly acquainted with all his affairs, praying him, for +God's sake, to relieve me from my present terrible situation, and +communicating without reserve the nature and grounds of my suspicions. +This letter I kept sealed and directed for two or three days always +about my person, for discovery would have been ruinous, in expectation +of an opportunity, which might be safely trusted, of having it placed +in the post-office; as neither Emily nor I were permitted to pass +beyond the precincts of the demesne itself, which was surrounded by +high walls formed of dry stone, the difficulty of procuring such an +opportunity was greatly enhanced. + +At this time Emily had a short conversation with her father, which she +reported to me instantly. After some indifferent matter, he had +asked her whether she and I were upon good terms, and whether I was +unreserved in my disposition. She answered in the affirmative; and +he then inquired whether I had been much surprised to find him in my +chamber on the other day. She answered that I had been both surprised +and amused. "And what did she think of George Wilson's appearance?" +"Who?" inquired she. "Oh! the architect," he answered, "who is to +contract for the repairs of the house; he is accounted a handsome +fellow." "She could not see his face," said Emily, "and she was in +such a hurry to escape that she scarcely observed him." Sir Arthur +appeared satisfied, and the conversation ended. + +This slight conversation, repeated accurately to me by Emily, had the +effect of confirming, if indeed any thing was required to do so, +all that I had before believed as to Edward's actual presence; and I +naturally became, if possible, more anxious than ever to despatch the +letter to Mr. Jefferies. An opportunity at length occurred. As Emily +and I were walking one day near the gate of the demesne, a lad from +the village happened to be passing down the avenue from the house; +the spot was secluded, and as this person was not connected by service +with those whose observation I dreaded, I committed the letter to his +keeping, with strict injunctions that he should put it, without delay, +into the receiver of the town post-office; at the same time I added +a suitable gratuity, and the man having made many protestations of +punctuality, was soon out of sight. He was hardly gone when I began +to doubt my discretion in having trusted him; but I had no better +or safer means of despatching the letter, and I was not warranted in +suspecting him of such wanton dishonesty as a disposition to tamper +with it; but I could not be quite satisfied of its safety until I had +received an answer, which could not arrive for a few days. Before I +did, however, an event occurred which a little surprised me. I was +sitting in my bed-room early in the day, reading by myself, when I +heard a knock at the door. "Come in," said I, and my uncle entered the +room. "Will you excuse me," said he, "I sought you in the parlour, and +thence I have come here. I desired to say a word to you. I trust that +you have hitherto found my conduct to you such as that of a guardian +towards his ward should be." I dared not withhold my assent. "And," +he continued, "I trust that you have not found me harsh or unjust, +and that you have perceived, my dear niece, that I have sought to make +this poor place as agreeable to you as may be?" I assented again; +and he put his hand in his pocket, whence he drew a folded paper, and +dashing it upon the table with startling emphasis he said, "Did you +write that letter?" The sudden and fearful alteration of his voice, +manner, and face, but more than all, the unexpected production of my +letter to Mr. Jefferies, which I at once recognised, so confounded and +terrified me, that I felt almost choking. I could not utter a word. +"Did you write that letter?" he repeated, with slow and intense +emphasis. "You did, liar and hypocrite. You dared to write that foul +and infamous libel; but it shall be your last. Men will universally +believe you mad, if I choose to call for an inquiry. I can make +you appear so. The suspicions expressed in this letter are the +hallucinations and alarms of a moping lunatic. I have defeated your +first attempt, madam; and by the holy God, if ever you make another, +chains, darkness, and the keeper's whip shall be your portion." With +these astounding words he left the room, leaving me almost fainting. + +I was now almost reduced to despair; my last cast had failed; I had no +course left but that of escaping secretly from the castle, and placing +myself under the protection of the nearest magistrate. I felt if this +were not done, and speedily, that I should be _murdered_. No one, from +mere description, can have an idea of the unmitigated horror of my +situation; a helpless, weak, inexperienced girl, placed under the +power, and wholly at the mercy of evil men, and feeling that I had it +not in my power to escape for one moment from the malignant influences +under which I was probably doomed to fall; with a consciousness, too, +that if violence, if murder were designed, no human being would be +near to aid me; my dying shriek would be lost in void space. + +I had seen Edward but once during his visit, and as I did not meet +him again, I began to think that he must have taken his departure; a +conviction which was to a certain degree satisfactory, as I regarded +his absence as indicating the removal of immediate danger. Emily also +arrived circuitously at the same conclusion, and not without good +grounds, for she managed indirectly to learn that Edward's black horse +had actually been for a day and part of a night in the castle stables, +just at the time of her brother's supposed visit. The horse had gone, +and as she argued, the rider must have departed with it. + +This point being so far settled, I felt a little less uncomfortable; +when being one day alone in my bed-room, I happened to look out from +the window, and to my unutterable horror, I beheld peering through an +opposite casement, my cousin Edward's face. Had I seen the evil one +himself in bodily shape, I could not have experienced a more sickening +revulsion. I was too much appalled to move at once from the window, +but I did so soon enough to avoid his eye. He was looking fixedly down +into the narrow quadrangle upon which the window opened. I shrunk back +unperceived, to pass the rest of the day in terror and despair. I went +to my room early that night, but I was too miserable to sleep. + +At about twelve o'clock, feeling very nervous, I determined to call +my cousin Emily, who slept, you will remember, in the next room, which +communicated with mine by a second door. By this private entrance I +found my way into her chamber, and without difficulty persuaded her to +return to my room and sleep with me. We accordingly lay down together, +she undressed, and I with my clothes on, for I was every moment +walking up and down the room, and felt too nervous and miserable to +think of rest or comfort. Emily was soon fast asleep, and I lay awake, +fervently longing for the first pale gleam of morning, and reckoning +every stroke of the old clock with an impatience which made every hour +appear like six. + +It must have been about one o'clock when I thought I heard a slight +noise at the partition door between Emily's room and mine, as if +caused by somebody's turning the key in the lock. I held my breath, +and the same sound was repeated at the second door of my room, that +which opened upon the lobby; the sound was here distinctly caused +by the revolution of the bolt in the lock, and it was followed by a +slight pressure upon the door itself, as if to ascertain the security +of the lock. The person, whoever it might be, was probably satisfied, +for I heard the old boards of the lobby creak and strain, as if +under the weight of somebody moving cautiously over them. My sense +of hearing became unnaturally, almost painfully acute. I suppose +the imagination added distinctness to sounds vague in themselves. I +thought that I could actually hear the breathing of the person who was +slowly returning along the lobby. + +At the head of the stair-case there appeared to occur a pause; and I +could distinctly hear two or three sentences hastily whispered; +the steps then descended the stairs with apparently less caution. I +ventured to walk quickly and lightly to the lobby door, and attempted +to open it; it was indeed fast locked upon the outside, as was +also the other. I now felt that the dreadful hour was come; but one +desperate expedient remained--it was to awaken Emily, and by our +united strength, to attempt to force the partition door, which was +slighter than the other, and through this to pass to the lower part of +the house, whence it might be possible to escape to the grounds, and +so to the village. I returned to the bedside, and shook Emily, but in +vain; nothing that I could do availed to produce from her more than +a few incoherent words; it was a death-like sleep. She had certainly +drunk of some narcotic, as, probably, had I also, in spite of all the +caution with which I had examined every thing presented to us to eat +or drink. I now attempted, with as little noise as possible, to force +first one door, then the other; but all in vain. I believe no strength +could have affected my object, for both doors opened inwards. I +therefore collected whatever moveables I could carry thither, and +piled them against the doors, so as to assist me in whatever attempts +I should make to resist the entrance of those without. I then returned +to the bed and endeavoured again, but fruitlessly, to awaken my +cousin. It was not sleep, it was torpor, lethargy, death. I knelt down +and prayed with an agony of earnestness; and then seating myself upon +the bed, I awaited my fate with a kind of terrible tranquillity. + +I heard a faint clanking sound from the narrow court which I +have already mentioned, as if caused by the scraping of some iron +instrument against stones or rubbish. I at first determined not to +disturb the calmness which I now experienced, by uselessly watching +the proceedings of those who sought my life; but as the sounds +continued, the horrible curiosity which I felt overcame every +other emotion, and I determined, at all hazards, to gratify it. I, +therefore, crawled upon my knees to the window, so as to let the +smallest possible portion of my head appear above the sill. + +The moon was shining with an uncertain radiance upon the antique grey +buildings, and obliquely upon the narrow court beneath; one side of +it was therefore clearly illuminated, while the other was lost in +obscurity, the sharp outlines of the old gables, with their nodding +clusters of ivy, being at first alone visible. Whoever or whatever +occasioned the noise which had excited my curiosity, was concealed +under the shadow of the dark side of the quadrangle. I placed my hand +over my eyes to shade them from the moonlight, which was so bright as +to be almost dazzling, and, peering into the darkness, I first dimly, +but afterwards gradually, almost with full distinctness, beheld the +form of a man engaged in digging what appeared to be a rude hole close +under the wall. Some implements, probably a shovel and pickaxe, lay +beside him, and to these he every now and then applied himself as the +nature of the ground required. He pursued his task rapidly, and with +as little noise as possible. "So," thought I, as shovelful after +shovelful, the dislodged rubbish mounted into a heap, "they are +digging the grave in which, before two hours pass, I must lie, a +cold, mangled corpse. I am _theirs_--I cannot escape." I felt as if +my reason was leaving me. I started to my feet, and in mere despair I +applied myself again to each of the two doors alternately. I strained +every nerve and sinew, but I might as well have attempted, with my +single strength, to force the building itself from its foundations. I +threw myself madly upon the ground, and clasped my hands over my eyes +as if to shut out the horrible images which crowded upon me. + +The paroxysm passed away. I prayed once more with the bitter, agonised +fervour of one who feels that the hour of death is present and +inevitable. When I arose, I went once more to the window and looked +out, just in time to see a shadowy figure glide stealthily along the +wall. The task was finished. The catastrophe of the tragedy must soon +be accomplished. I determined now to defend my life to the last; and +that I might be able to do so with some effect, I searched the room +for something which might serve as a weapon; but either through +accident, or else in anticipation of such a possibility, every thing +which might have been made available for such a purpose had been +removed. + +I must then die tamely and without an effort to defend myself. A +thought suddenly struck me; might it not be possible to escape through +the door, which the assassin must open in order to enter the room? +I resolved to make the attempt. I felt assured that the door through +which ingress to the room would be effected was that which opened +upon the lobby. It was the more direct way, besides being, for obvious +reasons, less liable to interruption than the other. I resolved, then, +to place myself behind a projection of the wall, the shadow would +serve fully to conceal me, and when the door should be opened, and +before they should have discovered the identity of the occupant of +the bed, to creep noiselessly from the room, and then to trust to +Providence for escape. In order to facilitate this scheme, I removed +all the lumber which I had heaped against the door; and I had +nearly completed my arrangements, when I perceived the room suddenly +darkened, by the close approach of some shadowy object to the window. +On turning my eyes in that direction, I observed at the top of the +casement, as if suspended from above, first the feet, then the legs, +then the body, and at length the whole figure of a man present itself. +It was Edward Tyrrell. He appeared to be guiding his descent so as to +bring his feet upon the centre of the stone block which occupied the +lower part of the window; and having secured his footing upon this, he +kneeled down and began to gaze into the room. As the moon was gleaming +into the chamber, and the bed-curtains were drawn, he was able to +distinguish the bed itself and its contents. He appeared satisfied +with his scrutiny, for he looked up and made a sign with his hand. +He then applied his hands to the window-frame, which must have +been ingeniously contrived for the purpose, for with apparently no +resistance the whole frame, containing casement and all, slipped from +its position in the wall, and was by him lowered into the room. The +cold night wind waved the bed-curtains, and he paused for a moment; +all was still again, and he stepped in upon the floor of the room. +He held in his hand what appeared to be a steel instrument, shaped +something like a long hammer. This he held rather behind him, while, +with three long, _tip-toe_ strides, he brought himself to the bedside. +I felt that the discovery must now be made, and held my breath in +momentary expectation of the execration in which he would vent his +surprise and disappointment. I closed my eyes; there was a pause, but +it was a short one. I heard two dull blows, given in rapid succession; +a quivering sigh, and the long-drawn, heavy breathing of the sleeper +was for ever suspended. I unclosed my eyes, and saw the murderer fling +the quilt across the head of his victim; he then, with the instrument +of death still in his hand, proceeded to the lobby-door, upon which +he tapped sharply twice or thrice. A quick step was then heard +approaching, and a voice whispered something from without. Edward +answered, with a kind of shuddering chuckle, "Her ladyship is past +complaining; unlock the door, in the devil's name, unless you're +afraid to come in, and help me to lift her out of the window." The +key was turned in the lock, the door opened, and my uncle entered the +room. I have told you already that I had placed myself under the shade +of a projection of the wall, close to the door. I had instinctively +shrunk down cowering towards the ground on the entrance of Edward +through the window. When my uncle entered the room, he and his son +both stood so very close to me that his hand was every moment upon the +point of touching my face. I held my breath, and remained motionless +as death. + +"You had no interruption from the next room?" said my uncle. + +"No," was the brief reply. + +"Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon +them. You're a steady hand, by G--d; not much blood--eh?" + +"Not twenty drops," replied his son, "and those on the quilt." + +"I'm glad it's over," whispered my uncle again; "we must lift the--the +_thing_ through the window, and lay the rubbish over it." + +They then turned to the bedside, and, winding the bed-clothes round +the body, carried it between them slowly to the window, and exchanging +a few brief words with some one below, they shoved it over the +window-sill, and I heard it fall heavily on the ground underneath. + +"I'll take the jewels," said my uncle; "there are two caskets in the +lower drawer." + +He proceeded, with an accuracy which, had I been more at ease, would +have furnished me with matter of astonishment, to lay his hand upon +the very spot where my jewels lay; and having possessed himself of +them, he called to his son:-- + +"Is the rope made fast above?" + +"I'm no fool; to be sure it is," replied he. + +They then lowered themselves from the window; and I rose lightly and +cautiously, scarcely daring to breathe, from my place of concealment, +and was creeping towards the door, when I heard my uncle's voice, in a +sharp whisper, exclaim, "Get up again; G--d d--n you, you've forgot +to lock the room door"; and I perceived, by the straining of the rope +which hung from above, that the mandate was instantly obeyed. Not +a second was to be lost. I passed through the door, which was only +closed, and moved as rapidly as I could, consistently with stillness, +along the lobby. Before I had gone many yards, I heard the door +through which I had just passed roughly locked on the inside. I glided +down the stairs in terror, lest, at every corner, I should meet the +murderer or one of his accomplices. I reached the hall, and listened, +for a moment, to ascertain whether all was silent around. No sound was +audible; the parlour windows opened on the park, and through one +of them I might, I thought, easily effect my escape. Accordingly, I +hastily entered; but, to my consternation, a candle was burning in the +room, and by its light I saw a figure seated at the dinner-table, upon +which lay glasses, bottles, and the other accompaniments of a drinking +party. Two or three chairs were placed about the table, irregularly, +as if hastily abandoned by their occupants. A single glance satisfied +me that the figure was that of my French attendant. She was fast +asleep, having, probably, drank deeply. There was something malignant +and ghastly in the calmness of this bad woman's features, dimly +illuminated as they were by the flickering blaze of the candle. A +knife lay upon the table, and the terrible thought struck me--"Should +I kill this sleeping accomplice in the guilt of the murderer, and thus +secure my retreat?" Nothing could be easier; it was but to draw the +blade across her throat, the work of a second. + +An instant's pause, however, corrected me. "No," thought I, "the God +who has conducted me thus far through the valley of the shadow of +death, will not abandon me now. I will fall into their hands, or I +will escape hence, but it shall be free from the stain of blood; His +will be done." I felt a confidence arising from this reflection, an +assurance of protection which I cannot describe. There were no other +means of escape, so I advanced, with a firm step and collected mind, +to the window. I noiselessly withdrew the bars, and unclosed the +shutters; I pushed open the casement, and without waiting to look +behind me, I ran with my utmost speed, scarcely feeling the ground +beneath me, down the avenue, taking care to keep upon the grass which +bordered it. I did not for a moment slacken my speed, and I had now +gained the central point between the park-gate and the mansion-house. +Here the avenue made a wider circuit, and in order to avoid delay, I +directed my way across the smooth sward round which the carriageway +wound, intending, at the opposite side of the level, at a point which +I distinguished by a group of old birch trees, to enter again upon the +beaten track, which was from thence tolerably direct to the gate. I +had, with my utmost speed, got about half way across this broad flat, +when the rapid tramp of a horse's hoofs struck upon my ear. My heart +swelled in my bosom, as though I would smother. The clattering of +galloping hoofs approached; I was pursued; they were now upon the +sward on which I was running; there was not a bush or a bramble to +shelter me; and, as if to render escape altogether desperate, the +moon, which had hitherto been obscured, at this moment shone forth +with a broad, clear light, which made every object distinctly visible. +The sounds were now close behind me. I felt my knees bending under +me, with the sensation which unnerves one in a dream. I reeled, +I stumbled, I fell; and at the same instant the cause of my alarm +wheeled past me at full gallop. It was one of the young fillies which +pastured loose about the park, whose frolics had thus all but maddened +me with terror. I scrambled to my feet, and rushed on with weak but +rapid steps, my sportive companion still galloping round and round me +with many a frisk and fling, until, at length, more dead than alive, +I reached the avenue-gate, and crossed the stile, I scarce knew how. +I ran through the village, in which all was silent as the grave, until +my progress was arrested by the hoarse voice of a sentinel, who +cried "Who goes there?" I felt that I was now safe. I turned in the +direction of the voice, and fell fainting at the soldier's feet. When +I came to myself, I was sitting in a miserable hovel, surrounded by +strange faces, all bespeaking curiosity and compassion. Many soldiers +were in it also; indeed, as I afterwards found, it was employed as a +guard-room by a detachment of troops quartered for that night in the +town. In a few words I informed their officer of the circumstances +which had occurred, describing also the appearance of the persons +engaged in the murder; and he, without further loss of time than was +necessary to procure the attendance of a magistrate, proceeded to the +mansion-house of Carrickleigh, taking with him a party of his men. +But the villains had discovered their mistake, and had effected their +escape before the arrival of the military. + +The Frenchwoman was, however, arrested in the neighbourhood upon the +next day. She was tried and condemned at the ensuing assizes; and +previous to her execution confessed that "_she had a hand in making +Hugh Tisdall's bed_." She had been a housekeeper in the castle at the +time, and a _chère amie_ of my uncle's. She was, in reality, able +to speak English like a native, but had exclusively used the French +language, I suppose to facilitate her designs. She died the same +hardened wretch she had lived, confessing her crimes only, as she +alleged, that her doing so might involve Sir Arthur Tyrrell, the +great author of her guilt and misery, and whom she now regarded with +unmitigated detestation. + +With the particulars of Sir Arthur's and his son's escape, as far +as they are known, you are acquainted. You are also in possession +of their after fate; the terrible, the tremendous retribution which, +after long delays of many years, finally overtook and crushed them. +Wonderful and inscrutable are the dealings of God with his creatures! + +Deep and fervent as must always be my gratitude to heaven for my +deliverance, effected by a chain of providential occurrences, the +failing of a single link of which must have ensured my destruction, +it was long before I could look back upon it with other feelings than +those of bitterness, almost of agony. The only being that had +ever really loved me, my nearest and dearest friend, ever ready to +sympathise, to counsel, and to assist; the gayest, the gentlest, the +warmest heart; the only creature on earth that cared for me; _her_ +life had been the price of my deliverance; and I then uttered the +wish, which no event of my long and sorrowful life has taught me to +recall, that she had been spared, and that, in her stead, _I_ were +mouldering in the grave, forgotten, and at rest. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Two Ghostly Mysteries, by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12828 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f64ff3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12828 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12828) diff --git a/old/12828-8.txt b/old/12828-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9c1f4ef --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12828-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3076 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Two Ghostly Mysteries, by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Two Ghostly Mysteries + A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family; and The Murdered Cousin + +Author: Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +Release Date: July 6, 2004 [EBook #12828] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO GHOSTLY MYSTERIES *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Cathy Smith and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +AND + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + +Two stories by J.S. LeFanu + + +A Chapter in the History was first published in 1836. +The Murdered Cousin was first published in 1851. + + + + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +Being a Tenth Extract from the Legacy of the Late Francis Purcell, +P.P. of Drumcoolagh + + +INTRODUCTION. In the following narrative, I have endeavoured to give +as nearly as possible the "_ipsissima verba_" of the valued friend +from whom I received it, conscious that any aberration from her mode +of telling the tale of her own life, would at once impair its accuracy +and its effect. Would that, with her words, I could also bring before +you her animated gesture, her expressive countenance, the solemn and +thrilling air and accent with which she related the dark passages +in her strange story; and, above all, that I could communicate the +impressive consciousness that the narrator had seen with her own +eyes, and personally acted in the scenes which she described; these +accompaniments, taken with the additional circumstance, that she +who told the tale was one far too deeply and sadly impressed with +religious principle, to misrepresent or fabricate what she repeated as +fact, gave to the tale a depth of interest which the events recorded +could hardly, themselves, have produced. I became acquainted with +the lady from whose lips I heard this narrative, nearly twenty years +since, and the story struck my fancy so much, that I committed it +to paper while it was still fresh in my mind, and should its perusal +afford you entertainment for a listless half hour, my labour shall not +have been bestowed in vain. I find that I have taken the story down as +she told it, in the first person, and, perhaps, this is as it should +be. She began as follows. + +My maiden name was Richardson,[A] the designation of a family of +some distinction in the county of Tyrone. I was the younger of two +daughters, and we were the only children. There was a difference in +our ages of nearly six years, so that I did not, in my childhood, +enjoy that close companionship which sisterhood, in other +circumstances, necessarily involves; and while I was still a child, my +sister was married. The person upon whom she bestowed her hand, was a +Mr. Carew, a gentleman of property and consideration in the north +of England. I remember well the eventful day of the wedding; the +thronging carriages, the noisy menials, the loud laughter, the merry +faces, and the gay dresses. Such sights were then new to me, and +harmonized ill with the sorrowful feelings with which I regarded the +event which was to separate me, as it turned out, for ever, from a +sister whose tenderness alone had hitherto more than supplied all that +I wanted in my mother's affection. The day soon arrived which was to +remove the happy couple from Ashtown-house. The carriage stood at the +hall-door, and my poor sister kissed me again, and again, telling me +that I should see her soon. The carriage drove away, and I gazed +after it until my eyes filled with tears, and, returning slowly to my +chamber, I wept more bitterly, and so, to speak more desolately, than +ever I had done before. My father had never seemed to love, or to +take an interest in me. He had desired a son, and I think he never +thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate sex. My having come into the +world at all as his child, he regarded as a kind of fraudulent +intrusion, and, as his antipathy to me had its origin in an +imperfection of mine, too radical for removal, I never even hoped to +stand high in his good graces. My mother was, I dare say, as fond of +me as she was of any one; but she was a woman of a masculine and +a worldly cast of mind. She had no tenderness or sympathy for the +weaknesses, or even for the affections of woman's nature, and her +demeanour towards me was peremptory, and often even harsh. It is not +to be supposed, then, that I found in the society of my parents much +to supply the loss of my sister. About a year after her marriage, we +received letters from Mr. Carew, containing accounts of my sister's +health, which, though not actually alarming, were calculated to +make us seriously uneasy. The symptoms most dwelt upon, were loss of +appetite and cough. The letters concluded by intimating that he would +avail himself of my father and mother's repeated invitation to spend +some time at Ashtown, particularly as the physician who had been +consulted as to my sister's health had strongly advised a removal +to her native air. There were added repeated assurances that nothing +serious was apprehended, as it was supposed that a deranged state of +the liver was the only source of the symptoms which seemed to intimate +consumption. In accordance with this announcement, my sister and Mr. +Carew arrived in Dublin, where one of my father's carriages awaited +them, in readiness to start upon whatever day or hour they might +choose for their departure. It was arranged that Mr. Carew was, as +soon as the day upon which they were to leave Dublin was definitely +fixed, to write to my father, who intended that the two last stages +should be performed by his own horses, upon whose speed and safety +far more reliance might be placed than upon those of the ordinary +_post-horses_, which were, at that time, almost without exception, of +the very worst order. The journey, one of about ninety miles, was to +be divided; the larger portion to be reserved for the second day. On +Sunday, a letter reached us, stating that the party would leave Dublin +on Monday, and, in due course, reach Ashtown upon Tuesday evening. +Tuesday came: the evening closed in, and yet no carriage appeared; +darkness came on, and still no sign of our expected visitors. Hour +after hour passed away, and it was now past twelve; the night was +remarkably calm, scarce a breath stirring, so that any sound, such +as that produced by the rapid movement of a vehicle, would have +been audible at a considerable distance. For some such sound I was +feverishly listening. It was, however, my father's rule to close the +house at nightfall, and the window-shutters being fastened, I was +unable to reconnoitre the avenue as I would have wished. It was nearly +one o'clock, and we began almost to despair of seeing them upon that +night, when I thought I distinguished the sound of wheels, but so +remote and faint as to make me at first very uncertain. The noise +approached; it become louder and clearer; it stopped for a moment. I +now heard the shrill screaking of the rusty iron, as the avenue +gate revolved on its hinges; again came the sound of wheels in rapid +motion. + +"It is they," said I, starting up, "the carriage is in the avenue." We +all stood for a few moments, breathlessly listening. On thundered +the vehicle with the speed of a whirlwind; crack went the whip, and +clatter went the wheels, as it rattled over the uneven pavement of +the court; a general and furious barking from all the dogs about the +house, hailed its arrival. We hurried to the hall in time to hear +the steps let down with the sharp clanging noise peculiar to the +operation, and the hum of voices exerted in the bustle of arrival. The +hall-door was now thrown open, and we all stepped forth to greet our +visitors. The court was perfectly empty; the moon was shining broadly +and brightly upon all around; nothing was to be seen but the tall +trees with their long spectral shadows, now wet with the dews of +midnight. We stood gazing from right to left, as if suddenly awakened +from a dream; the dogs walked suspiciously, growling and snuffing +about the court, and by totally and suddenly ceasing their former +loud barking, as also by carrying their tails between their legs, +expressing the predominance of fear. We looked one upon the other +in perplexity and dismay, and I think I never beheld more pale faces +assembled. By my father's direction, we looked about to find anything +which might indicate or account for the noise which we had heard; but +no such thing was to be seen--even the mire which lay upon the avenue +was undisturbed. We returned to the house, more panic struck than +I can describe. On the next day, we learned by a messenger, who had +ridden hard the greater part of the night, that my sister was dead. On +Sunday evening, she had retired to bed rather unwell, and, on Monday, +her indisposition declared itself unequivocally to be malignant +fever. She became hourly worse, and, on Tuesday night, a little after +midnight, she expired.[B] I mention this circumstance, because it was +one upon which a thousand wild and fantastical reports were founded, +though one would have thought that the truth scarcely required to be +improved upon; and again, because it produced a strong and lasting +effect upon my spirits, and indeed, I am inclined to think, upon my +character. I was, for several years after this occurrence, long after +the violence of my grief subsided, so wretchedly low-spirited and +nervous, that I could scarcely be said to live, and during this time, +habits of indecision, arising out of a listless acquiescence in the +will of others, a fear of encountering even the slightest opposition, +and a disposition to shrink from what are commonly called amusements, +grew upon me so strongly, that I have scarcely even yet, altogether +overcome them. We saw nothing more of Mr. Carew. He returned to +England as soon as the melancholy rites attendant upon the event +which I have just mentioned were performed; and not being altogether +inconsolable, he married again within two years; after which, owing to +the remoteness of our relative situations, and other circumstances, we +gradually lost sight of him. I was now an only child; and, as my elder +sister had died without issue, it was evident that, in the ordinary +course of things, my father's property, which was altogether in his +power, would go to me, and the consequence was, that before I was +fourteen, Ashtown-house was besieged by a host of suitors; however, +whether it was that _I_ was too young, or that none of the aspirants +to my hand stood sufficiently high in rank or wealth, I was suffered +by both parents to do exactly as I pleased; and well was it for me, +as I afterwards found that fortune, or, rather Providence, had so +ordained it, that I had not suffered my affections to become in any +degree engaged, for my mother would never have suffered any _silly +fancy_ of mine, as she was in the habit of styling an attachment, +to stand in the way of her ambitious views; views which she was +determined to carry into effect, in defiance of every obstacle, and in +order to accomplish which, she would not have hesitated to sacrifice +anything so unreasonable and contemptible as a girlish passion. + +When I reached the age of sixteen, my mother's plans began to develope +themselves, and, at her suggestion, we moved to Dublin to sojourn for +the winter, in order that no time might be lost in disposing of me to +the best advantage. I had been too long accustomed to consider myself +as of no importance whatever, to believe for a moment that I was in +reality the cause of all the bustle and preparation which surrounded +me, and being thus relieved from the pain which a consciousness of my +real situation would have inflicted, I journeyed towards the capital +with a feeling of total indifference. + +My father's wealth and connection had established him in the best +society, and, consequently, upon our arrival in the metropolis, we +commanded whatever enjoyment or advantages its gaieties afforded. The +tumult and novelty of the scenes in which I was involved did not fail +considerably to amuse me, and my mind gradually recovered its tone, +which was naturally cheerful. It was almost immediately known and +reported that I was an heiress, and of course my attractions were +pretty generally acknowledged. Among the many gentlemen whom it was my +fortune to please, one, ere long, established himself in my mother's +good graces, to the exclusion of all less important aspirants. +However, I had not understood, or even remarked his attentions, nor, +in the slightest degree, suspected his or my mother's plans respecting +me, when I was made aware of them rather abruptly by my mother +herself. We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his +residence in Stephen's-green, and I was, with the assistance of +my waiting-maid, employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich +ornaments which, in profuseness and value, could scarcely have found +their equals in any private family in Ireland. I had thrown myself +into a lounging chair beside the fire, listless and exhausted, after +the fatigues of the evening, when I was aroused from the reverie into +which I had fallen, by the sound of footsteps approaching my chamber, +and my mother entered. + +"Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone. "I wish to say a word +or two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I +hope?" + +"No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my +seat with the formal respect so little practised now. + +"Sit down, my dear," said she, placing herself upon a chair beside me; +"I must chat with you for a quarter of an hour or so. Saunders (to the +maid), you may leave the room; do not close the room door, but shut +that of the lobby." + +This precaution against curious ears having been taken as directed, my +mother proceeded. + +"You have observed, I should suppose, my dearest Fanny; indeed, you +_must_ have observed, Lord Glenfallen's marked attentions to you?" + +"I assure you, madam," I began. + +"Well, well, that is all right," interrupted my mother; "of course you +must be modest upon the matter; but listen to me for a few moments, my +love, and I will prove to your satisfaction that your modesty is quite +unnecessary in this case. You have done better than we could have +hoped, at least, so very soon. Lord Glenfallen is in love with you. I +give you joy of your conquest," and saying this, my mother kissed my +forehead. + +"In love with me!" I exclaimed, in unfeigned astonishment. + +"Yes, in love with you," repeated my mother; "devotedly, distractedly +in love with you. Why, my dear, what is there wonderful in it; look in +the glass, and look at these," she continued, pointing with a smile to +the jewels which I had just removed from my person, and which now lay +a glittering heap upon the table. + +"May there not," said I, hesitating between confusion and real alarm; +"is it not possible that some mistake may be at the bottom of all +this?" + +"Mistake! dearest; none," said my mother. "None, none in the world; +judge for yourself; read this, my love," and she placed in my hand a +letter, addressed to herself, the seal of which was broken. I read +it through with no small surprise. After some very fine complimentary +flourishes upon my beauty and perfections, as, also, upon the +antiquity and high reputation of our family, it went on to make +a formal proposal of marriage, to be communicated or not to me at +present, as my mother should deem expedient; and the letter wound up +by a request that the writer might be permitted, upon our return to +Ashtown-house, which was soon to take place, as the spring was now +tolerably advanced, to visit us for a few days, in case his suit was +approved. + +"Well, well, my dear," said my mother, impatiently; "do you know who +Lord Glenfallen is?" + +"I do, madam," said I rather timidly, for I dreaded an altercation +with my mother. + +"Well, dear, and what frightens you?" continued she; "are you afraid +of a title? What has he done to alarm you? he is neither old nor +ugly." + +I was silent, though I might have said, "He is neither young nor +handsome." + +"My dear Fanny," continued my mother, "in sober seriousness you have +been most fortunate in engaging the affections of a nobleman such as +Lord Glenfallen, young and wealthy, with first-rate, yes, acknowledged +_first-rate_ abilities and of a family whose influence is not exceeded +by that of any in Ireland--of course you see the offer in the same +light that I do--indeed I think you _must_." + +This was uttered in no very dubious tone. I was so much astonished +by the suddenness of the whole communication that I literally did not +know what to say. + +"You are not in love?" said my mother, turning sharply, and fixing her +dark eyes upon me, with severe scrutiny. + +"No, madam," said I, promptly; horrified, as what young lady would not +have been, at such a query. + +"I am glad to hear it," said my mother, dryly. "Once, nearly twenty +years ago, a friend of mine consulted me how he should deal with a +daughter who had made what they call a love match, beggared herself, +and disgraced her family; and I said, without hesitation, take no care +of her, but cast her off; such punishment I awarded for an offence +committed against the reputation of a family not my own; and what +I advised respecting the child of another, with full as small +compunction I would _do_ with mine. I cannot conceive anything more +unreasonable or intolerable than that the fortune and the character of +a family should be marred by the idle caprices of a girl." + +She spoke this with great severity, and paused as if she expected some +observation from me. I, however, said nothing. + +"But I need not explain to you, my dear Fanny," she continued, "my +views upon this subject; you have always known them well, and I have +never yet had reason to believe you likely, voluntarily, to offend me, +or to abuse or neglect any of those advantages which reason and duty +tell you should be improved--come hither, my dear, kiss me, and do not +look so frightened. Well, now, about this letter, you need not answer +it yet; of course you must be allowed time to make up your mind; in +the mean time I will write to his lordship to give him my permission +to visit us at Ashtown--good night, my love." + +And thus ended one of the most disagreeable, not to say astounding, +conversations I had ever had; it would not be easy to describe exactly +what were my feelings towards Lord Glenfallen; whatever might have +been my mother's suspicions, my heart was perfectly disengaged; +and hitherto, although I had not been made in the slightest degree +acquainted with his real views, I had liked him very much, as an +agreeable, well informed man, whom I was always glad to meet in +society; he had served in the navy in early life, and the polish which +his manners received in his after intercourse with courts and cities +had not served to obliterate that frankness of _manner_ which belongs +proverbially to the sailor. Whether this apparent candour went deeper +than the outward bearing I was yet to learn; however there was no +doubt that as far as I had seen of Lord Glenfallen, he was, though +perhaps not so young as might have been desired in a lover, a +singularly pleasing man, and whatever feeling unfavourable to him had +found its way into my mind, arose altogether from the dread, not +an unreasonable one, that constraint might be practised upon my +inclinations. I reflected, however, that Lord Glenfallen was a wealthy +man, and one highly thought of; and although I could never expect to +love him in the romantic sense of the term, yet I had no doubt but +that, all things considered, I might be more happy with him than I +could hope to be at home. When next I met him it was with no small +embarrassment, his tact and good breeding, however, soon reassured me, +and effectually prevented my awkwardness being remarked upon; and I +had the satisfaction of leaving Dublin for the country with the full +conviction that nobody, not even those most intimate with me, even +suspected the fact of Lord Glenfallen's having made me a formal +proposal. This was to me a very serious subject of self gratulation, +for, besides my instinctive dread of becoming the topic of the +speculations of gossip, I felt that if the situation which I occupied +in relation to him were made publicly known, I should stand committed +in a manner which would scarcely leave me the power of retraction. The +period at which Lord Glenfallen had arranged to visit Ashtown-house +was now fast approaching, and it became my mother's wish to form +me thoroughly to her will, and to obtain my consent to the proposed +marriage before his arrival, so that all things might proceed smoothly +without apparent opposition or objection upon my part; whatever +objections, therefore, I had entertained were to be subdued; whatever +disposition to resistance I had exhibited or had been supposed to +feel, were to be completely eradicated before he made his appearance, +and my mother addressed herself to the task with a decision and energy +against which even the barriers, which her imagination had created, +could hardly have stood. If she had, however, expected any determined +opposition from me, she was agreeably disappointed; my heart was +perfectly free, and all my feelings of liking and preference were in +favour of Lord Glenfallen, and I well knew that in case I refused to +dispose of myself as I was desired, my mother had alike the power and +the will to render my existence as utterly miserable as any, even +the most ill-assorted marriage could possibly have done. You will +remember, my good friend, that I was very young and very completely +under the controul of my parents, both of whom, my mother +particularly, were unscrupulously determined in matters of this kind, +and willing, when voluntary obedience on the part of those within +their power was withheld, to compel a forced acquiescence by an +unsparing use of all the engines of the most stern and rigorous +domestic discipline. All these combined, not unnaturally, induced me +to resolve upon yielding at once, and without useless opposition, to +what appeared almost to be my fate. The appointed time was come, +and my now accepted suitor arrived; he was in high spirits, and, if +possible, more entertaining than ever. I was not, however, quite in +the mood to enjoy his sprightliness; but whatever I wanted in gaiety +was amply made up in the triumphant and gracious good humour of my +mother, whose smiles of benevolence and exultation were showered +around as bountifully as the summer sunshine. I will not weary you +with unnecessary prolixity. Let it suffice to say, that I was married +to Lord Glenfallen with all the attendant pomp and circumstance of +wealth, rank, and grandeur. According to the usage of the times, now +humanely reformed, the ceremony was made until long past midnight, the +season of wild, uproarious, and promiscuous feasting and revelry. Of +all this I have a painfully vivid recollection, and particularly of +the little annoyances inflicted upon me by the dull and coarse jokes +of the wits and wags who abound in all such places, and upon all such +occasions. I was not sorry, when, after a few days, Lord Glenfallen's +carriage appeared at the door to convey us both from Ashtown; for any +change would have been a relief from the irksomeness of ceremonial +and formality which the visits received in honour of my newly acquired +titles hourly entailed upon me. It was arranged that we were to +proceed to Cahergillagh, one of the Glenfallen estates, lying, +however, in a southern county, so that a tedious journey (then owing +to the impracticability of the roads,) of three days intervened. I set +forth with my noble companion, followed by the regrets of some, and by +the envy of many, though God knows I little deserved the latter; the +three days of travel were now almost spent, when passing the brow of a +wild heathy hill, the domain of Cahergillagh opened suddenly upon +our view. It formed a striking and a beautiful scene. A lake of +considerable extent stretching away towards the west, and reflecting +from its broad, smooth waters, the rich glow of the setting sun, was +overhung by steep hills, covered by a rich mantle of velvet sward, +broken here and there by the grey front of some old rock, and +exhibiting on their shelving sides, their slopes and hollows, every +variety of light and shade; a thick wood of dwarf oak, birch, and +hazel skirted these hills, and clothed the shores of the lake, running +out in rich luxuriance upon every promontory, and spreading upward +considerably upon the side of the hills. + +"There lies the enchanted castle," said Lord Glenfallen, pointing +towards a considerable level space intervening between two of the +picturesque hills, which rose dimly around the lake. This little plain +was chiefly occupied by the same low, wild wood which covered the +other parts of the domain; but towards the centre a mass of taller and +statelier forest trees stood darkly grouped together, and among them +stood an ancient square tower, with many buildings of an humbler +character, forming together the manor-house, or, as it was more +usually called, the court of Cahergillagh. As we approached the level +upon which the mansion stood, the winding road gave us many glimpses +of the time-worn castle and its surrounding buildings; and seen as it +was through the long vistas of the fine old trees, and with the +rich glow of evening upon it, I have seldom beheld an object more +picturesquely striking. I was glad to perceive, too, that here and +there the blue curling smoke ascended from stacks of chimneys now +hidden by the rich, dark ivy, which, in a great measure, covered the +building; other indications of comfort made themselves manifest as +we approached; and indeed, though the place was evidently one of +considerable antiquity, it had nothing whatever of the gloom of decay +about it. + +"You must not, my love," said Lord Glenfallen, "imagine this place +worse than it is. I have no taste for antiquity, at least I should +not choose a house to reside in because it is old. Indeed I do not +recollect that I was even so romantic as to overcome my aversion to +rats and rheumatism, those faithful attendants upon your noble relics +of feudalism; and I much prefer a snug, modern, unmysterious bed-room, +with well-aired sheets, to the waving tapestry, mildewed cushions, +and all the other interesting appliances of romance; however, though +I cannot promise you all the discomfort generally pertaining to an old +castle, you will find legends and ghostly lore enough to claim your +respect; and if old Martha be still to the fore, as I trust she is, +you will soon have a supernatural and appropriate anecdote for every +closet and corner of the mansion; but here we are--so, without more +ado, welcome to Cahergillagh." + +We now entered the hall of the castle, and while the domestics were +employed in conveying our trunks and other luggage which we had +brought with us for immediate use to the apartments which Lord +Glenfallen had selected for himself and me, I went with him into a +spacious sitting room, wainscoted with finely polished black oak, +and hung round with the portraits of various of the worthies of +the Glenfallen family. This room looked out upon an extensive level +covered with the softest green sward, and irregularly bounded by the +wild wood I have before mentioned, through the leafy arcade formed +by whose boughs and trunks the level beams of the setting sun were +pouring; in the distance, a group of dairy maids were plying their +task, which they accompanied throughout with snatches of Irish songs +which, mellowed by the distance, floated not unpleasingly to the ear; +and beside them sat or lay, with all the grave importance of conscious +protection, six or seven large dogs of various kinds; farther in the +distance, and through the cloisters of the arching wood, two or +three ragged urchins were employed in driving such stray kine as had +wandered farther than the rest to join their fellows. As I looked +upon this scene which I have described, a feeling of tranquillity and +happiness came upon me, which I have never experienced in so strong +a degree; and so strange to me was the sensation that my eyes filled +with tears. Lord Glenfallen mistook the cause of my emotion, and +taking me kindly and tenderly by the hand he said, "Do not suppose, my +love, that it is my intention to _settle_ here, whenever you desire +to leave this, you have only to let me know your wish and it shall +be complied with, so I must entreat of you not to suffer any +circumstances which I can controul to give you one moment's +uneasiness; but here is old Martha, you must be introduced to her, one +of the heirlooms of our family." + +A hale, good-humoured, erect, old woman was Martha, and an agreeable +contrast to the grim, decrepit hag, which my fancy had conjured up, as +the depository of all the horrible tales in which I doubted not this +old place was most fruitful. She welcomed me and her master with +a profusion of gratulations, alternately kissing our hands and +apologising for the liberty, until at length Lord Glenfallen put +an end to this somewhat fatiguing ceremonial, by requesting her to +conduct me to my chamber if it were prepared for my reception. I +followed Martha up an old-fashioned, oak stair-case into a long, dim +passage at the end of which lay the door which communicated with the +apartments which had been selected for our use; here the old woman +stopped, and respectfully requested me to proceed. I accordingly +opened the door and was about to enter, when something like a mass of +black tapestry as it appeared disturbed by my sudden approach, fell +from above the door, so as completely to screen the aperture; the +startling unexpectedness of the occurrence, and the rustling noise +which the drapery made in its descent, caused me involuntarily to step +two or three paces backwards, I turned, smiling and half ashamed to +the old servant, and said, "You see what a coward I am." The woman +looked puzzled, and without saying any more, I was about to draw aside +the curtain and enter the room, when upon turning to do so, I was +surprised to find that nothing whatever interposed to obstruct the +passage. I went into the room, followed by the servant woman, and was +amazed to find that it, like the one below, was wainscoted, and that +nothing like drapery was to be found near the door. + +"Where is it," said I; "what has become of it?" + +"What does your ladyship wish to know?" said the old woman. + +"Where is the black curtain that fell across the door, when I +attempted first to come to my chamber," answered I. + +"The cross of Christ about us," said the old woman, turning suddenly +pale. + +"What is the matter, my good friend," said I; "you seem frightened." + +"Oh, no, no, your ladyship," said the old woman, endeavouring to +conceal her agitation; but in vain, for tottering towards a chair, she +sunk into it, looking so deadly pale and horror-struck that I thought +every moment she would faint. + +"Merciful God, keep us from harm and danger," muttered she at length. + +"What can have terrified you so," said I, beginning to fear that she +had seen something more than had met my eye, "you appear ill, my poor +woman." + +"Nothing, nothing, my lady," said she, rising; "I beg your ladyship's +pardon for making so bold; may the great God defend us from +misfortune." + +"Martha," said I, "something _has_ frightened you very much, and I +insist on knowing what it is; your keeping me in the dark upon the +subject will make me much more uneasy than any thing you could tell +me; I desire you, therefore, to let me know what agitates you; I +command you to tell me." "Your ladyship said you saw a black curtain +falling across the door when you were coming into the room," said the +old woman. + +"I did," said I; "but though the whole thing appears somewhat strange +I cannot see any thing in the matter to agitate you so excessively. + +"It's for no good you saw that, my lady," said the crone; "something +terrible is coming; it's a sign, my lady--a sign that never fails." + +"Explain, explain what you mean, my good woman," said I, in spite of +myself, catching more than I could account for, of her superstitious +terror. + +"Whenever something--something _bad_ is going to happen to the +Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black +handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces; I +saw it myself," continued she, lowering her voice, "when I was only +a little girl, and I'll never forget it; I often heard of it before, +though I never saw it till then, nor since, praised be God; but I +was going into Lady Jane's room to waken her in the morning; and sure +enough when I got first to the bed and began to draw the curtain, +something dark was waved across the division, but only for a moment; +and when I saw rightly into the bed, there was she lying cold and +dead, God be merciful to me; so, my lady, there is small blame to me +to be daunted when any one of the family sees it, for it's many's the +story I heard of it, though I saw it but once." + +I was not of a superstitious turn of mind; yet I could not resist a +feeling of awe very nearly allied to the fear which my companion had +so unreservedly expressed; and when you consider my situation, the +loneliness, antiquity, and gloom of the place, you will allow that +the weakness was not without excuse. In spite of old Martha's boding +predictions, however, time flowed on in an unruffled course; one +little incident, however, though trifling in itself, I must relate as +it serves to make what follows more intelligible. Upon the day after +my arrival, Lord Glenfallen of course desired to make me acquainted +with the house and domain; and accordingly we set forth upon our +ramble; when returning, he became for some time silent and moody, a +state so unusual with him as considerably to excite my surprise, I +endeavoured by observations and questions to arouse him--but in vain; +at length as we approached the house, he said, as if speaking to +himself, "'twere madness--madness--madness," repeating the word +bitterly--"sure and speedy ruin." There was here a long pause; and at +length turning sharply towards me in a tone very unlike that in which +he had hitherto addressed me, he said, "Do you think it possible that +a woman can keep a secret?" + +"I am sure," said I, "that women are very much belied upon the score +of talkativeness, and that I may answer your question with the same +directness with which you put it; I reply that I _do_ think a woman +can keep a secret." + +"But I do not," said he, drily. + +We walked on in silence for a time; I was much astonished at his +unwonted abruptness; I had almost said rudeness. After a considerable +pause he seemed to recollect himself, and with an effort resuming his +sprightly manner, he said, "well, well, the next thing to keeping +a secret well is, not to desire to possess one--talkativeness and +curiosity generally go together; now I shall make test of you in the +first place, respecting the latter of these qualities. I shall be your +_Bluebeard_--tush, why do I trifle thus; listen to me, my dear +Fanny, I speak now in solemn earnest; what I desire is, intimately, +inseparably, connected with your happiness and honour as well as my +own; and your compliance with my request will not be difficult; it +will impose upon you a very trifling restraint during your sojourn +here, which certain events which have occurred since our arrival, have +determined me shall not be a long one. You must promise me, upon your +sacred honour, that you will visit _only_ that part of the castle +which can be reached from the front entrance, leaving the back +entrance and the part of the building commanded immediately by it, to +the menials, as also the small garden whose high wall you see yonder; +and never at any time seek to pry or peep into them, nor to open the +door which communicates from the front part of the house through the +corridor with the back. I do not urge this in jest or in caprice, but +from a solemn conviction that danger and misery will be the certain +consequences of your not observing what I prescribe. I cannot explain +myself further at present--promise me, then, these things as you hope +for peace here and for mercy hereafter." + +I did make the promise as desired, and he appeared relieved; his +manner recovered all its gaiety and elasticity, but the recollection +of the strange scene which I have just described dwelt painfully upon +my mind. More than a month passed away without any occurrence worth +recording; but I was not destined to leave Cahergillagh without +further adventure; one day intending to enjoy the pleasant sunshine in +a ramble through the woods, I ran up to my room to procure my bonnet +and shawl; upon entering the chamber, I was surprised and somewhat +startled to find it occupied; beside the fireplace and nearly opposite +the door, seated in a large, old-fashioned elbow-chair, was placed the +figure of a lady; she appeared to be nearer fifty than forty, and was +dressed suitably to her age, in a handsome suit of flowered silk; she +had a profusion of trinkets and jewellery about her person, and many +rings upon her fingers; but although very rich, her dress was not +gaudy or in ill taste; but what was remarkable in the lady was, that +although her features were handsome, and upon the whole pleasing, the +pupil of each eye was dimmed with the whiteness of cataract, and she +was evidently stone blind. I was for some seconds so surprised at this +unaccountable apparition, that I could not find words to address her. + +"Madam," said I, "there must be some mistake here--this is my +bed-chamber." + +"Marry come up," said the lady, sharply; "_your_ chamber! Where is +Lord Glenfallen?" + +"He is below, madam," replied I; "and I am convinced he will be not a +little surprised to find you here." + +"I do not think he will," said she; "with your good leave, talk of +what you know something about; tell him I want him; why does the minx +dilly dally so?" + +In spite of the awe which this grim lady inspired, there was something +in her air of confident superiority which, when I considered our +relative situations, was not a little irritating. + +"Do you know, madam, to whom you speak?" said I. + +"I neither know nor care," said she; "but I presume that you are some +one about the house, so, again, I desire you, if you wish to continue +here, to bring your master hither forthwith." + +"I must tell you madam," said I, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"What's that?" said the stranger, rapidly. + +"I say, madam," I repeated, approaching her, that I might be more +distinctly heard, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"It's a lie, you trull," cried she, in an accent which made me start, +and, at the same time, springing forward, she seized me in her grasp +and shook me violently, repeating, "it's a lie, it's a lie," with +a rapidity and vehemence which swelled every vein of her face; +the violence of her action, and the fury which convulsed her face, +effectually terrified me, and disengaging myself from her grasp, I +screamed as loud as I could for help; the blind woman continued to +pour out a torrent of abuse upon me, foaming at the mouth with rage, +and impotently shaking her clenched fists towards me. I heard Lord +Glenfallen's step upon the stairs, and I instantly ran out; as I past +him I perceived that he was deadly pale, and just caught the words, "I +hope that demon has not hurt you?" I made some answer, I forget what, +and he entered the chamber, the door of which he locked upon the +inside; what passed within I know not; but I heard the voices of the +two speakers raised in loud and angry altercation. I thought I heard +the shrill accents of the woman repeat the words, "let her look to +herself"; but I could not be quite sure. This short sentence, however, +was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful meaning; the +storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference of more +than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and agitated, +"That unfortunate woman," said he, "is out of her mind; I dare say she +treated you to some of her ravings, but you need not dread any further +interruption from her, I have brought her so far to reason. She did +not hurt you, I trust." + +"No, no," said I; "but she terrified me beyond measure." "Well," said +he, "she is likely to behave better for the future, and I dare swear +that neither you nor she would desire after what has passed to meet +again." + +This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery, +and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very +agreeable food for rumination. All attempts on my part to arrive at +the truth were baffled; Lord Glenfallen evaded all my enquiries, and +at length peremptorily forbid any further allusion to the matter. I +was thus obliged to rest satisfied with what I had actually seen, +and to trust to time to resolve the perplexities in which the whole +transaction had involved me. Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits +gradually underwent a complete and most painful change; he became +silent and abstracted, his manner to me was abrupt and often harsh, +some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to his mind; and under +its influence his spirits sunk and his temper became soured. I +soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and +excitement of society produces, than the result of a healthy habit of +mind; and every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate +good nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than +a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind, +open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, +was rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly +selfish man; this was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it +from myself as long as I could, but the truth was not to be denied, +and I was forced to believe that Lord Glenfallen no longer loved +me, and that he was at little pains to conceal the alteration in his +sentiments. One morning after breakfast, Lord Glenfallen had been for +some time walking silently up and down the room, buried in his +moody reflections, when pausing suddenly, and turning towards me, he +exclaimed, + +"I have it, I have it; we must go abroad and stay there, too, and +if that does not answer, why--why we must try some more effectual +expedient. Lady Glenfallen, I have become involved in heavy +embarrassments; a wife you know must share the fortunes of her +husband, for better for worse, but I will waive my right if you prefer +remaining here--here at Cahergillagh; for I would not have you seen +elsewhere without the state to which your rank entitled you; besides +it would break your poor mother's heart," he added, with sneering +gravity, "so make up your mind--Cahergillagh or France, I will start +if possible in a week, so determine between this and then." + +He left the room and in a few moments I saw him ride past the window, +followed by a mounted servant; he had directed a domestic to inform +me that he should not be back until the next day. I was in very great +doubt as to what course of conduct I should pursue, as to accompanying +him in the continental tour so suddenly determined upon, I felt that +it would be a hazard too great to encounter; for at Cahergillagh I had +always the consciousness to sustain me, that if his temper at any time +led him into violent or unwarrantable treatment of me, I had a remedy +within reach, in the protection and support of my own family, from +all useful and effective communication with whom, if once in France, +I should be entirely debarred. As to remaining at Cahergillagh in +solitude, and for aught I knew, exposed to hidden dangers, it appeared +to me scarcely less objectionable than the former proposition; and yet +I feared that with one or other I must comply, unless I was prepared +to come to an actual breach with Lord Glenfallen; full of these +unpleasing doubts and perplexities, I retired to rest. I was wakened, +after having slept uneasily for some hours, by some person shaking +me rudely by the shoulder; a small lamp burned in my room, and by its +light, to my horror and amazement, I discovered that my visitant was +the self-same blind, old lady who had so terrified me a few weeks +before. I started up in the bed, with a view to ring the bell, and +alarm the domestics, but she instantly anticipated me by saying, "Do +not be frightened, silly girl; if I had wished to harm you I could +have done it while you were sleeping, I need not have wakened you; +listen to me, now, attentively and fearlessly; for what I have to say, +interests you to the full as much as it does me; tell me, here, in +the presence of God, did Lord Glenfallen marry you, _actually marry_ +you?--speak the truth, woman." + +"As surely as I live and speak," I replied, "did Lord Glenfallen marry +me in presence of more than a hundred witnesses." + +"Well," continued she, "he should have told you _then_, before you +married him, that he had a wife living, which wife I am; I feel you +tremble--tush! do not be frightened. I do not mean to harm you--mark +me now--you are not his wife. When I make my story known you will be +so, neither in the eye of God nor of man; you must leave this house +upon to-morrow; let the world know that your husband has another wife +living; go, you, into retirement, and leave him to justice, which will +surely overtake him. If you remain in this house after to-morrow you +will reap the bitter fruits of your sin," so saying, she quitted the +room, leaving me very little disposed to sleep. + +Here was food for my very worst and most terrible suspicions; still +there was not enough to remove all doubt. I had no proof of the truth +of this woman's statement. Taken by itself there was nothing to induce +me to attach weight to it; but when I viewed it in connection with the +extraordinary mystery of some of Lord Glenfallen's proceedings, his +strange anxiety to exclude me from certain portions of the mansion, +doubtless, lest I should encounter this person--the strong influence, +nay, command, which she possessed over him, a circumstance clearly +established by the very fact of her residing in the very place, where +of all others, he should least have desired to find her--her thus +acting, and continuing to act in direct contradiction to his wishes; +when, I say, I viewed her disclosure in connection with all these +circumstances, I could not help feeling that there was at least a +fearful verisimilitude in the allegations which she had made. Still I +was not satisfied, nor nearly so; young minds have a reluctance almost +insurmountable to believing upon any thing short of unquestionable +proof, the existence of premeditated guilt in any one whom they have +ever trusted; and in support of this feeling I was assured that if the +assertion of Lord Glenfallen, which nothing in this woman's manner had +led me to disbelieve, were true, namely, that her mind was unsound, +the whole fabric of my doubts and fears must fall to the ground. +I determined to state to Lord Glenfallen freely and accurately the +substance of the communication which I had just heard, and in his +words and looks to seek for its proof or refutation; full of these +thoughts I remained wakeful and excited all night, every moment +fancying that I heard the step, or saw the figure of my recent visitor +towards whom I felt a species of horror and dread which I can hardly +describe. There was something in her face, though her features had +evidently been handsome, and were not, at first sight, unpleasing, +which, upon a nearer inspection, seemed to indicate the habitual +prevalence and indulgence of evil passions, and a power of expressing +mere animal anger, with an intenseness that I have seldom seen +equalled, and to which an almost unearthly effect was given by the +convulsive quivering of the sightless eyes. You may easily suppose +that it was no very pleasing reflection to me to consider, that +whenever caprice might induce her to return, I was within the reach of +this violent, and, for aught I knew, insane woman, who had, upon that +very night, spoken to me in a tone of menace, of which her mere words, +divested of the manner and look with which she uttered them, can +convey but a faint idea. Will you believe me when I tell you that I +was actually afraid to leave my bed in order to secure the door, lest +I should again encounter the dreadful object lurking in some corner or +peeping from behind the window curtains, so very a child was I in my +fears. + +The morning came, and with it Lord Glenfallen. I knew not, and +indeed I cared not, where he might have been; my thoughts were wholly +engrossed by the terrible fears and suspicions which my last +night's conference had suggested to me; he was, as usual, gloomy and +abstracted, and I feared in no very fitting mood to hear what I had +to say with patience, whether the charges were true or false. I was, +however, determined not to suffer the opportunity to pass, or Lord +Glenfallen to leave the room, until, at all hazards, I had unburdened +my mind. + +"My Lord," said I, after a long silence, summoning up all my firmness, +"my lord, I wish to say a few words to you upon a matter of very great +importance, of very deep concernment to you and to me." I fixed my +eyes upon him to discern, if possible, whether the announcement +caused him any uneasiness, but no symptom of any such feeling was +perceptible. + +"Well, my dear," said he, "this is, no doubt, a very grave preface, +and portends, I have no doubt, something extraordinary--pray let us +have it without more ado." + +He took a chair, and seated himself nearly opposite to me. + +"My lord," said I, "I have seen the person who alarmed me so much a +short time since, the blind lady, again, upon last night"; his face, +upon which my eyes were fixed, turned pale, he hesitated for a moment, +and then said-- + +"And did you, pray madam, so totally forget or spurn my express +command, as to enter that portion of the house from which your +promise, I might say, your oath, excluded you--answer me that?" he +added, fiercely. + +"My lord," said I, "I have neither forgotten your _commands_, since +such they were, nor disobeyed them. I was, last night, wakened from my +sleep, as I lay in my own chamber, and accosted by the person whom I +have mentioned--how she found access to the room I cannot pretend to +say." + +"Ha! this must be looked to," said he, half reflectively; "and pray," +added he, quickly, while in turn he fixed his eyes upon me, "what did +this person say, since some comment upon her communication forms, no +doubt, the sequel to your preface." + +"Your lordship is not mistaken," said I, "her statement was so +extraordinary that I could not think of withholding it from you; she +told me, my lord, that you had a wife living at the time you married +me, and that she was that wife." + +Lord Glenfallen became ashy pale, almost livid; he made two or three +efforts to clear his voice to speak, but in vain, and turning suddenly +from me, he walked to the window; the horror and dismay, which, in +the olden time, overwhelmed the woman of Endor, when her spells +unexpectedly conjured the dead into her presence, were but types +of what I felt, when thus presented with what appeared to be almost +unequivocal evidence of the guilt, whose existence I had before so +strongly doubted. There was a silence of some moments, during which it +were hard to conjecture whether I or my companion suffered most. Lord +Glenfallen soon recovered his self command; he returned to the table, +again sat down and said-- + +"What you have told me has so astonished me, has unfolded such a +tissue of motiveless guilt, and in a quarter from which I had +so little reason to look for ingratitude or treachery, that your +announcement almost deprived me of speech; the person in question, +however, has one excuse, her mind is, as I told you before, unsettled. +You should have remembered that, and hesitated to receive as +unexceptionable evidence against the honour of your husband, the +ravings of a lunatic. I now tell you that this is the last time I +shall speak to you upon this subject, and, in the presence of the God +who is to judge me, and as I hope for mercy in the day of judgment, +I swear that the charge thus brought against me, is utterly false, +unfounded, and ridiculous; I defy the world in any point to taint my +honour; and, as I have never taken the opinion of madmen touching +your character or morals, I think it but fair to require that you will +evince a like tenderness for me; and now, once for all, never again +dare to repeat to me your insulting suspicions, or the clumsy and +infamous calumnies of fools. I shall instantly let the worthy lady who +contrived this somewhat original device, understand fully my opinion +upon the matter--good morning"; and with these words he left me again +in doubt, and involved in all horrors of the most agonizing suspense. +I had reason to think that Lord Glenfallen wreaked his vengeance upon +the author of the strange story which I had heard, with a violence +which was not satisfied with mere words, for old Martha, with whom I +was a great favourite, while attending me in my room, told me that she +feared her master had ill used the poor, blind, Dutch woman, for that +she had heard her scream as if the very life were leaving her, but +added a request that I should not speak of what she had told me to any +one, particularly to the master. + +"How do you know that she is a Dutch woman?" inquired I, anxious to +learn anything whatever that might throw a light upon the history +of this person, who seemed to have resolved to mix herself up in my +fortunes. + +"Why, my lady," answered Martha, "the master often calls her the Dutch +hag, and other names you would not like to hear, and I am sure she +is neither English nor Irish; for, whenever they talk together, they +speak some queer foreign lingo, and fast enough, I'll be bound; but I +ought not to talk about her at all; it might be as much as my place is +worth to mention her--only you saw her first yourself, so there can be +no great harm in speaking of her now." + +"How long has this lady been here?" continued I. + +"She came early on the morning after your ladyship's arrival," +answered she; "but do not ask me any more, for the master would think +nothing of turning me out of doors for daring to speak of her at all, +much less to _you_, my lady." + +I did not like to press the poor woman further; for her reluctance to +speak on this topic was evident and strong. You will readily believe +that upon the very slight grounds which my information afforded, +contradicted as it was by the solemn oath of my husband, and derived +from what was, at best, a very questionable source, I could not +take any very decisive measure whatever; and as to the menace of the +strange woman who had thus unaccountably twice intruded herself into +my chamber, although, at the moment, it occasioned me some uneasiness, +it was not, even in my eyes, sufficiently formidable to induce my +departure from Cahergillagh. + +A few nights after the scene which I have just mentioned, Lord +Glenfallen having, as usual, early retired to his study, I was left +alone in the parlour to amuse myself as best I might. It was not +strange that my thoughts should often recur to the agitating scenes in +which I had recently taken a part; the subject of my reflections, +the solitude, the silence, and the lateness of the hour, as also the +depression of spirits to which I had of late been a constant prey, +tended to produce that nervous excitement which places us wholly +at the mercy of the imagination. In order to calm my spirits, I was +endeavouring to direct my thoughts into some more pleasing channel, +when I heard, or thought I heard, uttered, within a few yards of me, +in an odd half-sneering tone, the words, "There is blood upon your +ladyship's throat." So vivid was the impression, that I started to my +feet, and involuntarily placed my hand upon my neck. I looked around +the room for the speaker, but in vain. I went then to the room-door, +which I opened, and peered into the passage, nearly faint with horror, +lest some leering, shapeless thing should greet me upon the threshold. +When I had gazed long enough to assure myself that no strange object +was within sight. + +"I have been too much of a rake, lately; I am racking out my nerves," +said I, speaking aloud, with a view to reassure myself. I rang the +bell, and, attended by old Martha, I retired to settle for the night. +While the servant was, as was her custom, arranging the lamp which I +have already stated always burned during the night in my chamber, +I was employed in undressing, and, in doing so, I had recourse to a +large looking-glass which occupied a considerable portion of the wall +in which it was fixed, rising from the ground to a height of about +six feet; this mirror filled the space of a large pannel in the +wainscoting opposite the foot of the bed. I had hardly been before it +for the lapse of a minute, when something like a black pall was slowly +waved between me and it. + +"Oh, God! there it is," I exclaimed wildly. "I have seen it again, +Martha--the black cloth." + +"God be merciful to us, then!" answered she, tremulously crossing +herself. "Some misfortune is over us." + +"No, no, Martha," said I, almost instantly recovering my +collectedness; for, although of a nervous temperament, I had never +been superstitious. "I do not believe in omens. You know, I saw, or +fancied I saw, this thing before, and nothing followed." + +"The Dutch lady came the next morning," replied she. + +"Methinks, such an occurrence scarcely deserved a supernatural +announcement," I replied. + +"She is a strange woman, my lady," said Martha, "and she is not _gone_ +yet--mark my words." + +"Well, well, Martha," said I, "I have not wit enough to change your +opinions, nor inclination to alter mine; so I will talk no more of the +matter. Good night," and so I was left to my reflections. After lying +for about an hour awake, I at length fell into a kind of doze; but my +imagination was still busy, for I was startled from this unrefreshing +sleep by fancying that I heard a voice close to my face exclaim as +before, "There is blood upon your ladyship's throat." The words were +instantly followed by a loud burst of laughter. Quaking with horror, I +awakened, and heard my husband enter the room. Even this was a relief. +Scared as I was, however, by the tricks which my imagination had +played me, I preferred remaining silent, and pretending to sleep, to +attempting to engage my husband in conversation, for I well knew +that his mood was such, that his words would not, in all probability, +convey anything that had not better be unsaid and unheard. Lord +Glenfallen went into his dressing-room, which lay upon the right-hand +side of the bed. The door lying open, I could see him by himself, at +full length upon a sofa, and, in about half an hour, I became aware, +by his deep and regularly drawn respiration, that he was fast asleep. +When slumber refuses to visit one, there is something peculiarly +irritating, not to the temper, but to the nerves, in the consciousness +that some one is in your immediate presence, actually enjoying the +boon which you are seeking in vain; at least, I have always found it +so, and never more than upon the present occasion. A thousand annoying +imaginations harassed and excited me, every object which I looked +upon, though ever so familiar, seemed to have acquired a strange +phantom-like character, the varying shadows thrown by the flickering +of the lamp-light, seemed shaping themselves into grotesque and +unearthly forms, and whenever my eyes wandered to the sleeping figure +of my husband, his features appeared to undergo the strangest and most +demoniacal contortions. Hour after hour was told by the old clock, and +each succeeding one found me, if possible, less inclined to sleep than +its predecessor. It was now considerably past three; my eyes, in their +involuntary wanderings, happened to alight upon the large mirror which +was, as I have said, fixed in the wall opposite the foot of the bed. A +view of it was commanded from where I lay, through the curtains, as I +gazed fixedly upon it, I thought I perceived the broad sheet of glass +shifting its position in relation to the bed; I rivetted my eyes +upon it with intense scrutiny; it was no deception, the mirror, as +if acting of its own impulse moved slowly aside, and disclosed a dark +aperture in the wall, nearly as large as an ordinary door; a figure +evidently stood in this; but the light was too dim to define it +accurately. It stepped cautiously into the chamber, and with so little +noise, that had I not actually seen it, I do not think I should +have been aware of its presence. It was arrayed in a kind of woollen +night-dress, and a white handkerchief or cloth was bound tightly about +the head; I had no difficulty spite of the strangeness of the attire +in recognising the blind woman whom I so much dreaded. She stooped +down, bringing her head nearly to the ground, and in that attitude she +remained motionless for some moments, no doubt in order to ascertain +if any suspicious sound were stirring. She was apparently satisfied by +her observations, for she immediately recommenced her silent progress +towards a ponderous mahogany dressing table of my husband's; when she +had reached it, she paused again, and appeared to listen attentively +for some minutes; she then noiselessly opened one of the drawers from +which, having groped for some time, she took something which I soon +perceived to be a case of razors; she opened it and tried the edge +of each of the two instruments upon the skin of her hand; she quickly +selected one, which she fixed firmly in her grasp; she now stooped +down as before, and having listened for a time, she, with the hand +that was disengaged, groped her way into the dressing room where Lord +Glenfallen lay fast asleep. I was fixed as if in the tremendous spell +of a night mare. I could not stir even a finger; I could not lift my +voice; I could not even breathe, and though I expected every moment to +see the sleeping man murdered, I could not even close my eyes to shut +out the horrible spectacle, which I had not the power to avert. I saw +the woman approach the sleeping figure, she laid the unoccupied hand +lightly along his clothes, and having thus ascertained his identity, +she, after a brief interval, turned back and again entered my chamber; +here she bent down again to listen. I had now not a doubt but that the +razor was intended for my throat; yet the terrific fascination which +had locked all my powers so long, still continued to bind me fast. I +felt that my life depended upon the slightest ordinary exertion, and +yet I could not stir one joint from the position in which I lay, nor +even make noise enough to waken Lord Glenfallen. The murderous woman +now, with long, silent steps, approached the bed; my very heart seemed +turning to ice; her left hand, that which was disengaged, was upon +the pillow; she gradually slid it forward towards my head, and in +an instant, with the speed of lightning, it was clutched in my hair, +while, with the other hand, she dashed the razor at my throat. A +slight inaccuracy saved me from instant death; the blow fell short, +the point of the razor grazing my throat; in a moment I know not how, +I found myself at the other side of the bed uttering shriek after +shriek; the wretch was, however, determined if possible to murder me; +scrambling along by the curtains, she rushed round the bed towards me; +I seized the handle of the door to make my escape; it was, however, +fastened; at all events I could not open it, from the mere instinct +of recoiling terror, I shrunk back into a corner--she was now within +a yard of me--her hand was upon my face--I closed my eyes fast, +expecting never to open them again, when a blow, inflicted from behind +by a strong arm, stretched the monster senseless at my feet; at the +same moment the door opened, and several domestics, alarmed by my +cries, entered the apartment. I do not recollect what followed, for I +fainted. One swoon succeeded another so long and death-like, that my +life was considered very doubtful. At about ten o'clock, however, I +sunk into a deep and refreshing sleep, from which I was awakened at +about two, that I might swear my deposition before a magistrate, who +attended for that purpose. I, accordingly, did so, as did also Lord +Glenfallen; and the woman was fully committed to stand her trial +at the ensuing assizes. I shall never forget the scene which the +examination of the blind woman and of the other parties afforded. She +was brought into the room in the custody of two servants; she wore +a kind of flannel wrapper which had not been changed since the night +before; it was torn and soiled, and here and there smeared with blood, +which had flowed in large quantities from a wound in her head; the +white handkerchief had fallen off in the scuffle; and her grizzled +hair fell in masses about her wild and deadly pale countenance. +She appeared perfectly composed, however, and the only regret she +expressed throughout, was at not having succeeded in her attempt, the +object of which she did not pretend to conceal. On being asked her +name, she called herself the Countess Glenfallen, and refused to give +any other title. + +"The woman's name is Flora Van-Kemp," said Lord Glenfallen. + +"It _was_, it _was_, you perjured traitor and cheat," screamed the woman; +and then there followed a volley of words in some foreign language. +"Is there a magistrate here?" she resumed; "I am Lord Glenfallen's +wife--I'll prove it--write down my words. I am willing to be hanged or +burned, so _he_ meets his deserts. I did try to kill that doll of his; +but it was he who put it into my head to do it--two wives were too +many--I was to murder her, or she was to hang me--listen to all I have +to say." + +Here Lord Glenfallen interrupted. + +"I think, sir," said he, addressing the magistrate, "that we +had better proceed to business, this unhappy woman's furious +recriminations but waste our time; if she refuses to answer your +questions, you had better, I presume, take my depositions." + +"And are you going to swear away my life, you black perjured +murderer?" shrieked the woman. "Sir, sir, sir, you must hear me," she +continued, addressing the magistrate, "I can convict him--he bid +me murder that girl, and then when I failed, he came behind me, and +struck me down, and now he wants to swear away my life--take down all +I say." + +"If it is your intention," said the magistrate, "to confess the crime +with which you stand charged, you may, upon producing sufficient +evidence, criminate whom you please." + +"Evidence!--I have no evidence but myself," said the woman. "I will +swear it all--write down my testimony--write it down, I say--we shall +hang side by side, my brave Lord--all your own handy--work, my gentle +husband." This was followed by a low, insolent, and sneering laugh, +which, from one in her situation, was sufficiently horrible. + +"I will not at present hear anything," replied he, "but distinct +answers to the questions which I shall put to you upon this matter." + +"Then you shall hear nothing," replied she sullenly, and no inducement +or intimidation could bring her to speak again. + +Lord Glenfallen's deposition and mine were then given, as also those +of the servants who had entered the room at the moment of my rescue; +the magistrate then intimated that she was committed, and must proceed +directly to gaol, whither she was brought in a carriage of Lord +Glenfallen's, for his lordship was naturally by no means indifferent +to the effect which her vehement accusations against himself might +produce, if uttered before every chance hearer whom she might meet +with between Cahergillagh and the place of confinement whither she was +dispatched. + +During the time which intervened between the committal and the trial +of the prisoner, Lord Glenfallen seemed to suffer agonies of mind +which baffle all description, he hardly ever slept, and when he did, +his slumbers seemed but the instruments of new tortures, and his +waking hours were, if possible, exceeded in intensity of terrors by +the dreams which disturbed his sleep. Lord Glenfallen rested, if +to lie in the mere attitude of repose were to do so, in his +dressing-room, and thus I had an opportunity of witnessing, far +oftener than I wished it, the fearful workings of his mind; his agony +often broke out into such fearful paroxysms that delirium and total +loss of reason appeared to be impending; he frequently spoke of flying +from the country, and bringing with him all the witnesses of the +appalling scene upon which the prosecution was founded; then again +he would fiercely lament that the blow which he had inflicted had not +ended all. + +The assizes arrived, however, and upon the day appointed, Lord +Glenfallen and I attended in order to give our evidence. The cause was +called on, and the prisoner appeared at the bar. Great curiosity and +interest were felt respecting the trial, so that the court was crowded +to excess. The prisoner, however, without appearing to take the +trouble of listening to the indictment, pleaded guilty, and no +representations on the part of the court availed to induce her to +retract her plea. After much time had been wasted in a fruitless +attempt to prevail upon her to reconsider her words, the court +proceeded according to the usual form, to pass sentence. This having +been done, the prisoner was about to be removed, when she said in a +low, distinct voice-- + +"A word--a word, my Lord:--is Lord Glenfallen here in the court?" On +being told that he was, she raised her voice to a tone of loud menace, +and continued-- + +"Hardress, Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of +justice of two crimes--first, that you married a second wife, while +the first was living, and again, that you prompted me to the murder, +for attempting which I am to die--secure him--chain him--bring him +here." + +There was a laugh through the court at these words, which were +naturally treated by the judge as a violent extemporary recrimination, +and the woman was desired to be silent. + +"You won't take him, then," she said, "you won't try him? You'll let +him go free?" + +It was intimated by the court that he would certainly be allowed "to +go free," and she was ordered again to be removed. Before, however, +the mandate was executed, she threw her arms wildly into the air, and +uttered one piercing shriek so full of preternatural rage and despair, +that it might fitly have ushered a soul into those realms where hope +can come no more. The sound still rang in my ears, months after the +voice that had uttered it was for ever silent. The wretched woman was +executed in accordance with the sentence which had been pronounced. + +For some time after this event, Lord Glenfallen appeared, if possible, +to suffer more than he had done before, and altogether, his language, +which often amounted to half confessions of the guilt imputed to him, +and all the circumstances connected with the late occurrences, formed +a mass of evidence so convincing that I wrote to my father, detailing +the grounds of my fears, and imploring him to come to Cahergillagh +without delay, in order to remove me from my husband's control, +previously to taking legal steps for a final separation. Circumstanced +as I was, my existence was little short of intolerable, for, besides +the fearful suspicions which attached to my husband, I plainly +perceived that if Lord Glenfallen were not relieved, and that +speedily, insanity must supervene. I therefore expected my father's +arrival, or at least a letter to announce it, with indescribable +impatience. + +About a week after the execution had taken place, Lord Glenfallen one +morning met me with an unusually sprightly air-- + +"Fanny," said he, "I have it now for the first time, in my power to +explain to your satisfaction every thing which has hitherto appeared +suspicious or mysterious in my conduct. After breakfast come with me +to my study, and I shall, I hope, make all things clear." + +This invitation afforded me more real pleasure than I had experienced +for months; something had certainly occurred to tranquillize my +husband's mind, in no ordinary degree, and I thought it by no means +impossible that he would, in the proposed interview, prove himself the +most injured and innocent of men. Full of this hope I repaired to his +study at the appointed hour; he was writing busily when I entered the +room, and just raising his eyes, he requested me to be seated. I took +a chair as he desired, and remained silently awaiting his leisure, +while he finished, folded, directed, and sealed his letter; laying it +then upon the table, with the address downward, he said-- + +"My dearest Fanny, I know I must have appeared very strange to you and +very unkind--often even cruel; before the end of this week I will show +you the necessity of my conduct; how impossible it was that I should +have seemed otherwise. I am conscious that many acts of mine must have +inevitably given rise to painful suspicions--suspicions, which indeed, +upon one occasion you very properly communicated to me. I have +gotten two letters from a quarter which commands respect, containing +information as to the course by which I may be enabled to prove the +negative of all the crimes which even the most credulous suspicion +could lay to my charge. I expected a third by this morning's post, +containing documents which will set the matter for ever at rest, but +owing, no doubt, to some neglect, or, perhaps, to some difficulty in +collecting the papers, some inevitable delay, it has not come to hand +this morning, according to my expectation. I was finishing one to the +very same quarter when you came in, and if a sound rousing be worth +anything, I think I shall have a special messenger before two days +have passed. I have been thinking over the matter within myself, +whether I had better imperfectly clear up your doubts by submitting to +your inspection the two letters which I have already received, or +wait till I can triumphantly vindicate myself by the production of +the documents which I have already mentioned, and I have, I think, not +unnaturally decided upon the latter course; however, there is a person +in the next room, whose testimony is not without its value--excuse me +for one moment." + +So saying, he arose and went to the door of a closet which opened from +the study, this he unlocked, and half opening the door, he said, "It +is only I," and then slipped into the room, and carefully closed and +locked the door behind him. I immediately heard his voice in animated +conversation; my curiosity upon the subject of the letter was +naturally great, so smothering any little scruples which I might have +felt, I resolved to look at the address of the letter which lay as my +husband had left it, with its face upon the table. I accordingly drew +it over to me, and turned up the direction. For two or three moments I +could scarce believe my eyes, but there could be no mistake--in +large characters were traced the words, "To the Archangel Gabriel in +heaven." I had scarcely returned the letter to its original position, +and in some degree recovered the shock which this unequivocal proof +of insanity produced, when the closet door was unlocked, and Lord +Glenfallen re-entered the study, carefully closing and locking the +door again upon the outside. + +"Whom have you there?" inquired I, making a strong effort to appear +calm. + +"Perhaps," said he musingly, "you might have some objection to seeing +her, at least for a time." + +"Who is it?" repeated I. + +"Why," said he, "I see no use in hiding it--the blind Dutchwoman; I +have been with her the whole morning. She is very anxious to get +out of that closet, but you know she is odd, she is scarcely to be +trusted." + +A heavy gust of wind shook the door at this moment with a sound as if +something more substantial were pushing against it. + +"Ha, ha, ha!--do you hear her," said he, with an obstreperous burst +of laughter. The wind died away in a long howl, and Lord Glenfallen, +suddenly checking his merriment, shrugged his shoulders, and +muttered-- + +"Poor devil, she has been hardly used." + +"We had better not tease her at present with questions," said I, in as +unconcerned a tone as I could assume, although I felt every moment as +if I should faint. + +"Humph! may be so," said he, "well, come back in an hour or two, or +when you please, and you will find us here." + +He again unlocked the door, and entered with the same precautions +which he had adopted before, locking the door upon the inside, and +as I hurried from the room, I heard his voice again exerted as if in +eager parley. I can hardly describe my emotions; my hopes had been +raised to the highest, and now in an instant, all was gone--the +dreadful consummation was accomplished--the fearful retribution had +fallen upon the guilty man--the mind was destroyed--the power to +repent was gone. The agony of the hours which followed what I would +still call my _awful_ interview with Lord Glenfallen, I cannot describe; +my solitude was, however, broken in upon by Martha, who came to inform +me of the arrival of a gentleman, who expected me in the parlour. I +accordingly descended, and to my great joy, found my father seated by +the fire. This expedition, upon his part, was easily accounted for: +my communications had touched the honour of the family. I speedily +informed him of the dreadful malady which had fallen upon the wretched +man. My father suggested the necessity of placing some person to watch +him, to prevent his injuring himself or others. I rang the bell, and +desired that one Edward Cooke, an attached servant of the family, +should be sent to me. I told him distinctly and briefly, the nature +of the service required of him, and, attended by him, my father and I +proceeded at once to the study; the door of the inner room was still +closed, and everything in the outer chamber remained in the same order +in which I had left it. We then advanced to the closet door, at which +we knocked, but without receiving any answer. We next tried to open +the door, but in vain--it was locked upon the inside; we knocked more +loudly, but in vain. Seriously alarmed, I desired the servant to force +the door, which was, after several violent efforts, accomplished, and +we entered the closet. Lord Glenfallen was lying on his face upon a +sofa. + +"Hush," said I, "he is asleep"; we paused for a moment. + +"He is too still for that," said my father; we all of us felt a strong +reluctance to approach the figure. + +"Edward," said I, "try whether your master sleeps." + +The servant approached the sofa where Lord Glenfallen lay; he leant +his ear towards the head of the recumbent figure, to ascertain whether +the sound of breathing was audible; he turned towards us, and said-- + +"My lady, you had better not wait here, I am sure he is dead!" + +"Let me see the face," said I, terribly agitated, "you _may_ be +mistaken." + +The man then, in obedience to my command, turned the body round, and, +gracious God! what a sight met my view--he was, indeed, perfectly +dead. The whole breast of the shirt, with its lace frill, was drenched +with gore, as was the couch underneath the spot where he lay. The head +hung back, as it seemed almost severed from the body by a frightful +gash, which yawned across the throat. The instrument which had +inflicted it, was found under his body. All, then, was over; I was +never to learn the history in whose termination I had been so deeply +and so tragically involved. + +The severe discipline which my mind had undergone was not bestowed in +vain. I directed my thoughts and my hopes to that place where there is +no more sin, nor danger, nor sorrow. + +Thus ends a brief tale, whose prominent incidents many will recognize +as having marked the history of a distinguished family, and though +it refers to a somewhat distant date, we shall be found not to have +taken, upon that account, any liberties with the facts, but in our +statement of all the incidents, to have rigorously and faithfully +adhered to the truth. + +[Footnote A: I have carefully altered the names as they appear in the +original MSS., for the reader will see that some of the circumstances +recorded are not of a kind to reflect honour upon those involved +in them; and, as many are still living, in every way honoured and +honourable, who stand in close relation to the principal actors in +this drama, the reader will see the necessity of the course which we +have adopted.] + +[Footnote B: The residuary legatee of the late Francis Purcell, +who has the honour of selecting such of his lamented old friend's +manuscripts as may appear fit for publication, in order that the lore +which they contain may reach the world before scepticism and utility +have robbed our species of the precious gift of credulity, and +scornfully kicked before them, or trampled into annihilation, those +harmless fragments of picturesque superstition, which it is our object +to preserve, has been subjected to the charge of dealing too largely +in the marvellous; and it has been half insinuated that such is his +love for _diablerie_, that he is content to wander a mile out of his +way, in order to meet a fiend or a goblin, and thus to sacrifice all +regard for truth and accuracy to the idle hope of affrighting the +imagination, and thus pandering to the bad taste of his reader. He +begs leave, then, to take this opportunity of asserting his perfect +innocence of all the crimes laid to his charge, and to assure his +reader that he never _pandered to his bad taste_, nor went one inch +out of his way to introduce witch, fairy, devil, ghost, or any other +of the grim fraternity of the redoubted Raw-head and bloody-bones. His +province, touching these tales, has been attended with no difficulty +and little responsibility; indeed, he is accountable for nothing more +than an alteration in the names of persons mentioned therein, when +such a step seemed necessary, and for an occasional note, whenever he +conceived it possible, innocently, to edge in a word. These tales have +been _written down_, as the heading of each announces, by the Rev. +Francis Purcell, P.P. of Drumcoolagh; and in all the instances, +which are many, in which the present writer has had an opportunity +of comparing the manuscript of his departed friend with the actual +traditions which are current amongst the families whose fortunes +they pretend to illustrate, he has uniformly found that whatever +of supernatural occurred in the story, so far from having been +exaggerated by him, had been rather softened down, and, wherever it +could be attempted, accounted for.] + + + + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + "And they lay wait for their own blood: they lurk privily for + their own lives. + + "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh + away the life of the owner thereof." + + +This story of the Irish peerage is written, as nearly as possible, +in the very words in which it was related by its "heroine," the late +Countess D----, and is therefore told in the first person. + +My mother died when I was an infant, and of her I have no +recollection, even the faintest. By her death my education was left +solely to the direction of my surviving parent. He entered upon his +task with a stern appreciation of the responsibility thus cast +upon him. My religious instruction was prosecuted with an almost +exaggerated anxiety; and I had, of course, the best masters to perfect +me in all those accomplishments which my station and wealth might seem +to require. My father was what is called an oddity, and his treatment +of me, though uniformly kind, was governed less by affection and +tenderness, than by a high and unbending sense of duty. Indeed I +seldom saw or spoke to him except at meal-times, and then, though +gentle, he was usually reserved and gloomy. His leisure hours, which +were many, were passed either in his study or in solitary walks; +in short, he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness or +improvement, than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own +duty would seem to impose. + +Shortly before my birth an event occurred which had contributed much +to induce and to confirm my father's unsocial habits; it was the fact +that a suspicion of _murder_ had fallen upon his younger brother, though +not sufficiently definite to lead to any public proceedings, yet +strong enough to ruin him in public opinion. This disgraceful and +dreadful doubt cast upon the family name, my father felt deeply and +bitterly, and not the less so that he himself was thoroughly convinced +of his brother's innocence. The sincerity and strength of this +conviction he shortly afterwards proved in a manner which produced the +catastrophe of my story. + +Before, however, I enter upon my immediate adventures, I ought to +relate the circumstances which had awakened that suspicion to which +I have referred, inasmuch as they are in themselves somewhat +curious, and in their effects most intimately connected with my own +after-history. + +My uncle, Sir Arthur Tyrrell, was a gay and extravagant man, and, +among other vices, was ruinously addicted to gaming. This unfortunate +propensity, even after his fortune had suffered so severely as to +render retrenchment imperative, nevertheless continued to engross him, +nearly to the exclusion of every other pursuit. He was, however, a +proud, or rather a vain man, and could not bear to make the diminution +of his income a matter of triumph to those with whom he had hitherto +competed; and the consequence was, that he frequented no longer the +expensive haunts of his dissipation, and retired from the gay world, +leaving his coterie to discover his reasons as best they might. He +did not, however, forego his favourite vice, for though he could +not worship his great divinity in those costly temples where he was +formerly wont to take his place, yet he found it very possible to +bring about him a sufficient number of the votaries of chance to +answer all his ends. The consequence was, that Carrickleigh, which +was the name of my uncle's residence, was never without one or more of +such visiters as I have described. It happened that upon one occasion +he was visited by one Hugh Tisdall, a gentleman of loose, and, indeed, +low habits, but of considerable wealth, and who had, in early youth, +travelled with my uncle upon the Continent. The period of this visit +was winter, and, consequently, the house was nearly deserted excepting +by its ordinary inmates; it was, therefore, highly acceptable, +particularly as my uncle was aware that his visiter's tastes accorded +exactly with his own. + +Both parties seemed determined to avail themselves of their mutual +suitability during the brief stay which Mr. Tisdall had promised; the +consequence was, that they shut themselves up in Sir Arthur's private +room for nearly all the day and the greater part of the night, during +the space of almost a week, at the end of which the servant having one +morning, as usual, knocked at Mr. Tisdall's bed-room door repeatedly, +received no answer, and, upon attempting to enter, found that it was +locked. This appeared suspicious, and the inmates of the house having +been alarmed, the door was forced open, and, on proceeding to the bed, +they found the body of its occupant perfectly lifeless, and hanging +halfway out, the head downwards, and near the floor. One deep wound +had been inflicted upon the temple, apparently with some blunt +instrument, which had penetrated the brain, and another blow, less +effective--probably the first aimed--had grazed his head, removing +some of the scalp. The door had been double locked upon the _inside_, +in evidence of which the key still lay where it had been placed in the +lock. The window, though not secured on the interior, was closed; a +circumstance not a little puzzling, as it afforded the only other +mode of escape from the room. It looked out, too, upon a kind of +court-yard, round which the old buildings stood, formerly accessible +by a narrow doorway and passage lying in the oldest side of the +quadrangle, but which had since been built up, so as to preclude all +ingress or egress; the room was also upon the second story, and the +height of the window considerable; in addition to all which the stone +window-sill was much too narrow to allow of any one's standing upon it +when the window was closed. Near the bed were found a pair of razors +belonging to the murdered man, one of them upon the ground, and both +of them open. The weapon which inflicted the mortal wound was not to +be found in the room, nor were any footsteps or other traces of the +murderer discoverable. At the suggestion of Sir Arthur himself, the +coroner was instantly summoned to attend, and an inquest was held. +Nothing, however, in any degree conclusive was elicited. The walls, +ceiling, and floor of the room were carefully examined, in order to +ascertain whether they contained a trap-door or other concealed mode +of entrance, but no such thing appeared. Such was the minuteness of +investigation employed, that, although the grate had contained a +large fire during the night, they proceeded to examine even the very +chimney, in order to discover whether escape by it were possible. But +this attempt, too, was fruitless, for the chimney, built in the old +fashion, rose in a perfectly perpendicular line from the hearth, to +a height of nearly fourteen feet above the roof, affording in its +interior scarcely the possibility of ascent, the flue being smoothly +plastered, and sloping towards the top like an inverted funnel; +promising, too, even if the summit were attained, owing to its great +height, but a precarious descent upon the sharp and steep-ridged roof; +the ashes, too, which lay in the grate, and the soot, as far as it +could be seen, were undisturbed, a circumstance almost conclusive upon +the point. + +Sir Arthur was of course examined. His evidence was given with +clearness and unreserve, which seemed calculated to silence all +suspicion. He stated that, up to the day and night immediately +preceding the catastrophe, he had lost to a heavy amount, but that, +at their last sitting, he had not only won back his original loss, +but upwards of £4,000 in addition; in evidence of which he produced +an acknowledgment of debt to that amount in the handwriting of the +deceased, bearing date the night of the catastrophe. He had mentioned +the circumstance to Lady Tyrrell, and in presence of some of his +domestics; which statement was supported by _their_ respective +evidence. One of the jury shrewdly observed, that the circumstance of +Mr. Tisdall's having sustained so heavy a loss might have suggested to +some ill-minded persons, accidentally hearing it, the plan of robbing +him, after having murdered him in such a manner as might make it +appear that he had committed suicide; a supposition which was strongly +supported by the razors having been found thus displaced and removed +from their case. Two persons had probably been engaged in the attempt, +one watching by the sleeping man, and ready to strike him in case of +his awakening suddenly, while the other was procuring the razors and +employed in inflicting the fatal gash, so as to make it appear to have +been the act of the murdered man himself. It was said that while the +juror was making this suggestion Sir Arthur changed colour. There +was nothing, however, like legal evidence to implicate him, and the +consequence was that the verdict was found against a person or persons +unknown, and for some time the matter was suffered to rest, until, +after about five months, my father received a letter from a person +signing himself Andrew Collis, and representing himself to be the +cousin of the deceased. This letter stated that his brother, Sir +Arthur, was likely to incur not merely suspicion but personal risk, +unless he could account for certain circumstances connected with +the recent murder, and contained a copy of a letter written by the +deceased, and dated the very day upon the night of which the murder +had been perpetrated. Tisdall's letter contained, among a great deal +of other matter, the passages which follow:-- + +"I have had sharp work with Sir Arthur: he tried some of his stale +tricks, but soon found that _I_ was Yorkshire, too; it would not +do--you understand me. We went to the work like good ones, head, +heart, and soul; and in fact, since I came here, I have lost no time. +I am rather fagged, but I am sure to be well paid for my hardship; I +never want sleep so long as I can have the music of a dice-box, and +wherewithal to pay the piper. As I told you, he tried some of his +queer turns, but I foiled him like a man, and, in return, gave him +more than he could relish of the genuine _dead knowledge_. In short, +I have plucked the old baronet as never baronet was plucked before; I +have scarce left him the stump of a quill. I have got promissory notes +in his hand to the amount of ----; if you like round numbers, say +five-and-twenty thousand pounds, safely deposited in my portable +strong box, alias, double-clasped pocket-book. I leave this ruinous +old rat-hole early on to-morrow, for two reasons: first, I do not +want to play with Sir Arthur deeper than I think his security would +warrant; and, secondly, because I am safer a hundred miles away from +Sir Arthur than in the house with him. Look you, my worthy, I tell +you this between ourselves--I may be wrong--but, by ----, I am sure +as that I am now living, that Sir A---- attempted to poison me last +night. So much for old friendship on both sides. When I won the last +stake, a heavy one enough, my friend leant his forehead upon his +hands, and you'll laugh when I tell you that his head literally smoked +like a hot dumpling. I do not know whether his agitation was produced +by the plan which he had against me, or by his having lost so heavily; +though it must be allowed that he had reason to be a little funked, +whichever way his thoughts went; but he pulled the bell, and ordered +two bottles of Champagne. While the fellow was bringing them, he wrote +a promissory note to the full amount, which he signed, and, as the +man came in with the bottles and glasses, he desired him to be off. He +filled a glass for me, and, while he thought my eyes were off, for I +was putting up his note at the time, he dropped something slyly into +it, no doubt to sweeten it; but I saw it all, and, when he handed +it to me, I said, with an emphasis which he might easily understand, +'There is some sediment in it, I'll not drink it.' 'Is there?' said +he, and at the same time snatched it from my hand and threw it into +the fire. What do you think of that? Have I not a tender bird in +hand? Win or lose, I will not play beyond five thousand to-night, and +to-morrow sees me safe out of the reach of Sir Arthur's Champagne." + +Of the authenticity of this document, I never heard my father express +a doubt; and I am satisfied that, owing to his strong conviction +in favour of his brother, he would not have admitted it without +sufficient inquiry, inasmuch as it tended to confirm the suspicions +which already existed to his prejudice. Now, the only point in this +letter which made strongly against my uncle, was the mention of the +"double-clasped pocket-book," as the receptacle of the papers likely +to involve him, for this pocket-book was not forthcoming, nor anywhere +to be found, nor had any papers referring to his gaming transactions +been discovered upon the dead man. + +But whatever might have been the original intention of this man, +Collis, neither my uncle nor my father ever heard more of him; he +published the letter, however, in Faulkner's newspaper, which was +shortly afterwards made the vehicle of a much more mysterious attack. +The passage in that journal to which I allude, appeared about four +years afterwards, and while the fatal occurrence was still fresh in +public recollection. It commenced by a rambling preface, stating that +"a _certain person_ whom _certain_ persons thought to be dead, was not +so, but living, and in full possession of his memory, and moreover, +ready and able to make _great_ delinquents tremble": it then went on +to describe the murder, without, however, mentioning names; and in +doing so, it entered into minute and circumstantial particulars of +which none but an _eye-witness_ could have been possessed, and by +implications almost too unequivocal to be regarded in the light of +insinuation, to involve the "_titled gambler_" in the guilt of the +transaction. + +My father at once urged Sir Arthur to proceed against the paper in +an action of libel, but he would not hear of it, nor consent to my +father's taking any legal steps whatever in the matter. My father, +however, wrote in a threatening tone to Faulkner, demanding a +surrender of the author of the obnoxious article; the answer to this +application is still in my possession, and is penned in an apologetic +tone: it states that the manuscript had been handed in, paid for, +and inserted as an advertisement, without sufficient inquiry, or any +knowledge as to whom it referred. No step, however, was taken to +clear my uncle's character in the judgment of the public; and, as he +immediately sold a small property, the application of the proceeds of +which were known to none, he was said to have disposed of it to enable +himself to buy off the threatened information; however the truth might +have been, it is certain that no charges respecting the mysterious +murder were afterwards publicly made against my uncle, and, as far as +external disturbances were concerned, he enjoyed henceforward perfect +security and quiet. + +A deep and lasting impression, however, had been made upon the public +mind, and Sir Arthur Tyrrell was no longer visited or noticed by the +gentry of the county, whose attentions he had hitherto received. He +accordingly affected to despise those courtesies which he no longer +enjoyed, and shunned even that society which he might have commanded. +This is all that I need recapitulate of my uncle's history, and I now +recur to my own. + +Although my father had never, within my recollection, visited, or +been visited by my uncle, each being of unsocial, procrastinating, +and indolent habits, and their respective residences being very far +apart--the one lying in the county of Galway, the other in that +of Cork--he was strongly attached to his brother, and evinced his +affection by an active correspondence, and by deeply and proudly +resenting that neglect which had branded Sir Arthur as unfit to mix in +society. + +When I was about eighteen years of age, my father, whose health had +been gradually declining, died, leaving me in heart wretched +and desolate, and, owing to his habitual seclusion, with few +acquaintances, and almost no friends. The provisions of his will were +curious, and when I was sufficiently come to myself to listen to, or +comprehend them, surprised me not a little: all his vast property was +left to me, and to the heirs of my body, for ever; and, in default +of such heirs, it was to go after my death to my uncle, Sir Arthur, +without any entail. At the same time, the will appointed him my +guardian, desiring that I might be received within his house, and +reside with his family, and under his care, during the term of my +minority; and in consideration of the increased expense consequent +upon such an arrangement, a handsome allowance was allotted to him +during the term of my proposed residence. The object of this last +provision I at once understood; my father desired, by making it the +direct apparent interest of Sir Arthur that I should die without +issue, while at the same time he placed my person wholly in his power, +to prove to the world how great and unshaken was his confidence in +his brother's innocence and honour. It was a strange, perhaps an +idle scheme, but as I had been always brought up in the habit of +considering my uncle as a deeply injured man, and had been taught, +almost as a part of my religion, to regard him as the very soul of +honour, I felt no further uneasiness respecting the arrangement than +that likely to affect a shy and timid girl at the immediate prospect +of taking up her abode for the first time in her life among strangers. +Previous to leaving my home, which I felt I should do with a heavy +heart, I received a most tender and affectionate letter from my uncle, +calculated, if anything could do so, to remove the bitterness of +parting from scenes familiar and dear from my earliest childhood, +and in some degree to reconcile me to the measure. It was upon a fine +autumn day that I approached the old domain of Carrickleigh. I shall +not soon forget the impression of sadness and of gloom which all that +I saw produced upon my mind; the sunbeams were falling with a rich +and melancholy lustre upon the fine old trees, which stood in lordly +groups, casting their long sweeping shadows over rock and sward; there +was an air of neglect and decay about the spot, which amounted almost +to desolation, and mournfully increased as we approached the building +itself, near which the ground had been originally more artificially +and carefully cultivated than elsewhere, and where consequently +neglect more immediately and strikingly betrayed itself. + +As we proceeded, the road wound near the beds of what had been +formerly two fish-ponds, which were now nothing more than stagnant +swamps, overgrown with rank weeds, and here and there encroached upon +by the straggling underwood; the avenue itself was much broken; and in +many places the stones were almost concealed by grass and nettles; the +loose stone walls which had here and there intersected the broad park, +were, in many places, broken down, so as no longer to answer their +original purpose as fences; piers were now and then to be seen, but +the gates were gone; and to add to the general air of dilapidation, +some huge trunks were lying scattered through the venerable old trees, +either the work of the winter storms, or perhaps the victims of some +extensive but desultory scheme of denudation, which the projector had +not capital or perseverance to carry into full effect. + +After the carriage had travelled a full mile of this avenue, we +reached the summit of a rather abrupt eminence, one of the many which +added to the picturesqueness, if not to the convenience of this rude +approach; from the top of this ridge the grey walls of Carrickleigh +were visible, rising at a small distance in front, and darkened by the +hoary wood which crowded around them; it was a quadrangular building +of considerable extent, and the front, where the great entrance was +placed, lay towards us, and bore unequivocal marks of antiquity; the +time-worn, solemn aspect of the old building, the ruinous and deserted +appearance of the whole place, and the associations which connected +it with a dark page in the history of my family, combined to depress +spirits already predisposed for the reception of sombre and dejecting +impressions. When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown court-yard +before the hall-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well +accorded with that of the place which they tenanted, alarmed by +the obstreperous barking of a great chained dog, ran out from some +half-ruinous outhouses, and took charge of the horses; the hall-door +stood open, and I entered a gloomy and imperfectly-lighted apartment, +and found no one within it. However, I had not long to wait in this +awkward predicament, for before my luggage had been deposited in the +house, indeed before I had well removed my cloak and other muffles, +so as to enable me to look around, a young girl ran lightly into the +hall, and kissing me heartily and somewhat boisterously exclaimed, "My +dear cousin, my dear Margaret--I am so delighted--so out of breath, we +did not expect you till ten o'clock; my father is somewhere about the +place, he must be close at hand. James--Corney--run out and tell your +master; my brother is seldom at home, at least at any reasonable hour; +you must be so tired--so fatigued--let me show you to your room; see +that Lady Margaret's luggage is all brought up; you must lie down and +rest yourself. Deborah, bring some coffee--up these stairs; we are +so delighted to see you--you cannot think how lonely I have been; how +steep these stairs are, are not they? I am so glad you are come--I +could hardly bring myself to believe that you were really coming; +how good of you, dear Lady Margaret." There was real good nature +and delight in my cousin's greeting, and a kind of constitutional +confidence of manner which placed me at once at ease, and made me feel +immediately upon terms of intimacy with her. The room into which +she ushered me, although partaking in the general air of decay which +pervaded the mansion and all about it, had, nevertheless, been fitted +up with evident attention to comfort, and even with some dingy attempt +at luxury; but what pleased me most was that it opened, by a second +door, upon a lobby which communicated with my fair cousin's apartment; +a circumstance which divested the room, in my eyes, of the air of +solitude and sadness which would otherwise have characterised it, to a +degree almost painful to one so depressed and agitated as I was. + +After such arrangements as I found necessary were completed, we both +went down to the parlour, a large wainscotted room, hung round with +grim old portraits, and, as I was not sorry to see, containing, in its +ample grate, a large and cheerful fire. Here my cousin had leisure to +talk more at her ease; and from her I learned something of the manners +and the habits of the two remaining members of her family, whom I had +not yet seen. On my arrival I had known nothing of the family +among whom I was come to reside, except that it consisted of three +individuals, my uncle, and his son and daughter, Lady Tyrrell having +been long dead; in addition to this very scanty stock of information, +I shortly learned from my communicative companion, that my uncle was, +as I had suspected, completely retired in his habits, and besides +that, having been, so far back as she could well recollect, always +rather strict, as reformed rakes frequently become, he had latterly +been growing more gloomily and sternly religious than heretofore. Her +account of her brother was far less favourable, though she did not say +anything directly to his disadvantage. From all that I could gather +from her, I was led to suppose that he was a specimen of the idle, +coarse-mannered, profligate "_squirearchy_"--a result which might +naturally have followed from the circumstance of his being, as it +were, outlawed from society, and driven for companionship to grades +below his own--enjoying, too, the dangerous prerogative of spending +a good deal of money. However, you may easily suppose that I found +nothing in my cousin's communication fully to bear me out in so very +decided a conclusion. + +I awaited the arrival of my uncle, which was every moment to be +expected, with feelings half of alarm, half of curiosity--a sensation +which I have often since experienced, though to a less degree, when +upon the point of standing for the first time in the presence of one +of whom I have long been in the habit of hearing or thinking with +interest. It was, therefore, with some little perturbation that I +heard, first a slight bustle at the outer door, then a slow step +traverse the hall, and finally witnessed the door open, and my uncle +enter the room. He was a striking looking man; from peculiarities both +of person and of dress, the whole effect of his appearance amounted to +extreme singularity. He was tall, and when young his figure must have +been strikingly elegant; as it was, however, its effect was marred by +a very decided stoop; his dress was of a sober colour, and in fashion +anterior to any thing which I could remember. It was, however, +handsome, and by no means carelessly put on; but what completed the +singularity of his appearance was his uncut, white hair, which hung +in long, but not at all neglected curls, even so far as his shoulders, +and which combined with his regularly classic features, and fine dark +eyes, to bestow upon him an air of venerable dignity and pride, which +I have seldom seen equalled elsewhere. I rose as he entered, and +met him about the middle of the room; he kissed my cheek and both my +hands, saying-- + +"You are most welcome, dear child, as welcome as the command of this +poor place and all that it contains can make you. I am rejoiced to see +you--truly rejoiced. I trust that you are not much fatigued; pray be +seated again." He led me to my chair, and continued, "I am glad to +perceive you have made acquaintance with Emily already; I see, in your +being thus brought together, the foundation of a lasting friendship. +You are both innocent, and both young. God bless you--God bless you, +and make you all that I could wish." + +He raised his eyes, and remained for a few moments silent, as if +in secret prayer. I felt that it was impossible that this man, with +feelings manifestly so tender, could be the wretch that public opinion +had represented him to be. I was more than ever convinced of his +innocence. His manners were, or appeared to me, most fascinating. +I know not how the lights of experience might have altered this +estimate. But I was then very young, and I beheld in him a perfect +mingling of the courtesy of polished life with the gentlest and +most genial virtues of the heart. A feeling of affection and respect +towards him began to spring up within me, the more earnest that I +remembered how sorely he had suffered in fortune and how cruelly in +fame. My uncle having given me fully to understand that I was most +welcome, and might command whatever was his own, pressed me to take +some supper; and on my refusing, he observed that, before bidding me +good night, he had one duty further to perform, one in which he was +convinced I would cheerfully acquiesce. He then proceeded to read a +chapter from the Bible; after which he took his leave with the same +affectionate kindness with which he had greeted me, having repeated +his desire that I should consider every thing in his house as +altogether at my disposal. It is needless to say how much I was +pleased with my uncle--it was impossible to avoid being so; and I +could not help saying to myself, if such a man as this is not safe +from the assaults of slander, who is? I felt much happier than I +had done since my father's death, and enjoyed that night the first +refreshing sleep which had visited me since that calamity. My +curiosity respecting my male cousin did not long remain unsatisfied; +he appeared upon the next day at dinner. His manners, though not so +coarse as I had expected, were exceedingly disagreeable; there was an +assurance and a forwardness for which I was not prepared; there was +less of the vulgarity of manner, and almost more of that of the mind, +than I had anticipated. I felt quite uncomfortable in his presence; +there was just that confidence in his look and tone, which would read +encouragement even in mere toleration; and I felt more disgusted and +annoyed at the coarse and extravagant compliments which he was pleased +from time to time to pay me, than perhaps the extent of the atrocity +might fully have warranted. It was, however, one consolation that he +did not often appear, being much engrossed by pursuits about which +I neither knew nor cared anything; but when he did, his attentions, +either with a view to his amusement, or to some more serious object, +were so obviously and perseveringly directed to me, that young and +inexperienced as I was, even _I_ could not be ignorant of their +significance. I felt more provoked by this odious persecution than I +can express, and discouraged him with so much vigour, that I did +not stop even at rudeness to convince him that his assiduities were +unwelcome; but all in vain. + +This had gone on for nearly a twelvemonth, to my infinite annoyance, +when one day, as I was sitting at some needlework with my companion, +Emily, as was my habit, in the parlour, the door opened, and my cousin +Edward entered the room. There was something, I thought, odd in his +manner, a kind of struggle between shame and impudence, a kind of +flurry and ambiguity, which made him appear, if possible, more than +ordinarily disagreeable. + +"Your servant, ladies," he said, seating himself at the same time; +"sorry to spoil your _tête-à-tête_; but never mind, I'll only take +Emily's place for a minute or two, and then we part for a while, fair +cousin. Emily, my father wants you in the corner turret; no shilly, +shally, he's in a hurry." She hesitated. "Be off--tramp, march, I +say," he exclaimed, in a tone which the poor girl dared not disobey. + +She left the room, and Edward followed her to the door. He stood there +for a minute or two, as if reflecting what he should say, perhaps +satisfying himself that no one was within hearing in the hall. At +length he turned about, having closed the door, as if carelessly, with +his foot, and advancing slowly, in deep thought, he took his seat at +the side of the table opposite to mine. There was a brief interval of +silence, after which he said:-- + +"I imagine that you have a shrewd suspicion of the object of my early +visit; but I suppose I must go into particulars. Must I?" + +"I have no conception," I replied, "what your object may be." + +"Well, well," said he becoming more at his ease as he proceeded, "it +may be told in a few words. You know that it is totally impossible, +quite out of the question, that an off-hand young fellow like me, and +a good-looking girl like yourself, could meet continually as you and +I have done, without an attachment--a liking growing up on one side or +other; in short, I think I have let you know as plainly as if I spoke +it, that I have been in love with you, almost from the first time +I saw you." He paused, but I was too much horrified to speak. He +interpreted my silence favourably. "I can tell you," he continued, +"I'm reckoned rather hard to please, and very hard to _hit_. I can't +say when I was taken with a girl before, so you see fortune reserved +me--." + +Here the odious wretch actually put his arm round my waist: the +action at once restored me to utterance, and with the most indignant +vehemence I released myself from his hold, and at the same time +said:-- + +"I _have_, sir, of course, perceived your most disagreeable +attentions; they have long been a source of great annoyance to me; and +you must be aware that I have marked my disapprobation, my disgust, as +unequivocally as I possibly could, without actual indelicacy." + +I paused, almost out of breath from the rapidity with which I had +spoken; and without giving him time to renew the conversation, I +hastily quitted the room, leaving him in a paroxysm of rage and +mortification. As I ascended the stairs, I heard him open the +parlour-door with violence, and take two or three rapid strides in the +direction in which I was moving. I was now much frightened, and ran +the whole way until I reached my room, and having locked the door, I +listened breathlessly, but heard no sound. This relieved me for +the present; but so much had I been overcome by the agitation and +annoyance attendant upon the scene which I had just passed through, +that when my cousin Emily knocked at the door, I was weeping in great +agitation. You will readily conceive my distress, when you reflect +upon my strong dislike to my cousin Edward, combined with my youth and +extreme inexperience. Any proposal of such a nature must have agitated +me; but that it should come from the man whom, of all others, I +instinctively most loathed and abhorred, and to whom I had, as clearly +as manner could do it, expressed the state of my feelings, was almost +too annoying to be borne; it was a calamity, too, in which I could not +claim the sympathy of my cousin Emily, which had always been extended +to me in my minor grievances. Still I hoped that it might not be +unattended with good; for I thought that one inevitable and most +welcome consequence would result from this painful _éclaircissement_, +in the discontinuance of my cousin's odious persecution. + +When I arose next morning, it was with the fervent hope that I +might never again behold his face, or even hear his name; but such +a consummation, though devoutedly to be wished, was hardly likely to +occur. The painful impressions of yesterday were too vivid to be +at once erased; and I could not help feeling some dim foreboding of +coming annoyance and evil. To expect on my cousin's part anything like +delicacy or consideration for me, was out of the question. I saw that +he had set his heart upon my property, and that he was not likely +easily to forego such a prize, possessing what might have been +considered opportunities and facilities almost to compel my +compliance. I now keenly felt the unreasonableness of my father's +conduct in placing me to reside with a family, with all the members of +which, with one exception, he was wholly unacquainted, and I bitterly +felt the helplessness of my situation. I determined, however, in the +event of my cousin's persevering in his addresses, to lay all the +particulars before my uncle, although he had never, in kindness or +intimacy, gone a step beyond our first interview, and to throw myself +upon his hospitality and his sense of honour for protection against a +repetition of such annoyances. + +My cousin's conduct may appear to have been an inadequate cause for +such serious uneasiness; but my alarm was awakened neither by his acts +nor by words, but entirely by his manner, which was strange and even +intimidating. At the beginning of our yesterday's interview, there was +a sort of bullying swagger in his air, which, towards the end, +gave place to something bordering upon the brutal vehemence of an +undisguised ruffian, a transition which had tempted me into a belief +that he might seek, even forcibly, to extort from me a consent to his +wishes, or by means still more horrible, of which I scarcely dared to +trust myself to think, to possess himself of my property. + +I was early next day summoned to attend my uncle in his private +room, which lay in a corner turret of the old building; and thither +I accordingly went, wondering all the way what this unusual measure +might prelude. When I entered the room, he did not rise in his usual +courteous way to greet me, but simply pointed to a chair opposite to +his own; this boded nothing agreeable. I sat down, however, silently +waiting until he should open the conversation. + +"Lady Margaret," at length he said, in a tone of greater sternness +than I thought him capable of using, "I have hitherto spoken to you as +a friend, but I have not forgotten that I am also your guardian, and +that my authority as such gives me a right to controul your conduct. +I shall put a question to you, and I expect and will demand a +plain, direct answer. Have I rightly been informed that you have +contemptuously rejected the suit and hand of my son Edward?" + +I stammered forth with a good deal of trepidation:-- + +"I believe, that is, I have, sir, rejected my cousin's proposals; and +my coldness and discouragement might have convinced him that I had +determined to do so." + +"Madame," replied he, with suppressed, but, as it appeared to me, +intense anger, "I have lived long enough to know that _coldness and +discouragement_, and such terms, form the common cant of a worthless +coquette. You know to the full, as well as I, that _coldness and +discouragement_ may be so exhibited as to convince their object that +he is neither distasteful nor indifferent to the person who wears that +manner. You know, too, none better, that an affected neglect, when +skillfully managed, is amongst the most formidable of the allurements +which artful beauty can employ. I tell you, madame, that having, +without one word spoken in discouragement, permitted my son's most +marked attentions for a twelvemonth or more, you have no _right_ to +dismiss him with no further explanation than demurely telling him that +you had always looked coldly upon him, and neither your wealth nor +_your ladyship_ (there was an emphasis of scorn on the word which +would have become Sir Giles Overreach himself) can warrant you in +treating with contempt the affectionate regard of an honest heart." + +I was too much shocked at this undisguised attempt to bully me into +an acquiescence in the interested and unprincipled plan for their +own aggrandisement, which I now perceived my uncle and his son had +deliberately formed, at once to find strength or collectedness to +frame an answer to what he had said. At length I replied, with a +firmness that surprised myself:-- + +"In all that you have just now said, sir, you have grossly misstated +my conduct and motives. Your information must have been most +incorrect, as far as it regards my conduct towards my cousin; my +manner towards him could have conveyed nothing but dislike; and if +anything could have added to the strong aversion which I have long +felt towards him, it would be his attempting thus to frighten me into +a marriage which he knows to be revolting to me, and which is sought +by him only as a means for securing to himself whatever property is +mine." + +As I said this, I fixed my eyes upon those of my uncle, but he was too +old in the world's ways to falter beneath the gaze of more searching +eyes than mine; he simply said-- + +"Are you acquainted with the provisions of your father's will?" + +I answered in the affirmative; and he continued:--"Then you must be +aware that if my son Edward were, which God forbid, the unprincipled, +reckless man, the ruffian you pretend to think him"--(here he spoke +very slowly, as if he intended that every word which escaped him +should be registered in my memory, while at the same time the +expression of his countenance underwent a gradual but horrible change, +and the eyes which he fixed upon me became so darkly vivid, that +I almost lost sight of everything else)--"if he were what you have +described him, do you think, child, he would have found no shorter way +than marriage to gain his ends? A single blow, an outrage not a degree +worse than you insinuate, would transfer your property to us!!" + +I stood staring at him for many minutes after he had ceased to speak, +fascinated by the terrible, serpent-like gaze, until he continued with +a welcome change of countenance:-- + +"I will not speak again to you, upon this topic, until one month has +passed. You shall have time to consider the relative advantages of the +two courses which are open to you. I should be sorry to hurry you to +a decision. I am satisfied with having stated my feelings upon the +subject, and pointed out to you the path of duty. Remember this day +month; not one word sooner." + +He then rose, and I left the room, much agitated and exhausted. + +This interview, all the circumstances attending it, but most +particularly the formidable expression of my uncle's countenance while +he talked, though hypothetically, of _murder_, combined to arouse all +my worst suspicions of him. I dreaded to look upon the face that +had so recently worn the appalling livery of guilt and malignity. I +regarded it with the mingled fear and loathing with which one looks +upon an object which has tortured them in a night-mare. + +In a few days after the interview, the particulars of which I have +just detailed, I found a note upon my toilet-table, and on opening it +I read as follows:-- + +"_My Dear Lady Margaret_, + +You will be, perhaps, surprised to see a strange face in your room +today. I have dismissed your Irish maid, and secured a French one to +wait upon you; a step rendered necessary by my proposing shortly to +visit the Continent with all my family. + +Your faithful guardian, "_ARTHUR TYRELL_." + +On inquiry, I found that my faithful attendant was actually gone, and +far on her way to the town of Galway; and in her stead there appeared +a tall, raw-boned, ill-looking, elderly Frenchwoman, whose sullen and +presuming manners seemed to imply that her vocation had never before +been that of a lady's-maid. I could not help regarding her as a +creature of my uncle's, and therefore to be dreaded, even had she been +in no other way suspicious. + +Days and weeks passed away without any, even a momentary doubt upon my +part, as to the course to be pursued by me. The allotted period had +at length elapsed; the day arrived upon which I was to communicate my +decision to my uncle. Although my resolution had never for a moment +wavered, I could not shake off the dread of the approaching colloquy; +and my heart sank within me as I heard the expected summons. I had +not seen my cousin Edward since the occurrence of the grand +_éclaircissement_; he must have studiously avoided me; I suppose from +policy, it could not have been from delicacy. I was prepared for a +terrific burst of fury from my uncle, as soon as I should make known +my determination; and I not unreasonably feared that some act of +violence or of intimidation would next be resorted to. Filled with +these dreary forebodings, I fearfully opened the study door, and the +next minute I stood in my uncle's presence. He received me with +a courtesy which I dreaded, as arguing a favourable anticipation +respecting the answer which I was to give; and after some slight delay +he began by saying-- + +"It will be a relief to both of us, I believe, to bring this +conversation as soon as possible to an issue. You will excuse me, +then, my dear niece, for speaking with a bluntness which, under other +circumstances, would be unpardonable. You have, I am certain, given +the subject of our last interview fair and serious consideration; +and I trust that you are now prepared with candour to lay your answer +before me. A few words will suffice; we perfectly understand one +another." + +He paused; and I, though feeling that I stood upon a mine which might +in an instant explode, nevertheless answered with perfect composure: +"I must now, sir, make the same reply which I did upon the last +occasion, and I reiterate the declaration which I then made, that I +never can nor will, while life and reason remain, consent to a union +with my cousin Edward." + +This announcement wrought no apparent change in Sir Arthur, except +that he became deadly, almost lividly pale. He seemed lost in dark +thought for a minute, and then, with a slight effort, said, "You have +answered me honestly and directly; and you say your resolution is +unchangeable; well, would it had been otherwise--would it had been +otherwise--but be it as it is; I am satisfied." + +He gave me his hand--it was cold and damp as death; under an assumed +calmness, it was evident that he was fearfully agitated. He continued +to hold my hand with an almost painful pressure, while, as if +unconsciously, seeming to forget my presence, he muttered, "Strange, +strange, strange, indeed! fatuity, helpless fatuity!" there was here a +long pause. "Madness _indeed_ to strain a cable that is rotten to +the very heart; it must break--and then--all goes." There was again +a pause of some minutes, after which, suddenly changing his voice and +manner to one of wakeful alacrity, he exclaimed, + +"Margaret, my son Edward shall plague you no more. He leaves this +country to-morrow for France; he shall speak no more upon this +subject--never, never more; whatever events depended upon your answer +must now take their own course; but as for this fruitless proposal, it +has been tried enough; it can be repeated no more." + +At these words he coldly suffered my hand to drop, as if to express +his total abandonment of all his projected schemes of alliance; and +certainly the action, with the accompanying words, produced upon my +mind a more solemn and depressing effect than I believed possible to +have been caused by the course which I had determined to pursue; it +struck upon my heart with an awe and heaviness which _will_ accompany +the accomplishment of an important and irrevocable act, even though +no doubt or scruple remains to make it possible that the agent should +wish it undone. + +"Well," said my uncle, after a little time, "we now cease to speak +upon this topic, never to resume it again. Remember you shall have +no farther uneasiness from Edward; he leaves Ireland for France +to-morrow; this will be a relief to you; may I depend upon your +_honour_ that no word touching the subject of this interview shall +ever escape you?" I gave him the desired assurance; he said, "It is +well; I am satisfied; we have nothing more, I believe, to say upon +either side, and my presence must be a restraint upon you, I shall +therefore bid you farewell." I then left the apartment, scarcely +knowing what to think of the strange interview which had just taken +place. + +On the next day my uncle took occasion to tell me that Edward had +actually sailed, if his intention had not been prevented by adverse +winds or weather; and two days after he actually produced a letter +from his son, written, as it said, _on board_, and despatched while +the ship was getting under weigh. This was a great satisfaction to me, +and as being likely to prove so, it was no doubt communicated to me by +Sir Arthur. + +During all this trying period I had found infinite consolation in the +society and sympathy of my dear cousin Emily. I never, in after-life, +formed a friendship so close, so fervent, and upon which, in all its +progress, I could look back with feelings of such unalloyed pleasure, +upon whose termination I must ever dwell with so deep, so yet +unembittered a sorrow. In cheerful converse with her I soon recovered +my spirits considerably, and passed my time agreeably enough, although +still in the utmost seclusion. Matters went on smoothly enough, +although I could not help sometimes feeling a momentary, but horrible +uncertainty respecting my uncle's character; which was not altogether +unwarranted by the circumstances of the two trying interviews, the +particulars of which I have just detailed. The unpleasant impression +which these conferences were calculated to leave upon my mind was fast +wearing away, when there occurred a circumstance, slight indeed +in itself, but calculated irrepressibly to awaken all my worst +suspicions, and to overwhelm me again with anxiety and terror. + +I had one day left the house with my cousin Emily, in order to take +a ramble of considerable length, for the purpose of sketching some +favourite views, and we had walked about half a mile when I perceived +that we had forgotten our drawing materials, the absence of which +would have defeated the object of our walk. Laughing at our own +thoughtlessness, we returned to the house, and leaving Emily outside, +I ran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils which lay +in my bed-room. As I ran up the stairs, I was met by the tall, +ill-looking Frenchwoman, evidently a good deal flurried; "Que veut +Madame?" said she, with a more decided effort to be polite, than I +had ever known her make before. "No, no--no matter," said I, hastily +running by her in the direction of my room. "Madame," cried she, in a +high key, "restez ici s'il vous plaît, votre chambre n'est pas faite." +I continued to move on without heeding her. She was some way behind +me, and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance, for +I was now upon the very lobby, she made a desperate attempt to seize +hold of my person; she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl, +which she drew from my shoulders, but slipping at the same time upon +the polished oak floor, she fell at full length upon the boards. A +little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange +woman, I hastily pushed open the door of my room, at which I now +stood, in order to escape from her; but great was my amazement on +entering to find the apartment preoccupied. The window was open, and +beside it stood two male figures; they appeared to be examining the +fastenings of the casement, and their backs were turned towards the +door. One of them was my uncle; they both had turned on my entrance, +as if startled; the stranger was booted and cloaked, and wore a heavy, +broad-leafed hat over his brows; he turned but for a moment, and +averted his face; but I had seen enough to convince me that he was no +other than my cousin Edward. My uncle had some iron instrument in his +hand, which he hastily concealed behind his back; and coming towards +me, said something as if in an explanatory tone; but I was too +much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be. He said +something about "_repairs_--window-frames--cold, and safety." I did +not wait, however, to ask or to receive explanations, but hastily left +the room. As I went down stairs I thought I heard the voice of +the Frenchwoman in all the shrill volubility of excuse, and others +uttering suppressed but vehement imprecations, or what seemed to me to +be such. + +I joined my cousin Emily quite out of breath. I need not say that my +head was too full of other things to think much of drawing for that +day. I imparted to her frankly the cause of my alarms, but, at +the same time, as gently as I could; and with tears she promised +vigilance, devotion, and love. I never had reason for a moment to +repent the unreserved confidence which I then reposed in her. She was +no less surprised than I at the unexpected appearance of Edward, whose +departure for France neither of us had for a moment doubted, but +which was now proved by his actual presence to be nothing more than an +imposture practised, I feared, for no good end. The situation in which +I had found my uncle had very nearly removed all my doubts as to his +designs; I magnified suspicions into certainties, and dreaded night +after night that I should be murdered in my bed. The nervousness +produced by sleepless nights and days of anxious fears increased the +horrors of my situation to such a degree, that I at length wrote a +letter to a Mr. Jefferies, an old and faithful friend of my father's, +and perfectly acquainted with all his affairs, praying him, for +God's sake, to relieve me from my present terrible situation, and +communicating without reserve the nature and grounds of my suspicions. +This letter I kept sealed and directed for two or three days always +about my person, for discovery would have been ruinous, in expectation +of an opportunity, which might be safely trusted, of having it placed +in the post-office; as neither Emily nor I were permitted to pass +beyond the precincts of the demesne itself, which was surrounded by +high walls formed of dry stone, the difficulty of procuring such an +opportunity was greatly enhanced. + +At this time Emily had a short conversation with her father, which she +reported to me instantly. After some indifferent matter, he had +asked her whether she and I were upon good terms, and whether I was +unreserved in my disposition. She answered in the affirmative; and +he then inquired whether I had been much surprised to find him in my +chamber on the other day. She answered that I had been both surprised +and amused. "And what did she think of George Wilson's appearance?" +"Who?" inquired she. "Oh! the architect," he answered, "who is to +contract for the repairs of the house; he is accounted a handsome +fellow." "She could not see his face," said Emily, "and she was in +such a hurry to escape that she scarcely observed him." Sir Arthur +appeared satisfied, and the conversation ended. + +This slight conversation, repeated accurately to me by Emily, had the +effect of confirming, if indeed any thing was required to do so, +all that I had before believed as to Edward's actual presence; and I +naturally became, if possible, more anxious than ever to despatch the +letter to Mr. Jefferies. An opportunity at length occurred. As Emily +and I were walking one day near the gate of the demesne, a lad from +the village happened to be passing down the avenue from the house; +the spot was secluded, and as this person was not connected by service +with those whose observation I dreaded, I committed the letter to his +keeping, with strict injunctions that he should put it, without delay, +into the receiver of the town post-office; at the same time I added +a suitable gratuity, and the man having made many protestations of +punctuality, was soon out of sight. He was hardly gone when I began +to doubt my discretion in having trusted him; but I had no better +or safer means of despatching the letter, and I was not warranted in +suspecting him of such wanton dishonesty as a disposition to tamper +with it; but I could not be quite satisfied of its safety until I had +received an answer, which could not arrive for a few days. Before I +did, however, an event occurred which a little surprised me. I was +sitting in my bed-room early in the day, reading by myself, when I +heard a knock at the door. "Come in," said I, and my uncle entered the +room. "Will you excuse me," said he, "I sought you in the parlour, and +thence I have come here. I desired to say a word to you. I trust that +you have hitherto found my conduct to you such as that of a guardian +towards his ward should be." I dared not withhold my assent. "And," +he continued, "I trust that you have not found me harsh or unjust, +and that you have perceived, my dear niece, that I have sought to make +this poor place as agreeable to you as may be?" I assented again; +and he put his hand in his pocket, whence he drew a folded paper, and +dashing it upon the table with startling emphasis he said, "Did you +write that letter?" The sudden and fearful alteration of his voice, +manner, and face, but more than all, the unexpected production of my +letter to Mr. Jefferies, which I at once recognised, so confounded and +terrified me, that I felt almost choking. I could not utter a word. +"Did you write that letter?" he repeated, with slow and intense +emphasis. "You did, liar and hypocrite. You dared to write that foul +and infamous libel; but it shall be your last. Men will universally +believe you mad, if I choose to call for an inquiry. I can make +you appear so. The suspicions expressed in this letter are the +hallucinations and alarms of a moping lunatic. I have defeated your +first attempt, madam; and by the holy God, if ever you make another, +chains, darkness, and the keeper's whip shall be your portion." With +these astounding words he left the room, leaving me almost fainting. + +I was now almost reduced to despair; my last cast had failed; I had no +course left but that of escaping secretly from the castle, and placing +myself under the protection of the nearest magistrate. I felt if this +were not done, and speedily, that I should be _murdered_. No one, from +mere description, can have an idea of the unmitigated horror of my +situation; a helpless, weak, inexperienced girl, placed under the +power, and wholly at the mercy of evil men, and feeling that I had it +not in my power to escape for one moment from the malignant influences +under which I was probably doomed to fall; with a consciousness, too, +that if violence, if murder were designed, no human being would be +near to aid me; my dying shriek would be lost in void space. + +I had seen Edward but once during his visit, and as I did not meet +him again, I began to think that he must have taken his departure; a +conviction which was to a certain degree satisfactory, as I regarded +his absence as indicating the removal of immediate danger. Emily also +arrived circuitously at the same conclusion, and not without good +grounds, for she managed indirectly to learn that Edward's black horse +had actually been for a day and part of a night in the castle stables, +just at the time of her brother's supposed visit. The horse had gone, +and as she argued, the rider must have departed with it. + +This point being so far settled, I felt a little less uncomfortable; +when being one day alone in my bed-room, I happened to look out from +the window, and to my unutterable horror, I beheld peering through an +opposite casement, my cousin Edward's face. Had I seen the evil one +himself in bodily shape, I could not have experienced a more sickening +revulsion. I was too much appalled to move at once from the window, +but I did so soon enough to avoid his eye. He was looking fixedly down +into the narrow quadrangle upon which the window opened. I shrunk back +unperceived, to pass the rest of the day in terror and despair. I went +to my room early that night, but I was too miserable to sleep. + +At about twelve o'clock, feeling very nervous, I determined to call +my cousin Emily, who slept, you will remember, in the next room, which +communicated with mine by a second door. By this private entrance I +found my way into her chamber, and without difficulty persuaded her to +return to my room and sleep with me. We accordingly lay down together, +she undressed, and I with my clothes on, for I was every moment +walking up and down the room, and felt too nervous and miserable to +think of rest or comfort. Emily was soon fast asleep, and I lay awake, +fervently longing for the first pale gleam of morning, and reckoning +every stroke of the old clock with an impatience which made every hour +appear like six. + +It must have been about one o'clock when I thought I heard a slight +noise at the partition door between Emily's room and mine, as if +caused by somebody's turning the key in the lock. I held my breath, +and the same sound was repeated at the second door of my room, that +which opened upon the lobby; the sound was here distinctly caused +by the revolution of the bolt in the lock, and it was followed by a +slight pressure upon the door itself, as if to ascertain the security +of the lock. The person, whoever it might be, was probably satisfied, +for I heard the old boards of the lobby creak and strain, as if +under the weight of somebody moving cautiously over them. My sense +of hearing became unnaturally, almost painfully acute. I suppose +the imagination added distinctness to sounds vague in themselves. I +thought that I could actually hear the breathing of the person who was +slowly returning along the lobby. + +At the head of the stair-case there appeared to occur a pause; and I +could distinctly hear two or three sentences hastily whispered; +the steps then descended the stairs with apparently less caution. I +ventured to walk quickly and lightly to the lobby door, and attempted +to open it; it was indeed fast locked upon the outside, as was +also the other. I now felt that the dreadful hour was come; but one +desperate expedient remained--it was to awaken Emily, and by our +united strength, to attempt to force the partition door, which was +slighter than the other, and through this to pass to the lower part of +the house, whence it might be possible to escape to the grounds, and +so to the village. I returned to the bedside, and shook Emily, but in +vain; nothing that I could do availed to produce from her more than +a few incoherent words; it was a death-like sleep. She had certainly +drunk of some narcotic, as, probably, had I also, in spite of all the +caution with which I had examined every thing presented to us to eat +or drink. I now attempted, with as little noise as possible, to force +first one door, then the other; but all in vain. I believe no strength +could have affected my object, for both doors opened inwards. I +therefore collected whatever moveables I could carry thither, and +piled them against the doors, so as to assist me in whatever attempts +I should make to resist the entrance of those without. I then returned +to the bed and endeavoured again, but fruitlessly, to awaken my +cousin. It was not sleep, it was torpor, lethargy, death. I knelt down +and prayed with an agony of earnestness; and then seating myself upon +the bed, I awaited my fate with a kind of terrible tranquillity. + +I heard a faint clanking sound from the narrow court which I +have already mentioned, as if caused by the scraping of some iron +instrument against stones or rubbish. I at first determined not to +disturb the calmness which I now experienced, by uselessly watching +the proceedings of those who sought my life; but as the sounds +continued, the horrible curiosity which I felt overcame every +other emotion, and I determined, at all hazards, to gratify it. I, +therefore, crawled upon my knees to the window, so as to let the +smallest possible portion of my head appear above the sill. + +The moon was shining with an uncertain radiance upon the antique grey +buildings, and obliquely upon the narrow court beneath; one side of +it was therefore clearly illuminated, while the other was lost in +obscurity, the sharp outlines of the old gables, with their nodding +clusters of ivy, being at first alone visible. Whoever or whatever +occasioned the noise which had excited my curiosity, was concealed +under the shadow of the dark side of the quadrangle. I placed my hand +over my eyes to shade them from the moonlight, which was so bright as +to be almost dazzling, and, peering into the darkness, I first dimly, +but afterwards gradually, almost with full distinctness, beheld the +form of a man engaged in digging what appeared to be a rude hole close +under the wall. Some implements, probably a shovel and pickaxe, lay +beside him, and to these he every now and then applied himself as the +nature of the ground required. He pursued his task rapidly, and with +as little noise as possible. "So," thought I, as shovelful after +shovelful, the dislodged rubbish mounted into a heap, "they are +digging the grave in which, before two hours pass, I must lie, a +cold, mangled corpse. I am _theirs_--I cannot escape." I felt as if +my reason was leaving me. I started to my feet, and in mere despair I +applied myself again to each of the two doors alternately. I strained +every nerve and sinew, but I might as well have attempted, with my +single strength, to force the building itself from its foundations. I +threw myself madly upon the ground, and clasped my hands over my eyes +as if to shut out the horrible images which crowded upon me. + +The paroxysm passed away. I prayed once more with the bitter, agonised +fervour of one who feels that the hour of death is present and +inevitable. When I arose, I went once more to the window and looked +out, just in time to see a shadowy figure glide stealthily along the +wall. The task was finished. The catastrophe of the tragedy must soon +be accomplished. I determined now to defend my life to the last; and +that I might be able to do so with some effect, I searched the room +for something which might serve as a weapon; but either through +accident, or else in anticipation of such a possibility, every thing +which might have been made available for such a purpose had been +removed. + +I must then die tamely and without an effort to defend myself. A +thought suddenly struck me; might it not be possible to escape through +the door, which the assassin must open in order to enter the room? +I resolved to make the attempt. I felt assured that the door through +which ingress to the room would be effected was that which opened +upon the lobby. It was the more direct way, besides being, for obvious +reasons, less liable to interruption than the other. I resolved, then, +to place myself behind a projection of the wall, the shadow would +serve fully to conceal me, and when the door should be opened, and +before they should have discovered the identity of the occupant of +the bed, to creep noiselessly from the room, and then to trust to +Providence for escape. In order to facilitate this scheme, I removed +all the lumber which I had heaped against the door; and I had +nearly completed my arrangements, when I perceived the room suddenly +darkened, by the close approach of some shadowy object to the window. +On turning my eyes in that direction, I observed at the top of the +casement, as if suspended from above, first the feet, then the legs, +then the body, and at length the whole figure of a man present itself. +It was Edward Tyrrell. He appeared to be guiding his descent so as to +bring his feet upon the centre of the stone block which occupied the +lower part of the window; and having secured his footing upon this, he +kneeled down and began to gaze into the room. As the moon was gleaming +into the chamber, and the bed-curtains were drawn, he was able to +distinguish the bed itself and its contents. He appeared satisfied +with his scrutiny, for he looked up and made a sign with his hand. +He then applied his hands to the window-frame, which must have +been ingeniously contrived for the purpose, for with apparently no +resistance the whole frame, containing casement and all, slipped from +its position in the wall, and was by him lowered into the room. The +cold night wind waved the bed-curtains, and he paused for a moment; +all was still again, and he stepped in upon the floor of the room. +He held in his hand what appeared to be a steel instrument, shaped +something like a long hammer. This he held rather behind him, while, +with three long, _tip-toe_ strides, he brought himself to the bedside. +I felt that the discovery must now be made, and held my breath in +momentary expectation of the execration in which he would vent his +surprise and disappointment. I closed my eyes; there was a pause, but +it was a short one. I heard two dull blows, given in rapid succession; +a quivering sigh, and the long-drawn, heavy breathing of the sleeper +was for ever suspended. I unclosed my eyes, and saw the murderer fling +the quilt across the head of his victim; he then, with the instrument +of death still in his hand, proceeded to the lobby-door, upon which +he tapped sharply twice or thrice. A quick step was then heard +approaching, and a voice whispered something from without. Edward +answered, with a kind of shuddering chuckle, "Her ladyship is past +complaining; unlock the door, in the devil's name, unless you're +afraid to come in, and help me to lift her out of the window." The +key was turned in the lock, the door opened, and my uncle entered the +room. I have told you already that I had placed myself under the shade +of a projection of the wall, close to the door. I had instinctively +shrunk down cowering towards the ground on the entrance of Edward +through the window. When my uncle entered the room, he and his son +both stood so very close to me that his hand was every moment upon the +point of touching my face. I held my breath, and remained motionless +as death. + +"You had no interruption from the next room?" said my uncle. + +"No," was the brief reply. + +"Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon +them. You're a steady hand, by G--d; not much blood--eh?" + +"Not twenty drops," replied his son, "and those on the quilt." + +"I'm glad it's over," whispered my uncle again; "we must lift the--the +_thing_ through the window, and lay the rubbish over it." + +They then turned to the bedside, and, winding the bed-clothes round +the body, carried it between them slowly to the window, and exchanging +a few brief words with some one below, they shoved it over the +window-sill, and I heard it fall heavily on the ground underneath. + +"I'll take the jewels," said my uncle; "there are two caskets in the +lower drawer." + +He proceeded, with an accuracy which, had I been more at ease, would +have furnished me with matter of astonishment, to lay his hand upon +the very spot where my jewels lay; and having possessed himself of +them, he called to his son:-- + +"Is the rope made fast above?" + +"I'm no fool; to be sure it is," replied he. + +They then lowered themselves from the window; and I rose lightly and +cautiously, scarcely daring to breathe, from my place of concealment, +and was creeping towards the door, when I heard my uncle's voice, in a +sharp whisper, exclaim, "Get up again; G--d d--n you, you've forgot +to lock the room door"; and I perceived, by the straining of the rope +which hung from above, that the mandate was instantly obeyed. Not +a second was to be lost. I passed through the door, which was only +closed, and moved as rapidly as I could, consistently with stillness, +along the lobby. Before I had gone many yards, I heard the door +through which I had just passed roughly locked on the inside. I glided +down the stairs in terror, lest, at every corner, I should meet the +murderer or one of his accomplices. I reached the hall, and listened, +for a moment, to ascertain whether all was silent around. No sound was +audible; the parlour windows opened on the park, and through one +of them I might, I thought, easily effect my escape. Accordingly, I +hastily entered; but, to my consternation, a candle was burning in the +room, and by its light I saw a figure seated at the dinner-table, upon +which lay glasses, bottles, and the other accompaniments of a drinking +party. Two or three chairs were placed about the table, irregularly, +as if hastily abandoned by their occupants. A single glance satisfied +me that the figure was that of my French attendant. She was fast +asleep, having, probably, drank deeply. There was something malignant +and ghastly in the calmness of this bad woman's features, dimly +illuminated as they were by the flickering blaze of the candle. A +knife lay upon the table, and the terrible thought struck me--"Should +I kill this sleeping accomplice in the guilt of the murderer, and thus +secure my retreat?" Nothing could be easier; it was but to draw the +blade across her throat, the work of a second. + +An instant's pause, however, corrected me. "No," thought I, "the God +who has conducted me thus far through the valley of the shadow of +death, will not abandon me now. I will fall into their hands, or I +will escape hence, but it shall be free from the stain of blood; His +will be done." I felt a confidence arising from this reflection, an +assurance of protection which I cannot describe. There were no other +means of escape, so I advanced, with a firm step and collected mind, +to the window. I noiselessly withdrew the bars, and unclosed the +shutters; I pushed open the casement, and without waiting to look +behind me, I ran with my utmost speed, scarcely feeling the ground +beneath me, down the avenue, taking care to keep upon the grass which +bordered it. I did not for a moment slacken my speed, and I had now +gained the central point between the park-gate and the mansion-house. +Here the avenue made a wider circuit, and in order to avoid delay, I +directed my way across the smooth sward round which the carriageway +wound, intending, at the opposite side of the level, at a point which +I distinguished by a group of old birch trees, to enter again upon the +beaten track, which was from thence tolerably direct to the gate. I +had, with my utmost speed, got about half way across this broad flat, +when the rapid tramp of a horse's hoofs struck upon my ear. My heart +swelled in my bosom, as though I would smother. The clattering of +galloping hoofs approached; I was pursued; they were now upon the +sward on which I was running; there was not a bush or a bramble to +shelter me; and, as if to render escape altogether desperate, the +moon, which had hitherto been obscured, at this moment shone forth +with a broad, clear light, which made every object distinctly visible. +The sounds were now close behind me. I felt my knees bending under +me, with the sensation which unnerves one in a dream. I reeled, +I stumbled, I fell; and at the same instant the cause of my alarm +wheeled past me at full gallop. It was one of the young fillies which +pastured loose about the park, whose frolics had thus all but maddened +me with terror. I scrambled to my feet, and rushed on with weak but +rapid steps, my sportive companion still galloping round and round me +with many a frisk and fling, until, at length, more dead than alive, +I reached the avenue-gate, and crossed the stile, I scarce knew how. +I ran through the village, in which all was silent as the grave, until +my progress was arrested by the hoarse voice of a sentinel, who +cried "Who goes there?" I felt that I was now safe. I turned in the +direction of the voice, and fell fainting at the soldier's feet. When +I came to myself, I was sitting in a miserable hovel, surrounded by +strange faces, all bespeaking curiosity and compassion. Many soldiers +were in it also; indeed, as I afterwards found, it was employed as a +guard-room by a detachment of troops quartered for that night in the +town. In a few words I informed their officer of the circumstances +which had occurred, describing also the appearance of the persons +engaged in the murder; and he, without further loss of time than was +necessary to procure the attendance of a magistrate, proceeded to the +mansion-house of Carrickleigh, taking with him a party of his men. +But the villains had discovered their mistake, and had effected their +escape before the arrival of the military. + +The Frenchwoman was, however, arrested in the neighbourhood upon the +next day. She was tried and condemned at the ensuing assizes; and +previous to her execution confessed that "_she had a hand in making +Hugh Tisdall's bed_." She had been a housekeeper in the castle at the +time, and a _chère amie_ of my uncle's. She was, in reality, able +to speak English like a native, but had exclusively used the French +language, I suppose to facilitate her designs. She died the same +hardened wretch she had lived, confessing her crimes only, as she +alleged, that her doing so might involve Sir Arthur Tyrrell, the +great author of her guilt and misery, and whom she now regarded with +unmitigated detestation. + +With the particulars of Sir Arthur's and his son's escape, as far +as they are known, you are acquainted. You are also in possession +of their after fate; the terrible, the tremendous retribution which, +after long delays of many years, finally overtook and crushed them. +Wonderful and inscrutable are the dealings of God with his creatures! + +Deep and fervent as must always be my gratitude to heaven for my +deliverance, effected by a chain of providential occurrences, the +failing of a single link of which must have ensured my destruction, +it was long before I could look back upon it with other feelings than +those of bitterness, almost of agony. The only being that had +ever really loved me, my nearest and dearest friend, ever ready to +sympathise, to counsel, and to assist; the gayest, the gentlest, the +warmest heart; the only creature on earth that cared for me; _her_ +life had been the price of my deliverance; and I then uttered the +wish, which no event of my long and sorrowful life has taught me to +recall, that she had been spared, and that, in her stead, _I_ were +mouldering in the grave, forgotten, and at rest. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Two Ghostly Mysteries, by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO GHOSTLY MYSTERIES *** + +***** This file should be named 12828-8.txt or 12828-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/2/12828/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Cathy Smith and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Two Ghostly Mysteries + A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family; and The Murdered Cousin + +Author: Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +Release Date: July 6, 2004 [EBook #12828] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO GHOSTLY MYSTERIES *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Cathy Smith and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +AND + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + +Two stories by J.S. LeFanu + + +A Chapter in the History was first published in 1836. +The Murdered Cousin was first published in 1851. + + + + +A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY + +Being a Tenth Extract from the Legacy of the Late Francis Purcell, +P.P. of Drumcoolagh + + +INTRODUCTION. In the following narrative, I have endeavoured to give +as nearly as possible the "_ipsissima verba_" of the valued friend +from whom I received it, conscious that any aberration from her mode +of telling the tale of her own life, would at once impair its accuracy +and its effect. Would that, with her words, I could also bring before +you her animated gesture, her expressive countenance, the solemn and +thrilling air and accent with which she related the dark passages +in her strange story; and, above all, that I could communicate the +impressive consciousness that the narrator had seen with her own +eyes, and personally acted in the scenes which she described; these +accompaniments, taken with the additional circumstance, that she +who told the tale was one far too deeply and sadly impressed with +religious principle, to misrepresent or fabricate what she repeated as +fact, gave to the tale a depth of interest which the events recorded +could hardly, themselves, have produced. I became acquainted with +the lady from whose lips I heard this narrative, nearly twenty years +since, and the story struck my fancy so much, that I committed it +to paper while it was still fresh in my mind, and should its perusal +afford you entertainment for a listless half hour, my labour shall not +have been bestowed in vain. I find that I have taken the story down as +she told it, in the first person, and, perhaps, this is as it should +be. She began as follows. + +My maiden name was Richardson,[A] the designation of a family of +some distinction in the county of Tyrone. I was the younger of two +daughters, and we were the only children. There was a difference in +our ages of nearly six years, so that I did not, in my childhood, +enjoy that close companionship which sisterhood, in other +circumstances, necessarily involves; and while I was still a child, my +sister was married. The person upon whom she bestowed her hand, was a +Mr. Carew, a gentleman of property and consideration in the north +of England. I remember well the eventful day of the wedding; the +thronging carriages, the noisy menials, the loud laughter, the merry +faces, and the gay dresses. Such sights were then new to me, and +harmonized ill with the sorrowful feelings with which I regarded the +event which was to separate me, as it turned out, for ever, from a +sister whose tenderness alone had hitherto more than supplied all that +I wanted in my mother's affection. The day soon arrived which was to +remove the happy couple from Ashtown-house. The carriage stood at the +hall-door, and my poor sister kissed me again, and again, telling me +that I should see her soon. The carriage drove away, and I gazed +after it until my eyes filled with tears, and, returning slowly to my +chamber, I wept more bitterly, and so, to speak more desolately, than +ever I had done before. My father had never seemed to love, or to +take an interest in me. He had desired a son, and I think he never +thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate sex. My having come into the +world at all as his child, he regarded as a kind of fraudulent +intrusion, and, as his antipathy to me had its origin in an +imperfection of mine, too radical for removal, I never even hoped to +stand high in his good graces. My mother was, I dare say, as fond of +me as she was of any one; but she was a woman of a masculine and +a worldly cast of mind. She had no tenderness or sympathy for the +weaknesses, or even for the affections of woman's nature, and her +demeanour towards me was peremptory, and often even harsh. It is not +to be supposed, then, that I found in the society of my parents much +to supply the loss of my sister. About a year after her marriage, we +received letters from Mr. Carew, containing accounts of my sister's +health, which, though not actually alarming, were calculated to +make us seriously uneasy. The symptoms most dwelt upon, were loss of +appetite and cough. The letters concluded by intimating that he would +avail himself of my father and mother's repeated invitation to spend +some time at Ashtown, particularly as the physician who had been +consulted as to my sister's health had strongly advised a removal +to her native air. There were added repeated assurances that nothing +serious was apprehended, as it was supposed that a deranged state of +the liver was the only source of the symptoms which seemed to intimate +consumption. In accordance with this announcement, my sister and Mr. +Carew arrived in Dublin, where one of my father's carriages awaited +them, in readiness to start upon whatever day or hour they might +choose for their departure. It was arranged that Mr. Carew was, as +soon as the day upon which they were to leave Dublin was definitely +fixed, to write to my father, who intended that the two last stages +should be performed by his own horses, upon whose speed and safety +far more reliance might be placed than upon those of the ordinary +_post-horses_, which were, at that time, almost without exception, of +the very worst order. The journey, one of about ninety miles, was to +be divided; the larger portion to be reserved for the second day. On +Sunday, a letter reached us, stating that the party would leave Dublin +on Monday, and, in due course, reach Ashtown upon Tuesday evening. +Tuesday came: the evening closed in, and yet no carriage appeared; +darkness came on, and still no sign of our expected visitors. Hour +after hour passed away, and it was now past twelve; the night was +remarkably calm, scarce a breath stirring, so that any sound, such +as that produced by the rapid movement of a vehicle, would have +been audible at a considerable distance. For some such sound I was +feverishly listening. It was, however, my father's rule to close the +house at nightfall, and the window-shutters being fastened, I was +unable to reconnoitre the avenue as I would have wished. It was nearly +one o'clock, and we began almost to despair of seeing them upon that +night, when I thought I distinguished the sound of wheels, but so +remote and faint as to make me at first very uncertain. The noise +approached; it become louder and clearer; it stopped for a moment. I +now heard the shrill screaking of the rusty iron, as the avenue +gate revolved on its hinges; again came the sound of wheels in rapid +motion. + +"It is they," said I, starting up, "the carriage is in the avenue." We +all stood for a few moments, breathlessly listening. On thundered +the vehicle with the speed of a whirlwind; crack went the whip, and +clatter went the wheels, as it rattled over the uneven pavement of +the court; a general and furious barking from all the dogs about the +house, hailed its arrival. We hurried to the hall in time to hear +the steps let down with the sharp clanging noise peculiar to the +operation, and the hum of voices exerted in the bustle of arrival. The +hall-door was now thrown open, and we all stepped forth to greet our +visitors. The court was perfectly empty; the moon was shining broadly +and brightly upon all around; nothing was to be seen but the tall +trees with their long spectral shadows, now wet with the dews of +midnight. We stood gazing from right to left, as if suddenly awakened +from a dream; the dogs walked suspiciously, growling and snuffing +about the court, and by totally and suddenly ceasing their former +loud barking, as also by carrying their tails between their legs, +expressing the predominance of fear. We looked one upon the other +in perplexity and dismay, and I think I never beheld more pale faces +assembled. By my father's direction, we looked about to find anything +which might indicate or account for the noise which we had heard; but +no such thing was to be seen--even the mire which lay upon the avenue +was undisturbed. We returned to the house, more panic struck than +I can describe. On the next day, we learned by a messenger, who had +ridden hard the greater part of the night, that my sister was dead. On +Sunday evening, she had retired to bed rather unwell, and, on Monday, +her indisposition declared itself unequivocally to be malignant +fever. She became hourly worse, and, on Tuesday night, a little after +midnight, she expired.[B] I mention this circumstance, because it was +one upon which a thousand wild and fantastical reports were founded, +though one would have thought that the truth scarcely required to be +improved upon; and again, because it produced a strong and lasting +effect upon my spirits, and indeed, I am inclined to think, upon my +character. I was, for several years after this occurrence, long after +the violence of my grief subsided, so wretchedly low-spirited and +nervous, that I could scarcely be said to live, and during this time, +habits of indecision, arising out of a listless acquiescence in the +will of others, a fear of encountering even the slightest opposition, +and a disposition to shrink from what are commonly called amusements, +grew upon me so strongly, that I have scarcely even yet, altogether +overcome them. We saw nothing more of Mr. Carew. He returned to +England as soon as the melancholy rites attendant upon the event +which I have just mentioned were performed; and not being altogether +inconsolable, he married again within two years; after which, owing to +the remoteness of our relative situations, and other circumstances, we +gradually lost sight of him. I was now an only child; and, as my elder +sister had died without issue, it was evident that, in the ordinary +course of things, my father's property, which was altogether in his +power, would go to me, and the consequence was, that before I was +fourteen, Ashtown-house was besieged by a host of suitors; however, +whether it was that _I_ was too young, or that none of the aspirants +to my hand stood sufficiently high in rank or wealth, I was suffered +by both parents to do exactly as I pleased; and well was it for me, +as I afterwards found that fortune, or, rather Providence, had so +ordained it, that I had not suffered my affections to become in any +degree engaged, for my mother would never have suffered any _silly +fancy_ of mine, as she was in the habit of styling an attachment, +to stand in the way of her ambitious views; views which she was +determined to carry into effect, in defiance of every obstacle, and in +order to accomplish which, she would not have hesitated to sacrifice +anything so unreasonable and contemptible as a girlish passion. + +When I reached the age of sixteen, my mother's plans began to develope +themselves, and, at her suggestion, we moved to Dublin to sojourn for +the winter, in order that no time might be lost in disposing of me to +the best advantage. I had been too long accustomed to consider myself +as of no importance whatever, to believe for a moment that I was in +reality the cause of all the bustle and preparation which surrounded +me, and being thus relieved from the pain which a consciousness of my +real situation would have inflicted, I journeyed towards the capital +with a feeling of total indifference. + +My father's wealth and connection had established him in the best +society, and, consequently, upon our arrival in the metropolis, we +commanded whatever enjoyment or advantages its gaieties afforded. The +tumult and novelty of the scenes in which I was involved did not fail +considerably to amuse me, and my mind gradually recovered its tone, +which was naturally cheerful. It was almost immediately known and +reported that I was an heiress, and of course my attractions were +pretty generally acknowledged. Among the many gentlemen whom it was my +fortune to please, one, ere long, established himself in my mother's +good graces, to the exclusion of all less important aspirants. +However, I had not understood, or even remarked his attentions, nor, +in the slightest degree, suspected his or my mother's plans respecting +me, when I was made aware of them rather abruptly by my mother +herself. We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his +residence in Stephen's-green, and I was, with the assistance of +my waiting-maid, employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich +ornaments which, in profuseness and value, could scarcely have found +their equals in any private family in Ireland. I had thrown myself +into a lounging chair beside the fire, listless and exhausted, after +the fatigues of the evening, when I was aroused from the reverie into +which I had fallen, by the sound of footsteps approaching my chamber, +and my mother entered. + +"Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone. "I wish to say a word +or two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I +hope?" + +"No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my +seat with the formal respect so little practised now. + +"Sit down, my dear," said she, placing herself upon a chair beside me; +"I must chat with you for a quarter of an hour or so. Saunders (to the +maid), you may leave the room; do not close the room door, but shut +that of the lobby." + +This precaution against curious ears having been taken as directed, my +mother proceeded. + +"You have observed, I should suppose, my dearest Fanny; indeed, you +_must_ have observed, Lord Glenfallen's marked attentions to you?" + +"I assure you, madam," I began. + +"Well, well, that is all right," interrupted my mother; "of course you +must be modest upon the matter; but listen to me for a few moments, my +love, and I will prove to your satisfaction that your modesty is quite +unnecessary in this case. You have done better than we could have +hoped, at least, so very soon. Lord Glenfallen is in love with you. I +give you joy of your conquest," and saying this, my mother kissed my +forehead. + +"In love with me!" I exclaimed, in unfeigned astonishment. + +"Yes, in love with you," repeated my mother; "devotedly, distractedly +in love with you. Why, my dear, what is there wonderful in it; look in +the glass, and look at these," she continued, pointing with a smile to +the jewels which I had just removed from my person, and which now lay +a glittering heap upon the table. + +"May there not," said I, hesitating between confusion and real alarm; +"is it not possible that some mistake may be at the bottom of all +this?" + +"Mistake! dearest; none," said my mother. "None, none in the world; +judge for yourself; read this, my love," and she placed in my hand a +letter, addressed to herself, the seal of which was broken. I read +it through with no small surprise. After some very fine complimentary +flourishes upon my beauty and perfections, as, also, upon the +antiquity and high reputation of our family, it went on to make +a formal proposal of marriage, to be communicated or not to me at +present, as my mother should deem expedient; and the letter wound up +by a request that the writer might be permitted, upon our return to +Ashtown-house, which was soon to take place, as the spring was now +tolerably advanced, to visit us for a few days, in case his suit was +approved. + +"Well, well, my dear," said my mother, impatiently; "do you know who +Lord Glenfallen is?" + +"I do, madam," said I rather timidly, for I dreaded an altercation +with my mother. + +"Well, dear, and what frightens you?" continued she; "are you afraid +of a title? What has he done to alarm you? he is neither old nor +ugly." + +I was silent, though I might have said, "He is neither young nor +handsome." + +"My dear Fanny," continued my mother, "in sober seriousness you have +been most fortunate in engaging the affections of a nobleman such as +Lord Glenfallen, young and wealthy, with first-rate, yes, acknowledged +_first-rate_ abilities and of a family whose influence is not exceeded +by that of any in Ireland--of course you see the offer in the same +light that I do--indeed I think you _must_." + +This was uttered in no very dubious tone. I was so much astonished +by the suddenness of the whole communication that I literally did not +know what to say. + +"You are not in love?" said my mother, turning sharply, and fixing her +dark eyes upon me, with severe scrutiny. + +"No, madam," said I, promptly; horrified, as what young lady would not +have been, at such a query. + +"I am glad to hear it," said my mother, dryly. "Once, nearly twenty +years ago, a friend of mine consulted me how he should deal with a +daughter who had made what they call a love match, beggared herself, +and disgraced her family; and I said, without hesitation, take no care +of her, but cast her off; such punishment I awarded for an offence +committed against the reputation of a family not my own; and what +I advised respecting the child of another, with full as small +compunction I would _do_ with mine. I cannot conceive anything more +unreasonable or intolerable than that the fortune and the character of +a family should be marred by the idle caprices of a girl." + +She spoke this with great severity, and paused as if she expected some +observation from me. I, however, said nothing. + +"But I need not explain to you, my dear Fanny," she continued, "my +views upon this subject; you have always known them well, and I have +never yet had reason to believe you likely, voluntarily, to offend me, +or to abuse or neglect any of those advantages which reason and duty +tell you should be improved--come hither, my dear, kiss me, and do not +look so frightened. Well, now, about this letter, you need not answer +it yet; of course you must be allowed time to make up your mind; in +the mean time I will write to his lordship to give him my permission +to visit us at Ashtown--good night, my love." + +And thus ended one of the most disagreeable, not to say astounding, +conversations I had ever had; it would not be easy to describe exactly +what were my feelings towards Lord Glenfallen; whatever might have +been my mother's suspicions, my heart was perfectly disengaged; +and hitherto, although I had not been made in the slightest degree +acquainted with his real views, I had liked him very much, as an +agreeable, well informed man, whom I was always glad to meet in +society; he had served in the navy in early life, and the polish which +his manners received in his after intercourse with courts and cities +had not served to obliterate that frankness of _manner_ which belongs +proverbially to the sailor. Whether this apparent candour went deeper +than the outward bearing I was yet to learn; however there was no +doubt that as far as I had seen of Lord Glenfallen, he was, though +perhaps not so young as might have been desired in a lover, a +singularly pleasing man, and whatever feeling unfavourable to him had +found its way into my mind, arose altogether from the dread, not +an unreasonable one, that constraint might be practised upon my +inclinations. I reflected, however, that Lord Glenfallen was a wealthy +man, and one highly thought of; and although I could never expect to +love him in the romantic sense of the term, yet I had no doubt but +that, all things considered, I might be more happy with him than I +could hope to be at home. When next I met him it was with no small +embarrassment, his tact and good breeding, however, soon reassured me, +and effectually prevented my awkwardness being remarked upon; and I +had the satisfaction of leaving Dublin for the country with the full +conviction that nobody, not even those most intimate with me, even +suspected the fact of Lord Glenfallen's having made me a formal +proposal. This was to me a very serious subject of self gratulation, +for, besides my instinctive dread of becoming the topic of the +speculations of gossip, I felt that if the situation which I occupied +in relation to him were made publicly known, I should stand committed +in a manner which would scarcely leave me the power of retraction. The +period at which Lord Glenfallen had arranged to visit Ashtown-house +was now fast approaching, and it became my mother's wish to form +me thoroughly to her will, and to obtain my consent to the proposed +marriage before his arrival, so that all things might proceed smoothly +without apparent opposition or objection upon my part; whatever +objections, therefore, I had entertained were to be subdued; whatever +disposition to resistance I had exhibited or had been supposed to +feel, were to be completely eradicated before he made his appearance, +and my mother addressed herself to the task with a decision and energy +against which even the barriers, which her imagination had created, +could hardly have stood. If she had, however, expected any determined +opposition from me, she was agreeably disappointed; my heart was +perfectly free, and all my feelings of liking and preference were in +favour of Lord Glenfallen, and I well knew that in case I refused to +dispose of myself as I was desired, my mother had alike the power and +the will to render my existence as utterly miserable as any, even +the most ill-assorted marriage could possibly have done. You will +remember, my good friend, that I was very young and very completely +under the controul of my parents, both of whom, my mother +particularly, were unscrupulously determined in matters of this kind, +and willing, when voluntary obedience on the part of those within +their power was withheld, to compel a forced acquiescence by an +unsparing use of all the engines of the most stern and rigorous +domestic discipline. All these combined, not unnaturally, induced me +to resolve upon yielding at once, and without useless opposition, to +what appeared almost to be my fate. The appointed time was come, +and my now accepted suitor arrived; he was in high spirits, and, if +possible, more entertaining than ever. I was not, however, quite in +the mood to enjoy his sprightliness; but whatever I wanted in gaiety +was amply made up in the triumphant and gracious good humour of my +mother, whose smiles of benevolence and exultation were showered +around as bountifully as the summer sunshine. I will not weary you +with unnecessary prolixity. Let it suffice to say, that I was married +to Lord Glenfallen with all the attendant pomp and circumstance of +wealth, rank, and grandeur. According to the usage of the times, now +humanely reformed, the ceremony was made until long past midnight, the +season of wild, uproarious, and promiscuous feasting and revelry. Of +all this I have a painfully vivid recollection, and particularly of +the little annoyances inflicted upon me by the dull and coarse jokes +of the wits and wags who abound in all such places, and upon all such +occasions. I was not sorry, when, after a few days, Lord Glenfallen's +carriage appeared at the door to convey us both from Ashtown; for any +change would have been a relief from the irksomeness of ceremonial +and formality which the visits received in honour of my newly acquired +titles hourly entailed upon me. It was arranged that we were to +proceed to Cahergillagh, one of the Glenfallen estates, lying, +however, in a southern county, so that a tedious journey (then owing +to the impracticability of the roads,) of three days intervened. I set +forth with my noble companion, followed by the regrets of some, and by +the envy of many, though God knows I little deserved the latter; the +three days of travel were now almost spent, when passing the brow of a +wild heathy hill, the domain of Cahergillagh opened suddenly upon +our view. It formed a striking and a beautiful scene. A lake of +considerable extent stretching away towards the west, and reflecting +from its broad, smooth waters, the rich glow of the setting sun, was +overhung by steep hills, covered by a rich mantle of velvet sward, +broken here and there by the grey front of some old rock, and +exhibiting on their shelving sides, their slopes and hollows, every +variety of light and shade; a thick wood of dwarf oak, birch, and +hazel skirted these hills, and clothed the shores of the lake, running +out in rich luxuriance upon every promontory, and spreading upward +considerably upon the side of the hills. + +"There lies the enchanted castle," said Lord Glenfallen, pointing +towards a considerable level space intervening between two of the +picturesque hills, which rose dimly around the lake. This little plain +was chiefly occupied by the same low, wild wood which covered the +other parts of the domain; but towards the centre a mass of taller and +statelier forest trees stood darkly grouped together, and among them +stood an ancient square tower, with many buildings of an humbler +character, forming together the manor-house, or, as it was more +usually called, the court of Cahergillagh. As we approached the level +upon which the mansion stood, the winding road gave us many glimpses +of the time-worn castle and its surrounding buildings; and seen as it +was through the long vistas of the fine old trees, and with the +rich glow of evening upon it, I have seldom beheld an object more +picturesquely striking. I was glad to perceive, too, that here and +there the blue curling smoke ascended from stacks of chimneys now +hidden by the rich, dark ivy, which, in a great measure, covered the +building; other indications of comfort made themselves manifest as +we approached; and indeed, though the place was evidently one of +considerable antiquity, it had nothing whatever of the gloom of decay +about it. + +"You must not, my love," said Lord Glenfallen, "imagine this place +worse than it is. I have no taste for antiquity, at least I should +not choose a house to reside in because it is old. Indeed I do not +recollect that I was even so romantic as to overcome my aversion to +rats and rheumatism, those faithful attendants upon your noble relics +of feudalism; and I much prefer a snug, modern, unmysterious bed-room, +with well-aired sheets, to the waving tapestry, mildewed cushions, +and all the other interesting appliances of romance; however, though +I cannot promise you all the discomfort generally pertaining to an old +castle, you will find legends and ghostly lore enough to claim your +respect; and if old Martha be still to the fore, as I trust she is, +you will soon have a supernatural and appropriate anecdote for every +closet and corner of the mansion; but here we are--so, without more +ado, welcome to Cahergillagh." + +We now entered the hall of the castle, and while the domestics were +employed in conveying our trunks and other luggage which we had +brought with us for immediate use to the apartments which Lord +Glenfallen had selected for himself and me, I went with him into a +spacious sitting room, wainscoted with finely polished black oak, +and hung round with the portraits of various of the worthies of +the Glenfallen family. This room looked out upon an extensive level +covered with the softest green sward, and irregularly bounded by the +wild wood I have before mentioned, through the leafy arcade formed +by whose boughs and trunks the level beams of the setting sun were +pouring; in the distance, a group of dairy maids were plying their +task, which they accompanied throughout with snatches of Irish songs +which, mellowed by the distance, floated not unpleasingly to the ear; +and beside them sat or lay, with all the grave importance of conscious +protection, six or seven large dogs of various kinds; farther in the +distance, and through the cloisters of the arching wood, two or +three ragged urchins were employed in driving such stray kine as had +wandered farther than the rest to join their fellows. As I looked +upon this scene which I have described, a feeling of tranquillity and +happiness came upon me, which I have never experienced in so strong +a degree; and so strange to me was the sensation that my eyes filled +with tears. Lord Glenfallen mistook the cause of my emotion, and +taking me kindly and tenderly by the hand he said, "Do not suppose, my +love, that it is my intention to _settle_ here, whenever you desire +to leave this, you have only to let me know your wish and it shall +be complied with, so I must entreat of you not to suffer any +circumstances which I can controul to give you one moment's +uneasiness; but here is old Martha, you must be introduced to her, one +of the heirlooms of our family." + +A hale, good-humoured, erect, old woman was Martha, and an agreeable +contrast to the grim, decrepit hag, which my fancy had conjured up, as +the depository of all the horrible tales in which I doubted not this +old place was most fruitful. She welcomed me and her master with +a profusion of gratulations, alternately kissing our hands and +apologising for the liberty, until at length Lord Glenfallen put +an end to this somewhat fatiguing ceremonial, by requesting her to +conduct me to my chamber if it were prepared for my reception. I +followed Martha up an old-fashioned, oak stair-case into a long, dim +passage at the end of which lay the door which communicated with the +apartments which had been selected for our use; here the old woman +stopped, and respectfully requested me to proceed. I accordingly +opened the door and was about to enter, when something like a mass of +black tapestry as it appeared disturbed by my sudden approach, fell +from above the door, so as completely to screen the aperture; the +startling unexpectedness of the occurrence, and the rustling noise +which the drapery made in its descent, caused me involuntarily to step +two or three paces backwards, I turned, smiling and half ashamed to +the old servant, and said, "You see what a coward I am." The woman +looked puzzled, and without saying any more, I was about to draw aside +the curtain and enter the room, when upon turning to do so, I was +surprised to find that nothing whatever interposed to obstruct the +passage. I went into the room, followed by the servant woman, and was +amazed to find that it, like the one below, was wainscoted, and that +nothing like drapery was to be found near the door. + +"Where is it," said I; "what has become of it?" + +"What does your ladyship wish to know?" said the old woman. + +"Where is the black curtain that fell across the door, when I +attempted first to come to my chamber," answered I. + +"The cross of Christ about us," said the old woman, turning suddenly +pale. + +"What is the matter, my good friend," said I; "you seem frightened." + +"Oh, no, no, your ladyship," said the old woman, endeavouring to +conceal her agitation; but in vain, for tottering towards a chair, she +sunk into it, looking so deadly pale and horror-struck that I thought +every moment she would faint. + +"Merciful God, keep us from harm and danger," muttered she at length. + +"What can have terrified you so," said I, beginning to fear that she +had seen something more than had met my eye, "you appear ill, my poor +woman." + +"Nothing, nothing, my lady," said she, rising; "I beg your ladyship's +pardon for making so bold; may the great God defend us from +misfortune." + +"Martha," said I, "something _has_ frightened you very much, and I +insist on knowing what it is; your keeping me in the dark upon the +subject will make me much more uneasy than any thing you could tell +me; I desire you, therefore, to let me know what agitates you; I +command you to tell me." "Your ladyship said you saw a black curtain +falling across the door when you were coming into the room," said the +old woman. + +"I did," said I; "but though the whole thing appears somewhat strange +I cannot see any thing in the matter to agitate you so excessively. + +"It's for no good you saw that, my lady," said the crone; "something +terrible is coming; it's a sign, my lady--a sign that never fails." + +"Explain, explain what you mean, my good woman," said I, in spite of +myself, catching more than I could account for, of her superstitious +terror. + +"Whenever something--something _bad_ is going to happen to the +Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black +handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces; I +saw it myself," continued she, lowering her voice, "when I was only +a little girl, and I'll never forget it; I often heard of it before, +though I never saw it till then, nor since, praised be God; but I +was going into Lady Jane's room to waken her in the morning; and sure +enough when I got first to the bed and began to draw the curtain, +something dark was waved across the division, but only for a moment; +and when I saw rightly into the bed, there was she lying cold and +dead, God be merciful to me; so, my lady, there is small blame to me +to be daunted when any one of the family sees it, for it's many's the +story I heard of it, though I saw it but once." + +I was not of a superstitious turn of mind; yet I could not resist a +feeling of awe very nearly allied to the fear which my companion had +so unreservedly expressed; and when you consider my situation, the +loneliness, antiquity, and gloom of the place, you will allow that +the weakness was not without excuse. In spite of old Martha's boding +predictions, however, time flowed on in an unruffled course; one +little incident, however, though trifling in itself, I must relate as +it serves to make what follows more intelligible. Upon the day after +my arrival, Lord Glenfallen of course desired to make me acquainted +with the house and domain; and accordingly we set forth upon our +ramble; when returning, he became for some time silent and moody, a +state so unusual with him as considerably to excite my surprise, I +endeavoured by observations and questions to arouse him--but in vain; +at length as we approached the house, he said, as if speaking to +himself, "'twere madness--madness--madness," repeating the word +bitterly--"sure and speedy ruin." There was here a long pause; and at +length turning sharply towards me in a tone very unlike that in which +he had hitherto addressed me, he said, "Do you think it possible that +a woman can keep a secret?" + +"I am sure," said I, "that women are very much belied upon the score +of talkativeness, and that I may answer your question with the same +directness with which you put it; I reply that I _do_ think a woman +can keep a secret." + +"But I do not," said he, drily. + +We walked on in silence for a time; I was much astonished at his +unwonted abruptness; I had almost said rudeness. After a considerable +pause he seemed to recollect himself, and with an effort resuming his +sprightly manner, he said, "well, well, the next thing to keeping +a secret well is, not to desire to possess one--talkativeness and +curiosity generally go together; now I shall make test of you in the +first place, respecting the latter of these qualities. I shall be your +_Bluebeard_--tush, why do I trifle thus; listen to me, my dear +Fanny, I speak now in solemn earnest; what I desire is, intimately, +inseparably, connected with your happiness and honour as well as my +own; and your compliance with my request will not be difficult; it +will impose upon you a very trifling restraint during your sojourn +here, which certain events which have occurred since our arrival, have +determined me shall not be a long one. You must promise me, upon your +sacred honour, that you will visit _only_ that part of the castle +which can be reached from the front entrance, leaving the back +entrance and the part of the building commanded immediately by it, to +the menials, as also the small garden whose high wall you see yonder; +and never at any time seek to pry or peep into them, nor to open the +door which communicates from the front part of the house through the +corridor with the back. I do not urge this in jest or in caprice, but +from a solemn conviction that danger and misery will be the certain +consequences of your not observing what I prescribe. I cannot explain +myself further at present--promise me, then, these things as you hope +for peace here and for mercy hereafter." + +I did make the promise as desired, and he appeared relieved; his +manner recovered all its gaiety and elasticity, but the recollection +of the strange scene which I have just described dwelt painfully upon +my mind. More than a month passed away without any occurrence worth +recording; but I was not destined to leave Cahergillagh without +further adventure; one day intending to enjoy the pleasant sunshine in +a ramble through the woods, I ran up to my room to procure my bonnet +and shawl; upon entering the chamber, I was surprised and somewhat +startled to find it occupied; beside the fireplace and nearly opposite +the door, seated in a large, old-fashioned elbow-chair, was placed the +figure of a lady; she appeared to be nearer fifty than forty, and was +dressed suitably to her age, in a handsome suit of flowered silk; she +had a profusion of trinkets and jewellery about her person, and many +rings upon her fingers; but although very rich, her dress was not +gaudy or in ill taste; but what was remarkable in the lady was, that +although her features were handsome, and upon the whole pleasing, the +pupil of each eye was dimmed with the whiteness of cataract, and she +was evidently stone blind. I was for some seconds so surprised at this +unaccountable apparition, that I could not find words to address her. + +"Madam," said I, "there must be some mistake here--this is my +bed-chamber." + +"Marry come up," said the lady, sharply; "_your_ chamber! Where is +Lord Glenfallen?" + +"He is below, madam," replied I; "and I am convinced he will be not a +little surprised to find you here." + +"I do not think he will," said she; "with your good leave, talk of +what you know something about; tell him I want him; why does the minx +dilly dally so?" + +In spite of the awe which this grim lady inspired, there was something +in her air of confident superiority which, when I considered our +relative situations, was not a little irritating. + +"Do you know, madam, to whom you speak?" said I. + +"I neither know nor care," said she; "but I presume that you are some +one about the house, so, again, I desire you, if you wish to continue +here, to bring your master hither forthwith." + +"I must tell you madam," said I, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"What's that?" said the stranger, rapidly. + +"I say, madam," I repeated, approaching her, that I might be more +distinctly heard, "that I am Lady Glenfallen." + +"It's a lie, you trull," cried she, in an accent which made me start, +and, at the same time, springing forward, she seized me in her grasp +and shook me violently, repeating, "it's a lie, it's a lie," with +a rapidity and vehemence which swelled every vein of her face; +the violence of her action, and the fury which convulsed her face, +effectually terrified me, and disengaging myself from her grasp, I +screamed as loud as I could for help; the blind woman continued to +pour out a torrent of abuse upon me, foaming at the mouth with rage, +and impotently shaking her clenched fists towards me. I heard Lord +Glenfallen's step upon the stairs, and I instantly ran out; as I past +him I perceived that he was deadly pale, and just caught the words, "I +hope that demon has not hurt you?" I made some answer, I forget what, +and he entered the chamber, the door of which he locked upon the +inside; what passed within I know not; but I heard the voices of the +two speakers raised in loud and angry altercation. I thought I heard +the shrill accents of the woman repeat the words, "let her look to +herself"; but I could not be quite sure. This short sentence, however, +was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful meaning; the +storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference of more +than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and agitated, +"That unfortunate woman," said he, "is out of her mind; I dare say she +treated you to some of her ravings, but you need not dread any further +interruption from her, I have brought her so far to reason. She did +not hurt you, I trust." + +"No, no," said I; "but she terrified me beyond measure." "Well," said +he, "she is likely to behave better for the future, and I dare swear +that neither you nor she would desire after what has passed to meet +again." + +This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery, +and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very +agreeable food for rumination. All attempts on my part to arrive at +the truth were baffled; Lord Glenfallen evaded all my enquiries, and +at length peremptorily forbid any further allusion to the matter. I +was thus obliged to rest satisfied with what I had actually seen, +and to trust to time to resolve the perplexities in which the whole +transaction had involved me. Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits +gradually underwent a complete and most painful change; he became +silent and abstracted, his manner to me was abrupt and often harsh, +some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to his mind; and under +its influence his spirits sunk and his temper became soured. I +soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and +excitement of society produces, than the result of a healthy habit of +mind; and every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate +good nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than +a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind, +open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, +was rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly +selfish man; this was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it +from myself as long as I could, but the truth was not to be denied, +and I was forced to believe that Lord Glenfallen no longer loved +me, and that he was at little pains to conceal the alteration in his +sentiments. One morning after breakfast, Lord Glenfallen had been for +some time walking silently up and down the room, buried in his +moody reflections, when pausing suddenly, and turning towards me, he +exclaimed, + +"I have it, I have it; we must go abroad and stay there, too, and +if that does not answer, why--why we must try some more effectual +expedient. Lady Glenfallen, I have become involved in heavy +embarrassments; a wife you know must share the fortunes of her +husband, for better for worse, but I will waive my right if you prefer +remaining here--here at Cahergillagh; for I would not have you seen +elsewhere without the state to which your rank entitled you; besides +it would break your poor mother's heart," he added, with sneering +gravity, "so make up your mind--Cahergillagh or France, I will start +if possible in a week, so determine between this and then." + +He left the room and in a few moments I saw him ride past the window, +followed by a mounted servant; he had directed a domestic to inform +me that he should not be back until the next day. I was in very great +doubt as to what course of conduct I should pursue, as to accompanying +him in the continental tour so suddenly determined upon, I felt that +it would be a hazard too great to encounter; for at Cahergillagh I had +always the consciousness to sustain me, that if his temper at any time +led him into violent or unwarrantable treatment of me, I had a remedy +within reach, in the protection and support of my own family, from +all useful and effective communication with whom, if once in France, +I should be entirely debarred. As to remaining at Cahergillagh in +solitude, and for aught I knew, exposed to hidden dangers, it appeared +to me scarcely less objectionable than the former proposition; and yet +I feared that with one or other I must comply, unless I was prepared +to come to an actual breach with Lord Glenfallen; full of these +unpleasing doubts and perplexities, I retired to rest. I was wakened, +after having slept uneasily for some hours, by some person shaking +me rudely by the shoulder; a small lamp burned in my room, and by its +light, to my horror and amazement, I discovered that my visitant was +the self-same blind, old lady who had so terrified me a few weeks +before. I started up in the bed, with a view to ring the bell, and +alarm the domestics, but she instantly anticipated me by saying, "Do +not be frightened, silly girl; if I had wished to harm you I could +have done it while you were sleeping, I need not have wakened you; +listen to me, now, attentively and fearlessly; for what I have to say, +interests you to the full as much as it does me; tell me, here, in +the presence of God, did Lord Glenfallen marry you, _actually marry_ +you?--speak the truth, woman." + +"As surely as I live and speak," I replied, "did Lord Glenfallen marry +me in presence of more than a hundred witnesses." + +"Well," continued she, "he should have told you _then_, before you +married him, that he had a wife living, which wife I am; I feel you +tremble--tush! do not be frightened. I do not mean to harm you--mark +me now--you are not his wife. When I make my story known you will be +so, neither in the eye of God nor of man; you must leave this house +upon to-morrow; let the world know that your husband has another wife +living; go, you, into retirement, and leave him to justice, which will +surely overtake him. If you remain in this house after to-morrow you +will reap the bitter fruits of your sin," so saying, she quitted the +room, leaving me very little disposed to sleep. + +Here was food for my very worst and most terrible suspicions; still +there was not enough to remove all doubt. I had no proof of the truth +of this woman's statement. Taken by itself there was nothing to induce +me to attach weight to it; but when I viewed it in connection with the +extraordinary mystery of some of Lord Glenfallen's proceedings, his +strange anxiety to exclude me from certain portions of the mansion, +doubtless, lest I should encounter this person--the strong influence, +nay, command, which she possessed over him, a circumstance clearly +established by the very fact of her residing in the very place, where +of all others, he should least have desired to find her--her thus +acting, and continuing to act in direct contradiction to his wishes; +when, I say, I viewed her disclosure in connection with all these +circumstances, I could not help feeling that there was at least a +fearful verisimilitude in the allegations which she had made. Still I +was not satisfied, nor nearly so; young minds have a reluctance almost +insurmountable to believing upon any thing short of unquestionable +proof, the existence of premeditated guilt in any one whom they have +ever trusted; and in support of this feeling I was assured that if the +assertion of Lord Glenfallen, which nothing in this woman's manner had +led me to disbelieve, were true, namely, that her mind was unsound, +the whole fabric of my doubts and fears must fall to the ground. +I determined to state to Lord Glenfallen freely and accurately the +substance of the communication which I had just heard, and in his +words and looks to seek for its proof or refutation; full of these +thoughts I remained wakeful and excited all night, every moment +fancying that I heard the step, or saw the figure of my recent visitor +towards whom I felt a species of horror and dread which I can hardly +describe. There was something in her face, though her features had +evidently been handsome, and were not, at first sight, unpleasing, +which, upon a nearer inspection, seemed to indicate the habitual +prevalence and indulgence of evil passions, and a power of expressing +mere animal anger, with an intenseness that I have seldom seen +equalled, and to which an almost unearthly effect was given by the +convulsive quivering of the sightless eyes. You may easily suppose +that it was no very pleasing reflection to me to consider, that +whenever caprice might induce her to return, I was within the reach of +this violent, and, for aught I knew, insane woman, who had, upon that +very night, spoken to me in a tone of menace, of which her mere words, +divested of the manner and look with which she uttered them, can +convey but a faint idea. Will you believe me when I tell you that I +was actually afraid to leave my bed in order to secure the door, lest +I should again encounter the dreadful object lurking in some corner or +peeping from behind the window curtains, so very a child was I in my +fears. + +The morning came, and with it Lord Glenfallen. I knew not, and +indeed I cared not, where he might have been; my thoughts were wholly +engrossed by the terrible fears and suspicions which my last +night's conference had suggested to me; he was, as usual, gloomy and +abstracted, and I feared in no very fitting mood to hear what I had +to say with patience, whether the charges were true or false. I was, +however, determined not to suffer the opportunity to pass, or Lord +Glenfallen to leave the room, until, at all hazards, I had unburdened +my mind. + +"My Lord," said I, after a long silence, summoning up all my firmness, +"my lord, I wish to say a few words to you upon a matter of very great +importance, of very deep concernment to you and to me." I fixed my +eyes upon him to discern, if possible, whether the announcement +caused him any uneasiness, but no symptom of any such feeling was +perceptible. + +"Well, my dear," said he, "this is, no doubt, a very grave preface, +and portends, I have no doubt, something extraordinary--pray let us +have it without more ado." + +He took a chair, and seated himself nearly opposite to me. + +"My lord," said I, "I have seen the person who alarmed me so much a +short time since, the blind lady, again, upon last night"; his face, +upon which my eyes were fixed, turned pale, he hesitated for a moment, +and then said-- + +"And did you, pray madam, so totally forget or spurn my express +command, as to enter that portion of the house from which your +promise, I might say, your oath, excluded you--answer me that?" he +added, fiercely. + +"My lord," said I, "I have neither forgotten your _commands_, since +such they were, nor disobeyed them. I was, last night, wakened from my +sleep, as I lay in my own chamber, and accosted by the person whom I +have mentioned--how she found access to the room I cannot pretend to +say." + +"Ha! this must be looked to," said he, half reflectively; "and pray," +added he, quickly, while in turn he fixed his eyes upon me, "what did +this person say, since some comment upon her communication forms, no +doubt, the sequel to your preface." + +"Your lordship is not mistaken," said I, "her statement was so +extraordinary that I could not think of withholding it from you; she +told me, my lord, that you had a wife living at the time you married +me, and that she was that wife." + +Lord Glenfallen became ashy pale, almost livid; he made two or three +efforts to clear his voice to speak, but in vain, and turning suddenly +from me, he walked to the window; the horror and dismay, which, in +the olden time, overwhelmed the woman of Endor, when her spells +unexpectedly conjured the dead into her presence, were but types +of what I felt, when thus presented with what appeared to be almost +unequivocal evidence of the guilt, whose existence I had before so +strongly doubted. There was a silence of some moments, during which it +were hard to conjecture whether I or my companion suffered most. Lord +Glenfallen soon recovered his self command; he returned to the table, +again sat down and said-- + +"What you have told me has so astonished me, has unfolded such a +tissue of motiveless guilt, and in a quarter from which I had +so little reason to look for ingratitude or treachery, that your +announcement almost deprived me of speech; the person in question, +however, has one excuse, her mind is, as I told you before, unsettled. +You should have remembered that, and hesitated to receive as +unexceptionable evidence against the honour of your husband, the +ravings of a lunatic. I now tell you that this is the last time I +shall speak to you upon this subject, and, in the presence of the God +who is to judge me, and as I hope for mercy in the day of judgment, +I swear that the charge thus brought against me, is utterly false, +unfounded, and ridiculous; I defy the world in any point to taint my +honour; and, as I have never taken the opinion of madmen touching +your character or morals, I think it but fair to require that you will +evince a like tenderness for me; and now, once for all, never again +dare to repeat to me your insulting suspicions, or the clumsy and +infamous calumnies of fools. I shall instantly let the worthy lady who +contrived this somewhat original device, understand fully my opinion +upon the matter--good morning"; and with these words he left me again +in doubt, and involved in all horrors of the most agonizing suspense. +I had reason to think that Lord Glenfallen wreaked his vengeance upon +the author of the strange story which I had heard, with a violence +which was not satisfied with mere words, for old Martha, with whom I +was a great favourite, while attending me in my room, told me that she +feared her master had ill used the poor, blind, Dutch woman, for that +she had heard her scream as if the very life were leaving her, but +added a request that I should not speak of what she had told me to any +one, particularly to the master. + +"How do you know that she is a Dutch woman?" inquired I, anxious to +learn anything whatever that might throw a light upon the history +of this person, who seemed to have resolved to mix herself up in my +fortunes. + +"Why, my lady," answered Martha, "the master often calls her the Dutch +hag, and other names you would not like to hear, and I am sure she +is neither English nor Irish; for, whenever they talk together, they +speak some queer foreign lingo, and fast enough, I'll be bound; but I +ought not to talk about her at all; it might be as much as my place is +worth to mention her--only you saw her first yourself, so there can be +no great harm in speaking of her now." + +"How long has this lady been here?" continued I. + +"She came early on the morning after your ladyship's arrival," +answered she; "but do not ask me any more, for the master would think +nothing of turning me out of doors for daring to speak of her at all, +much less to _you_, my lady." + +I did not like to press the poor woman further; for her reluctance to +speak on this topic was evident and strong. You will readily believe +that upon the very slight grounds which my information afforded, +contradicted as it was by the solemn oath of my husband, and derived +from what was, at best, a very questionable source, I could not +take any very decisive measure whatever; and as to the menace of the +strange woman who had thus unaccountably twice intruded herself into +my chamber, although, at the moment, it occasioned me some uneasiness, +it was not, even in my eyes, sufficiently formidable to induce my +departure from Cahergillagh. + +A few nights after the scene which I have just mentioned, Lord +Glenfallen having, as usual, early retired to his study, I was left +alone in the parlour to amuse myself as best I might. It was not +strange that my thoughts should often recur to the agitating scenes in +which I had recently taken a part; the subject of my reflections, +the solitude, the silence, and the lateness of the hour, as also the +depression of spirits to which I had of late been a constant prey, +tended to produce that nervous excitement which places us wholly +at the mercy of the imagination. In order to calm my spirits, I was +endeavouring to direct my thoughts into some more pleasing channel, +when I heard, or thought I heard, uttered, within a few yards of me, +in an odd half-sneering tone, the words, "There is blood upon your +ladyship's throat." So vivid was the impression, that I started to my +feet, and involuntarily placed my hand upon my neck. I looked around +the room for the speaker, but in vain. I went then to the room-door, +which I opened, and peered into the passage, nearly faint with horror, +lest some leering, shapeless thing should greet me upon the threshold. +When I had gazed long enough to assure myself that no strange object +was within sight. + +"I have been too much of a rake, lately; I am racking out my nerves," +said I, speaking aloud, with a view to reassure myself. I rang the +bell, and, attended by old Martha, I retired to settle for the night. +While the servant was, as was her custom, arranging the lamp which I +have already stated always burned during the night in my chamber, +I was employed in undressing, and, in doing so, I had recourse to a +large looking-glass which occupied a considerable portion of the wall +in which it was fixed, rising from the ground to a height of about +six feet; this mirror filled the space of a large pannel in the +wainscoting opposite the foot of the bed. I had hardly been before it +for the lapse of a minute, when something like a black pall was slowly +waved between me and it. + +"Oh, God! there it is," I exclaimed wildly. "I have seen it again, +Martha--the black cloth." + +"God be merciful to us, then!" answered she, tremulously crossing +herself. "Some misfortune is over us." + +"No, no, Martha," said I, almost instantly recovering my +collectedness; for, although of a nervous temperament, I had never +been superstitious. "I do not believe in omens. You know, I saw, or +fancied I saw, this thing before, and nothing followed." + +"The Dutch lady came the next morning," replied she. + +"Methinks, such an occurrence scarcely deserved a supernatural +announcement," I replied. + +"She is a strange woman, my lady," said Martha, "and she is not _gone_ +yet--mark my words." + +"Well, well, Martha," said I, "I have not wit enough to change your +opinions, nor inclination to alter mine; so I will talk no more of the +matter. Good night," and so I was left to my reflections. After lying +for about an hour awake, I at length fell into a kind of doze; but my +imagination was still busy, for I was startled from this unrefreshing +sleep by fancying that I heard a voice close to my face exclaim as +before, "There is blood upon your ladyship's throat." The words were +instantly followed by a loud burst of laughter. Quaking with horror, I +awakened, and heard my husband enter the room. Even this was a relief. +Scared as I was, however, by the tricks which my imagination had +played me, I preferred remaining silent, and pretending to sleep, to +attempting to engage my husband in conversation, for I well knew +that his mood was such, that his words would not, in all probability, +convey anything that had not better be unsaid and unheard. Lord +Glenfallen went into his dressing-room, which lay upon the right-hand +side of the bed. The door lying open, I could see him by himself, at +full length upon a sofa, and, in about half an hour, I became aware, +by his deep and regularly drawn respiration, that he was fast asleep. +When slumber refuses to visit one, there is something peculiarly +irritating, not to the temper, but to the nerves, in the consciousness +that some one is in your immediate presence, actually enjoying the +boon which you are seeking in vain; at least, I have always found it +so, and never more than upon the present occasion. A thousand annoying +imaginations harassed and excited me, every object which I looked +upon, though ever so familiar, seemed to have acquired a strange +phantom-like character, the varying shadows thrown by the flickering +of the lamp-light, seemed shaping themselves into grotesque and +unearthly forms, and whenever my eyes wandered to the sleeping figure +of my husband, his features appeared to undergo the strangest and most +demoniacal contortions. Hour after hour was told by the old clock, and +each succeeding one found me, if possible, less inclined to sleep than +its predecessor. It was now considerably past three; my eyes, in their +involuntary wanderings, happened to alight upon the large mirror which +was, as I have said, fixed in the wall opposite the foot of the bed. A +view of it was commanded from where I lay, through the curtains, as I +gazed fixedly upon it, I thought I perceived the broad sheet of glass +shifting its position in relation to the bed; I rivetted my eyes +upon it with intense scrutiny; it was no deception, the mirror, as +if acting of its own impulse moved slowly aside, and disclosed a dark +aperture in the wall, nearly as large as an ordinary door; a figure +evidently stood in this; but the light was too dim to define it +accurately. It stepped cautiously into the chamber, and with so little +noise, that had I not actually seen it, I do not think I should +have been aware of its presence. It was arrayed in a kind of woollen +night-dress, and a white handkerchief or cloth was bound tightly about +the head; I had no difficulty spite of the strangeness of the attire +in recognising the blind woman whom I so much dreaded. She stooped +down, bringing her head nearly to the ground, and in that attitude she +remained motionless for some moments, no doubt in order to ascertain +if any suspicious sound were stirring. She was apparently satisfied by +her observations, for she immediately recommenced her silent progress +towards a ponderous mahogany dressing table of my husband's; when she +had reached it, she paused again, and appeared to listen attentively +for some minutes; she then noiselessly opened one of the drawers from +which, having groped for some time, she took something which I soon +perceived to be a case of razors; she opened it and tried the edge +of each of the two instruments upon the skin of her hand; she quickly +selected one, which she fixed firmly in her grasp; she now stooped +down as before, and having listened for a time, she, with the hand +that was disengaged, groped her way into the dressing room where Lord +Glenfallen lay fast asleep. I was fixed as if in the tremendous spell +of a night mare. I could not stir even a finger; I could not lift my +voice; I could not even breathe, and though I expected every moment to +see the sleeping man murdered, I could not even close my eyes to shut +out the horrible spectacle, which I had not the power to avert. I saw +the woman approach the sleeping figure, she laid the unoccupied hand +lightly along his clothes, and having thus ascertained his identity, +she, after a brief interval, turned back and again entered my chamber; +here she bent down again to listen. I had now not a doubt but that the +razor was intended for my throat; yet the terrific fascination which +had locked all my powers so long, still continued to bind me fast. I +felt that my life depended upon the slightest ordinary exertion, and +yet I could not stir one joint from the position in which I lay, nor +even make noise enough to waken Lord Glenfallen. The murderous woman +now, with long, silent steps, approached the bed; my very heart seemed +turning to ice; her left hand, that which was disengaged, was upon +the pillow; she gradually slid it forward towards my head, and in +an instant, with the speed of lightning, it was clutched in my hair, +while, with the other hand, she dashed the razor at my throat. A +slight inaccuracy saved me from instant death; the blow fell short, +the point of the razor grazing my throat; in a moment I know not how, +I found myself at the other side of the bed uttering shriek after +shriek; the wretch was, however, determined if possible to murder me; +scrambling along by the curtains, she rushed round the bed towards me; +I seized the handle of the door to make my escape; it was, however, +fastened; at all events I could not open it, from the mere instinct +of recoiling terror, I shrunk back into a corner--she was now within +a yard of me--her hand was upon my face--I closed my eyes fast, +expecting never to open them again, when a blow, inflicted from behind +by a strong arm, stretched the monster senseless at my feet; at the +same moment the door opened, and several domestics, alarmed by my +cries, entered the apartment. I do not recollect what followed, for I +fainted. One swoon succeeded another so long and death-like, that my +life was considered very doubtful. At about ten o'clock, however, I +sunk into a deep and refreshing sleep, from which I was awakened at +about two, that I might swear my deposition before a magistrate, who +attended for that purpose. I, accordingly, did so, as did also Lord +Glenfallen; and the woman was fully committed to stand her trial +at the ensuing assizes. I shall never forget the scene which the +examination of the blind woman and of the other parties afforded. She +was brought into the room in the custody of two servants; she wore +a kind of flannel wrapper which had not been changed since the night +before; it was torn and soiled, and here and there smeared with blood, +which had flowed in large quantities from a wound in her head; the +white handkerchief had fallen off in the scuffle; and her grizzled +hair fell in masses about her wild and deadly pale countenance. +She appeared perfectly composed, however, and the only regret she +expressed throughout, was at not having succeeded in her attempt, the +object of which she did not pretend to conceal. On being asked her +name, she called herself the Countess Glenfallen, and refused to give +any other title. + +"The woman's name is Flora Van-Kemp," said Lord Glenfallen. + +"It _was_, it _was_, you perjured traitor and cheat," screamed the woman; +and then there followed a volley of words in some foreign language. +"Is there a magistrate here?" she resumed; "I am Lord Glenfallen's +wife--I'll prove it--write down my words. I am willing to be hanged or +burned, so _he_ meets his deserts. I did try to kill that doll of his; +but it was he who put it into my head to do it--two wives were too +many--I was to murder her, or she was to hang me--listen to all I have +to say." + +Here Lord Glenfallen interrupted. + +"I think, sir," said he, addressing the magistrate, "that we +had better proceed to business, this unhappy woman's furious +recriminations but waste our time; if she refuses to answer your +questions, you had better, I presume, take my depositions." + +"And are you going to swear away my life, you black perjured +murderer?" shrieked the woman. "Sir, sir, sir, you must hear me," she +continued, addressing the magistrate, "I can convict him--he bid +me murder that girl, and then when I failed, he came behind me, and +struck me down, and now he wants to swear away my life--take down all +I say." + +"If it is your intention," said the magistrate, "to confess the crime +with which you stand charged, you may, upon producing sufficient +evidence, criminate whom you please." + +"Evidence!--I have no evidence but myself," said the woman. "I will +swear it all--write down my testimony--write it down, I say--we shall +hang side by side, my brave Lord--all your own handy--work, my gentle +husband." This was followed by a low, insolent, and sneering laugh, +which, from one in her situation, was sufficiently horrible. + +"I will not at present hear anything," replied he, "but distinct +answers to the questions which I shall put to you upon this matter." + +"Then you shall hear nothing," replied she sullenly, and no inducement +or intimidation could bring her to speak again. + +Lord Glenfallen's deposition and mine were then given, as also those +of the servants who had entered the room at the moment of my rescue; +the magistrate then intimated that she was committed, and must proceed +directly to gaol, whither she was brought in a carriage of Lord +Glenfallen's, for his lordship was naturally by no means indifferent +to the effect which her vehement accusations against himself might +produce, if uttered before every chance hearer whom she might meet +with between Cahergillagh and the place of confinement whither she was +dispatched. + +During the time which intervened between the committal and the trial +of the prisoner, Lord Glenfallen seemed to suffer agonies of mind +which baffle all description, he hardly ever slept, and when he did, +his slumbers seemed but the instruments of new tortures, and his +waking hours were, if possible, exceeded in intensity of terrors by +the dreams which disturbed his sleep. Lord Glenfallen rested, if +to lie in the mere attitude of repose were to do so, in his +dressing-room, and thus I had an opportunity of witnessing, far +oftener than I wished it, the fearful workings of his mind; his agony +often broke out into such fearful paroxysms that delirium and total +loss of reason appeared to be impending; he frequently spoke of flying +from the country, and bringing with him all the witnesses of the +appalling scene upon which the prosecution was founded; then again +he would fiercely lament that the blow which he had inflicted had not +ended all. + +The assizes arrived, however, and upon the day appointed, Lord +Glenfallen and I attended in order to give our evidence. The cause was +called on, and the prisoner appeared at the bar. Great curiosity and +interest were felt respecting the trial, so that the court was crowded +to excess. The prisoner, however, without appearing to take the +trouble of listening to the indictment, pleaded guilty, and no +representations on the part of the court availed to induce her to +retract her plea. After much time had been wasted in a fruitless +attempt to prevail upon her to reconsider her words, the court +proceeded according to the usual form, to pass sentence. This having +been done, the prisoner was about to be removed, when she said in a +low, distinct voice-- + +"A word--a word, my Lord:--is Lord Glenfallen here in the court?" On +being told that he was, she raised her voice to a tone of loud menace, +and continued-- + +"Hardress, Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of +justice of two crimes--first, that you married a second wife, while +the first was living, and again, that you prompted me to the murder, +for attempting which I am to die--secure him--chain him--bring him +here." + +There was a laugh through the court at these words, which were +naturally treated by the judge as a violent extemporary recrimination, +and the woman was desired to be silent. + +"You won't take him, then," she said, "you won't try him? You'll let +him go free?" + +It was intimated by the court that he would certainly be allowed "to +go free," and she was ordered again to be removed. Before, however, +the mandate was executed, she threw her arms wildly into the air, and +uttered one piercing shriek so full of preternatural rage and despair, +that it might fitly have ushered a soul into those realms where hope +can come no more. The sound still rang in my ears, months after the +voice that had uttered it was for ever silent. The wretched woman was +executed in accordance with the sentence which had been pronounced. + +For some time after this event, Lord Glenfallen appeared, if possible, +to suffer more than he had done before, and altogether, his language, +which often amounted to half confessions of the guilt imputed to him, +and all the circumstances connected with the late occurrences, formed +a mass of evidence so convincing that I wrote to my father, detailing +the grounds of my fears, and imploring him to come to Cahergillagh +without delay, in order to remove me from my husband's control, +previously to taking legal steps for a final separation. Circumstanced +as I was, my existence was little short of intolerable, for, besides +the fearful suspicions which attached to my husband, I plainly +perceived that if Lord Glenfallen were not relieved, and that +speedily, insanity must supervene. I therefore expected my father's +arrival, or at least a letter to announce it, with indescribable +impatience. + +About a week after the execution had taken place, Lord Glenfallen one +morning met me with an unusually sprightly air-- + +"Fanny," said he, "I have it now for the first time, in my power to +explain to your satisfaction every thing which has hitherto appeared +suspicious or mysterious in my conduct. After breakfast come with me +to my study, and I shall, I hope, make all things clear." + +This invitation afforded me more real pleasure than I had experienced +for months; something had certainly occurred to tranquillize my +husband's mind, in no ordinary degree, and I thought it by no means +impossible that he would, in the proposed interview, prove himself the +most injured and innocent of men. Full of this hope I repaired to his +study at the appointed hour; he was writing busily when I entered the +room, and just raising his eyes, he requested me to be seated. I took +a chair as he desired, and remained silently awaiting his leisure, +while he finished, folded, directed, and sealed his letter; laying it +then upon the table, with the address downward, he said-- + +"My dearest Fanny, I know I must have appeared very strange to you and +very unkind--often even cruel; before the end of this week I will show +you the necessity of my conduct; how impossible it was that I should +have seemed otherwise. I am conscious that many acts of mine must have +inevitably given rise to painful suspicions--suspicions, which indeed, +upon one occasion you very properly communicated to me. I have +gotten two letters from a quarter which commands respect, containing +information as to the course by which I may be enabled to prove the +negative of all the crimes which even the most credulous suspicion +could lay to my charge. I expected a third by this morning's post, +containing documents which will set the matter for ever at rest, but +owing, no doubt, to some neglect, or, perhaps, to some difficulty in +collecting the papers, some inevitable delay, it has not come to hand +this morning, according to my expectation. I was finishing one to the +very same quarter when you came in, and if a sound rousing be worth +anything, I think I shall have a special messenger before two days +have passed. I have been thinking over the matter within myself, +whether I had better imperfectly clear up your doubts by submitting to +your inspection the two letters which I have already received, or +wait till I can triumphantly vindicate myself by the production of +the documents which I have already mentioned, and I have, I think, not +unnaturally decided upon the latter course; however, there is a person +in the next room, whose testimony is not without its value--excuse me +for one moment." + +So saying, he arose and went to the door of a closet which opened from +the study, this he unlocked, and half opening the door, he said, "It +is only I," and then slipped into the room, and carefully closed and +locked the door behind him. I immediately heard his voice in animated +conversation; my curiosity upon the subject of the letter was +naturally great, so smothering any little scruples which I might have +felt, I resolved to look at the address of the letter which lay as my +husband had left it, with its face upon the table. I accordingly drew +it over to me, and turned up the direction. For two or three moments I +could scarce believe my eyes, but there could be no mistake--in +large characters were traced the words, "To the Archangel Gabriel in +heaven." I had scarcely returned the letter to its original position, +and in some degree recovered the shock which this unequivocal proof +of insanity produced, when the closet door was unlocked, and Lord +Glenfallen re-entered the study, carefully closing and locking the +door again upon the outside. + +"Whom have you there?" inquired I, making a strong effort to appear +calm. + +"Perhaps," said he musingly, "you might have some objection to seeing +her, at least for a time." + +"Who is it?" repeated I. + +"Why," said he, "I see no use in hiding it--the blind Dutchwoman; I +have been with her the whole morning. She is very anxious to get +out of that closet, but you know she is odd, she is scarcely to be +trusted." + +A heavy gust of wind shook the door at this moment with a sound as if +something more substantial were pushing against it. + +"Ha, ha, ha!--do you hear her," said he, with an obstreperous burst +of laughter. The wind died away in a long howl, and Lord Glenfallen, +suddenly checking his merriment, shrugged his shoulders, and +muttered-- + +"Poor devil, she has been hardly used." + +"We had better not tease her at present with questions," said I, in as +unconcerned a tone as I could assume, although I felt every moment as +if I should faint. + +"Humph! may be so," said he, "well, come back in an hour or two, or +when you please, and you will find us here." + +He again unlocked the door, and entered with the same precautions +which he had adopted before, locking the door upon the inside, and +as I hurried from the room, I heard his voice again exerted as if in +eager parley. I can hardly describe my emotions; my hopes had been +raised to the highest, and now in an instant, all was gone--the +dreadful consummation was accomplished--the fearful retribution had +fallen upon the guilty man--the mind was destroyed--the power to +repent was gone. The agony of the hours which followed what I would +still call my _awful_ interview with Lord Glenfallen, I cannot describe; +my solitude was, however, broken in upon by Martha, who came to inform +me of the arrival of a gentleman, who expected me in the parlour. I +accordingly descended, and to my great joy, found my father seated by +the fire. This expedition, upon his part, was easily accounted for: +my communications had touched the honour of the family. I speedily +informed him of the dreadful malady which had fallen upon the wretched +man. My father suggested the necessity of placing some person to watch +him, to prevent his injuring himself or others. I rang the bell, and +desired that one Edward Cooke, an attached servant of the family, +should be sent to me. I told him distinctly and briefly, the nature +of the service required of him, and, attended by him, my father and I +proceeded at once to the study; the door of the inner room was still +closed, and everything in the outer chamber remained in the same order +in which I had left it. We then advanced to the closet door, at which +we knocked, but without receiving any answer. We next tried to open +the door, but in vain--it was locked upon the inside; we knocked more +loudly, but in vain. Seriously alarmed, I desired the servant to force +the door, which was, after several violent efforts, accomplished, and +we entered the closet. Lord Glenfallen was lying on his face upon a +sofa. + +"Hush," said I, "he is asleep"; we paused for a moment. + +"He is too still for that," said my father; we all of us felt a strong +reluctance to approach the figure. + +"Edward," said I, "try whether your master sleeps." + +The servant approached the sofa where Lord Glenfallen lay; he leant +his ear towards the head of the recumbent figure, to ascertain whether +the sound of breathing was audible; he turned towards us, and said-- + +"My lady, you had better not wait here, I am sure he is dead!" + +"Let me see the face," said I, terribly agitated, "you _may_ be +mistaken." + +The man then, in obedience to my command, turned the body round, and, +gracious God! what a sight met my view--he was, indeed, perfectly +dead. The whole breast of the shirt, with its lace frill, was drenched +with gore, as was the couch underneath the spot where he lay. The head +hung back, as it seemed almost severed from the body by a frightful +gash, which yawned across the throat. The instrument which had +inflicted it, was found under his body. All, then, was over; I was +never to learn the history in whose termination I had been so deeply +and so tragically involved. + +The severe discipline which my mind had undergone was not bestowed in +vain. I directed my thoughts and my hopes to that place where there is +no more sin, nor danger, nor sorrow. + +Thus ends a brief tale, whose prominent incidents many will recognize +as having marked the history of a distinguished family, and though +it refers to a somewhat distant date, we shall be found not to have +taken, upon that account, any liberties with the facts, but in our +statement of all the incidents, to have rigorously and faithfully +adhered to the truth. + +[Footnote A: I have carefully altered the names as they appear in the +original MSS., for the reader will see that some of the circumstances +recorded are not of a kind to reflect honour upon those involved +in them; and, as many are still living, in every way honoured and +honourable, who stand in close relation to the principal actors in +this drama, the reader will see the necessity of the course which we +have adopted.] + +[Footnote B: The residuary legatee of the late Francis Purcell, +who has the honour of selecting such of his lamented old friend's +manuscripts as may appear fit for publication, in order that the lore +which they contain may reach the world before scepticism and utility +have robbed our species of the precious gift of credulity, and +scornfully kicked before them, or trampled into annihilation, those +harmless fragments of picturesque superstition, which it is our object +to preserve, has been subjected to the charge of dealing too largely +in the marvellous; and it has been half insinuated that such is his +love for _diablerie_, that he is content to wander a mile out of his +way, in order to meet a fiend or a goblin, and thus to sacrifice all +regard for truth and accuracy to the idle hope of affrighting the +imagination, and thus pandering to the bad taste of his reader. He +begs leave, then, to take this opportunity of asserting his perfect +innocence of all the crimes laid to his charge, and to assure his +reader that he never _pandered to his bad taste_, nor went one inch +out of his way to introduce witch, fairy, devil, ghost, or any other +of the grim fraternity of the redoubted Raw-head and bloody-bones. His +province, touching these tales, has been attended with no difficulty +and little responsibility; indeed, he is accountable for nothing more +than an alteration in the names of persons mentioned therein, when +such a step seemed necessary, and for an occasional note, whenever he +conceived it possible, innocently, to edge in a word. These tales have +been _written down_, as the heading of each announces, by the Rev. +Francis Purcell, P.P. of Drumcoolagh; and in all the instances, +which are many, in which the present writer has had an opportunity +of comparing the manuscript of his departed friend with the actual +traditions which are current amongst the families whose fortunes +they pretend to illustrate, he has uniformly found that whatever +of supernatural occurred in the story, so far from having been +exaggerated by him, had been rather softened down, and, wherever it +could be attempted, accounted for.] + + + + +THE MURDERED COUSIN + + "And they lay wait for their own blood: they lurk privily for + their own lives. + + "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh + away the life of the owner thereof." + + +This story of the Irish peerage is written, as nearly as possible, +in the very words in which it was related by its "heroine," the late +Countess D----, and is therefore told in the first person. + +My mother died when I was an infant, and of her I have no +recollection, even the faintest. By her death my education was left +solely to the direction of my surviving parent. He entered upon his +task with a stern appreciation of the responsibility thus cast +upon him. My religious instruction was prosecuted with an almost +exaggerated anxiety; and I had, of course, the best masters to perfect +me in all those accomplishments which my station and wealth might seem +to require. My father was what is called an oddity, and his treatment +of me, though uniformly kind, was governed less by affection and +tenderness, than by a high and unbending sense of duty. Indeed I +seldom saw or spoke to him except at meal-times, and then, though +gentle, he was usually reserved and gloomy. His leisure hours, which +were many, were passed either in his study or in solitary walks; +in short, he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness or +improvement, than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own +duty would seem to impose. + +Shortly before my birth an event occurred which had contributed much +to induce and to confirm my father's unsocial habits; it was the fact +that a suspicion of _murder_ had fallen upon his younger brother, though +not sufficiently definite to lead to any public proceedings, yet +strong enough to ruin him in public opinion. This disgraceful and +dreadful doubt cast upon the family name, my father felt deeply and +bitterly, and not the less so that he himself was thoroughly convinced +of his brother's innocence. The sincerity and strength of this +conviction he shortly afterwards proved in a manner which produced the +catastrophe of my story. + +Before, however, I enter upon my immediate adventures, I ought to +relate the circumstances which had awakened that suspicion to which +I have referred, inasmuch as they are in themselves somewhat +curious, and in their effects most intimately connected with my own +after-history. + +My uncle, Sir Arthur Tyrrell, was a gay and extravagant man, and, +among other vices, was ruinously addicted to gaming. This unfortunate +propensity, even after his fortune had suffered so severely as to +render retrenchment imperative, nevertheless continued to engross him, +nearly to the exclusion of every other pursuit. He was, however, a +proud, or rather a vain man, and could not bear to make the diminution +of his income a matter of triumph to those with whom he had hitherto +competed; and the consequence was, that he frequented no longer the +expensive haunts of his dissipation, and retired from the gay world, +leaving his coterie to discover his reasons as best they might. He +did not, however, forego his favourite vice, for though he could +not worship his great divinity in those costly temples where he was +formerly wont to take his place, yet he found it very possible to +bring about him a sufficient number of the votaries of chance to +answer all his ends. The consequence was, that Carrickleigh, which +was the name of my uncle's residence, was never without one or more of +such visiters as I have described. It happened that upon one occasion +he was visited by one Hugh Tisdall, a gentleman of loose, and, indeed, +low habits, but of considerable wealth, and who had, in early youth, +travelled with my uncle upon the Continent. The period of this visit +was winter, and, consequently, the house was nearly deserted excepting +by its ordinary inmates; it was, therefore, highly acceptable, +particularly as my uncle was aware that his visiter's tastes accorded +exactly with his own. + +Both parties seemed determined to avail themselves of their mutual +suitability during the brief stay which Mr. Tisdall had promised; the +consequence was, that they shut themselves up in Sir Arthur's private +room for nearly all the day and the greater part of the night, during +the space of almost a week, at the end of which the servant having one +morning, as usual, knocked at Mr. Tisdall's bed-room door repeatedly, +received no answer, and, upon attempting to enter, found that it was +locked. This appeared suspicious, and the inmates of the house having +been alarmed, the door was forced open, and, on proceeding to the bed, +they found the body of its occupant perfectly lifeless, and hanging +halfway out, the head downwards, and near the floor. One deep wound +had been inflicted upon the temple, apparently with some blunt +instrument, which had penetrated the brain, and another blow, less +effective--probably the first aimed--had grazed his head, removing +some of the scalp. The door had been double locked upon the _inside_, +in evidence of which the key still lay where it had been placed in the +lock. The window, though not secured on the interior, was closed; a +circumstance not a little puzzling, as it afforded the only other +mode of escape from the room. It looked out, too, upon a kind of +court-yard, round which the old buildings stood, formerly accessible +by a narrow doorway and passage lying in the oldest side of the +quadrangle, but which had since been built up, so as to preclude all +ingress or egress; the room was also upon the second story, and the +height of the window considerable; in addition to all which the stone +window-sill was much too narrow to allow of any one's standing upon it +when the window was closed. Near the bed were found a pair of razors +belonging to the murdered man, one of them upon the ground, and both +of them open. The weapon which inflicted the mortal wound was not to +be found in the room, nor were any footsteps or other traces of the +murderer discoverable. At the suggestion of Sir Arthur himself, the +coroner was instantly summoned to attend, and an inquest was held. +Nothing, however, in any degree conclusive was elicited. The walls, +ceiling, and floor of the room were carefully examined, in order to +ascertain whether they contained a trap-door or other concealed mode +of entrance, but no such thing appeared. Such was the minuteness of +investigation employed, that, although the grate had contained a +large fire during the night, they proceeded to examine even the very +chimney, in order to discover whether escape by it were possible. But +this attempt, too, was fruitless, for the chimney, built in the old +fashion, rose in a perfectly perpendicular line from the hearth, to +a height of nearly fourteen feet above the roof, affording in its +interior scarcely the possibility of ascent, the flue being smoothly +plastered, and sloping towards the top like an inverted funnel; +promising, too, even if the summit were attained, owing to its great +height, but a precarious descent upon the sharp and steep-ridged roof; +the ashes, too, which lay in the grate, and the soot, as far as it +could be seen, were undisturbed, a circumstance almost conclusive upon +the point. + +Sir Arthur was of course examined. His evidence was given with +clearness and unreserve, which seemed calculated to silence all +suspicion. He stated that, up to the day and night immediately +preceding the catastrophe, he had lost to a heavy amount, but that, +at their last sitting, he had not only won back his original loss, +but upwards of L4,000 in addition; in evidence of which he produced +an acknowledgment of debt to that amount in the handwriting of the +deceased, bearing date the night of the catastrophe. He had mentioned +the circumstance to Lady Tyrrell, and in presence of some of his +domestics; which statement was supported by _their_ respective +evidence. One of the jury shrewdly observed, that the circumstance of +Mr. Tisdall's having sustained so heavy a loss might have suggested to +some ill-minded persons, accidentally hearing it, the plan of robbing +him, after having murdered him in such a manner as might make it +appear that he had committed suicide; a supposition which was strongly +supported by the razors having been found thus displaced and removed +from their case. Two persons had probably been engaged in the attempt, +one watching by the sleeping man, and ready to strike him in case of +his awakening suddenly, while the other was procuring the razors and +employed in inflicting the fatal gash, so as to make it appear to have +been the act of the murdered man himself. It was said that while the +juror was making this suggestion Sir Arthur changed colour. There +was nothing, however, like legal evidence to implicate him, and the +consequence was that the verdict was found against a person or persons +unknown, and for some time the matter was suffered to rest, until, +after about five months, my father received a letter from a person +signing himself Andrew Collis, and representing himself to be the +cousin of the deceased. This letter stated that his brother, Sir +Arthur, was likely to incur not merely suspicion but personal risk, +unless he could account for certain circumstances connected with +the recent murder, and contained a copy of a letter written by the +deceased, and dated the very day upon the night of which the murder +had been perpetrated. Tisdall's letter contained, among a great deal +of other matter, the passages which follow:-- + +"I have had sharp work with Sir Arthur: he tried some of his stale +tricks, but soon found that _I_ was Yorkshire, too; it would not +do--you understand me. We went to the work like good ones, head, +heart, and soul; and in fact, since I came here, I have lost no time. +I am rather fagged, but I am sure to be well paid for my hardship; I +never want sleep so long as I can have the music of a dice-box, and +wherewithal to pay the piper. As I told you, he tried some of his +queer turns, but I foiled him like a man, and, in return, gave him +more than he could relish of the genuine _dead knowledge_. In short, +I have plucked the old baronet as never baronet was plucked before; I +have scarce left him the stump of a quill. I have got promissory notes +in his hand to the amount of ----; if you like round numbers, say +five-and-twenty thousand pounds, safely deposited in my portable +strong box, alias, double-clasped pocket-book. I leave this ruinous +old rat-hole early on to-morrow, for two reasons: first, I do not +want to play with Sir Arthur deeper than I think his security would +warrant; and, secondly, because I am safer a hundred miles away from +Sir Arthur than in the house with him. Look you, my worthy, I tell +you this between ourselves--I may be wrong--but, by ----, I am sure +as that I am now living, that Sir A---- attempted to poison me last +night. So much for old friendship on both sides. When I won the last +stake, a heavy one enough, my friend leant his forehead upon his +hands, and you'll laugh when I tell you that his head literally smoked +like a hot dumpling. I do not know whether his agitation was produced +by the plan which he had against me, or by his having lost so heavily; +though it must be allowed that he had reason to be a little funked, +whichever way his thoughts went; but he pulled the bell, and ordered +two bottles of Champagne. While the fellow was bringing them, he wrote +a promissory note to the full amount, which he signed, and, as the +man came in with the bottles and glasses, he desired him to be off. He +filled a glass for me, and, while he thought my eyes were off, for I +was putting up his note at the time, he dropped something slyly into +it, no doubt to sweeten it; but I saw it all, and, when he handed +it to me, I said, with an emphasis which he might easily understand, +'There is some sediment in it, I'll not drink it.' 'Is there?' said +he, and at the same time snatched it from my hand and threw it into +the fire. What do you think of that? Have I not a tender bird in +hand? Win or lose, I will not play beyond five thousand to-night, and +to-morrow sees me safe out of the reach of Sir Arthur's Champagne." + +Of the authenticity of this document, I never heard my father express +a doubt; and I am satisfied that, owing to his strong conviction +in favour of his brother, he would not have admitted it without +sufficient inquiry, inasmuch as it tended to confirm the suspicions +which already existed to his prejudice. Now, the only point in this +letter which made strongly against my uncle, was the mention of the +"double-clasped pocket-book," as the receptacle of the papers likely +to involve him, for this pocket-book was not forthcoming, nor anywhere +to be found, nor had any papers referring to his gaming transactions +been discovered upon the dead man. + +But whatever might have been the original intention of this man, +Collis, neither my uncle nor my father ever heard more of him; he +published the letter, however, in Faulkner's newspaper, which was +shortly afterwards made the vehicle of a much more mysterious attack. +The passage in that journal to which I allude, appeared about four +years afterwards, and while the fatal occurrence was still fresh in +public recollection. It commenced by a rambling preface, stating that +"a _certain person_ whom _certain_ persons thought to be dead, was not +so, but living, and in full possession of his memory, and moreover, +ready and able to make _great_ delinquents tremble": it then went on +to describe the murder, without, however, mentioning names; and in +doing so, it entered into minute and circumstantial particulars of +which none but an _eye-witness_ could have been possessed, and by +implications almost too unequivocal to be regarded in the light of +insinuation, to involve the "_titled gambler_" in the guilt of the +transaction. + +My father at once urged Sir Arthur to proceed against the paper in +an action of libel, but he would not hear of it, nor consent to my +father's taking any legal steps whatever in the matter. My father, +however, wrote in a threatening tone to Faulkner, demanding a +surrender of the author of the obnoxious article; the answer to this +application is still in my possession, and is penned in an apologetic +tone: it states that the manuscript had been handed in, paid for, +and inserted as an advertisement, without sufficient inquiry, or any +knowledge as to whom it referred. No step, however, was taken to +clear my uncle's character in the judgment of the public; and, as he +immediately sold a small property, the application of the proceeds of +which were known to none, he was said to have disposed of it to enable +himself to buy off the threatened information; however the truth might +have been, it is certain that no charges respecting the mysterious +murder were afterwards publicly made against my uncle, and, as far as +external disturbances were concerned, he enjoyed henceforward perfect +security and quiet. + +A deep and lasting impression, however, had been made upon the public +mind, and Sir Arthur Tyrrell was no longer visited or noticed by the +gentry of the county, whose attentions he had hitherto received. He +accordingly affected to despise those courtesies which he no longer +enjoyed, and shunned even that society which he might have commanded. +This is all that I need recapitulate of my uncle's history, and I now +recur to my own. + +Although my father had never, within my recollection, visited, or +been visited by my uncle, each being of unsocial, procrastinating, +and indolent habits, and their respective residences being very far +apart--the one lying in the county of Galway, the other in that +of Cork--he was strongly attached to his brother, and evinced his +affection by an active correspondence, and by deeply and proudly +resenting that neglect which had branded Sir Arthur as unfit to mix in +society. + +When I was about eighteen years of age, my father, whose health had +been gradually declining, died, leaving me in heart wretched +and desolate, and, owing to his habitual seclusion, with few +acquaintances, and almost no friends. The provisions of his will were +curious, and when I was sufficiently come to myself to listen to, or +comprehend them, surprised me not a little: all his vast property was +left to me, and to the heirs of my body, for ever; and, in default +of such heirs, it was to go after my death to my uncle, Sir Arthur, +without any entail. At the same time, the will appointed him my +guardian, desiring that I might be received within his house, and +reside with his family, and under his care, during the term of my +minority; and in consideration of the increased expense consequent +upon such an arrangement, a handsome allowance was allotted to him +during the term of my proposed residence. The object of this last +provision I at once understood; my father desired, by making it the +direct apparent interest of Sir Arthur that I should die without +issue, while at the same time he placed my person wholly in his power, +to prove to the world how great and unshaken was his confidence in +his brother's innocence and honour. It was a strange, perhaps an +idle scheme, but as I had been always brought up in the habit of +considering my uncle as a deeply injured man, and had been taught, +almost as a part of my religion, to regard him as the very soul of +honour, I felt no further uneasiness respecting the arrangement than +that likely to affect a shy and timid girl at the immediate prospect +of taking up her abode for the first time in her life among strangers. +Previous to leaving my home, which I felt I should do with a heavy +heart, I received a most tender and affectionate letter from my uncle, +calculated, if anything could do so, to remove the bitterness of +parting from scenes familiar and dear from my earliest childhood, +and in some degree to reconcile me to the measure. It was upon a fine +autumn day that I approached the old domain of Carrickleigh. I shall +not soon forget the impression of sadness and of gloom which all that +I saw produced upon my mind; the sunbeams were falling with a rich +and melancholy lustre upon the fine old trees, which stood in lordly +groups, casting their long sweeping shadows over rock and sward; there +was an air of neglect and decay about the spot, which amounted almost +to desolation, and mournfully increased as we approached the building +itself, near which the ground had been originally more artificially +and carefully cultivated than elsewhere, and where consequently +neglect more immediately and strikingly betrayed itself. + +As we proceeded, the road wound near the beds of what had been +formerly two fish-ponds, which were now nothing more than stagnant +swamps, overgrown with rank weeds, and here and there encroached upon +by the straggling underwood; the avenue itself was much broken; and in +many places the stones were almost concealed by grass and nettles; the +loose stone walls which had here and there intersected the broad park, +were, in many places, broken down, so as no longer to answer their +original purpose as fences; piers were now and then to be seen, but +the gates were gone; and to add to the general air of dilapidation, +some huge trunks were lying scattered through the venerable old trees, +either the work of the winter storms, or perhaps the victims of some +extensive but desultory scheme of denudation, which the projector had +not capital or perseverance to carry into full effect. + +After the carriage had travelled a full mile of this avenue, we +reached the summit of a rather abrupt eminence, one of the many which +added to the picturesqueness, if not to the convenience of this rude +approach; from the top of this ridge the grey walls of Carrickleigh +were visible, rising at a small distance in front, and darkened by the +hoary wood which crowded around them; it was a quadrangular building +of considerable extent, and the front, where the great entrance was +placed, lay towards us, and bore unequivocal marks of antiquity; the +time-worn, solemn aspect of the old building, the ruinous and deserted +appearance of the whole place, and the associations which connected +it with a dark page in the history of my family, combined to depress +spirits already predisposed for the reception of sombre and dejecting +impressions. When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown court-yard +before the hall-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well +accorded with that of the place which they tenanted, alarmed by +the obstreperous barking of a great chained dog, ran out from some +half-ruinous outhouses, and took charge of the horses; the hall-door +stood open, and I entered a gloomy and imperfectly-lighted apartment, +and found no one within it. However, I had not long to wait in this +awkward predicament, for before my luggage had been deposited in the +house, indeed before I had well removed my cloak and other muffles, +so as to enable me to look around, a young girl ran lightly into the +hall, and kissing me heartily and somewhat boisterously exclaimed, "My +dear cousin, my dear Margaret--I am so delighted--so out of breath, we +did not expect you till ten o'clock; my father is somewhere about the +place, he must be close at hand. James--Corney--run out and tell your +master; my brother is seldom at home, at least at any reasonable hour; +you must be so tired--so fatigued--let me show you to your room; see +that Lady Margaret's luggage is all brought up; you must lie down and +rest yourself. Deborah, bring some coffee--up these stairs; we are +so delighted to see you--you cannot think how lonely I have been; how +steep these stairs are, are not they? I am so glad you are come--I +could hardly bring myself to believe that you were really coming; +how good of you, dear Lady Margaret." There was real good nature +and delight in my cousin's greeting, and a kind of constitutional +confidence of manner which placed me at once at ease, and made me feel +immediately upon terms of intimacy with her. The room into which +she ushered me, although partaking in the general air of decay which +pervaded the mansion and all about it, had, nevertheless, been fitted +up with evident attention to comfort, and even with some dingy attempt +at luxury; but what pleased me most was that it opened, by a second +door, upon a lobby which communicated with my fair cousin's apartment; +a circumstance which divested the room, in my eyes, of the air of +solitude and sadness which would otherwise have characterised it, to a +degree almost painful to one so depressed and agitated as I was. + +After such arrangements as I found necessary were completed, we both +went down to the parlour, a large wainscotted room, hung round with +grim old portraits, and, as I was not sorry to see, containing, in its +ample grate, a large and cheerful fire. Here my cousin had leisure to +talk more at her ease; and from her I learned something of the manners +and the habits of the two remaining members of her family, whom I had +not yet seen. On my arrival I had known nothing of the family +among whom I was come to reside, except that it consisted of three +individuals, my uncle, and his son and daughter, Lady Tyrrell having +been long dead; in addition to this very scanty stock of information, +I shortly learned from my communicative companion, that my uncle was, +as I had suspected, completely retired in his habits, and besides +that, having been, so far back as she could well recollect, always +rather strict, as reformed rakes frequently become, he had latterly +been growing more gloomily and sternly religious than heretofore. Her +account of her brother was far less favourable, though she did not say +anything directly to his disadvantage. From all that I could gather +from her, I was led to suppose that he was a specimen of the idle, +coarse-mannered, profligate "_squirearchy_"--a result which might +naturally have followed from the circumstance of his being, as it +were, outlawed from society, and driven for companionship to grades +below his own--enjoying, too, the dangerous prerogative of spending +a good deal of money. However, you may easily suppose that I found +nothing in my cousin's communication fully to bear me out in so very +decided a conclusion. + +I awaited the arrival of my uncle, which was every moment to be +expected, with feelings half of alarm, half of curiosity--a sensation +which I have often since experienced, though to a less degree, when +upon the point of standing for the first time in the presence of one +of whom I have long been in the habit of hearing or thinking with +interest. It was, therefore, with some little perturbation that I +heard, first a slight bustle at the outer door, then a slow step +traverse the hall, and finally witnessed the door open, and my uncle +enter the room. He was a striking looking man; from peculiarities both +of person and of dress, the whole effect of his appearance amounted to +extreme singularity. He was tall, and when young his figure must have +been strikingly elegant; as it was, however, its effect was marred by +a very decided stoop; his dress was of a sober colour, and in fashion +anterior to any thing which I could remember. It was, however, +handsome, and by no means carelessly put on; but what completed the +singularity of his appearance was his uncut, white hair, which hung +in long, but not at all neglected curls, even so far as his shoulders, +and which combined with his regularly classic features, and fine dark +eyes, to bestow upon him an air of venerable dignity and pride, which +I have seldom seen equalled elsewhere. I rose as he entered, and +met him about the middle of the room; he kissed my cheek and both my +hands, saying-- + +"You are most welcome, dear child, as welcome as the command of this +poor place and all that it contains can make you. I am rejoiced to see +you--truly rejoiced. I trust that you are not much fatigued; pray be +seated again." He led me to my chair, and continued, "I am glad to +perceive you have made acquaintance with Emily already; I see, in your +being thus brought together, the foundation of a lasting friendship. +You are both innocent, and both young. God bless you--God bless you, +and make you all that I could wish." + +He raised his eyes, and remained for a few moments silent, as if +in secret prayer. I felt that it was impossible that this man, with +feelings manifestly so tender, could be the wretch that public opinion +had represented him to be. I was more than ever convinced of his +innocence. His manners were, or appeared to me, most fascinating. +I know not how the lights of experience might have altered this +estimate. But I was then very young, and I beheld in him a perfect +mingling of the courtesy of polished life with the gentlest and +most genial virtues of the heart. A feeling of affection and respect +towards him began to spring up within me, the more earnest that I +remembered how sorely he had suffered in fortune and how cruelly in +fame. My uncle having given me fully to understand that I was most +welcome, and might command whatever was his own, pressed me to take +some supper; and on my refusing, he observed that, before bidding me +good night, he had one duty further to perform, one in which he was +convinced I would cheerfully acquiesce. He then proceeded to read a +chapter from the Bible; after which he took his leave with the same +affectionate kindness with which he had greeted me, having repeated +his desire that I should consider every thing in his house as +altogether at my disposal. It is needless to say how much I was +pleased with my uncle--it was impossible to avoid being so; and I +could not help saying to myself, if such a man as this is not safe +from the assaults of slander, who is? I felt much happier than I +had done since my father's death, and enjoyed that night the first +refreshing sleep which had visited me since that calamity. My +curiosity respecting my male cousin did not long remain unsatisfied; +he appeared upon the next day at dinner. His manners, though not so +coarse as I had expected, were exceedingly disagreeable; there was an +assurance and a forwardness for which I was not prepared; there was +less of the vulgarity of manner, and almost more of that of the mind, +than I had anticipated. I felt quite uncomfortable in his presence; +there was just that confidence in his look and tone, which would read +encouragement even in mere toleration; and I felt more disgusted and +annoyed at the coarse and extravagant compliments which he was pleased +from time to time to pay me, than perhaps the extent of the atrocity +might fully have warranted. It was, however, one consolation that he +did not often appear, being much engrossed by pursuits about which +I neither knew nor cared anything; but when he did, his attentions, +either with a view to his amusement, or to some more serious object, +were so obviously and perseveringly directed to me, that young and +inexperienced as I was, even _I_ could not be ignorant of their +significance. I felt more provoked by this odious persecution than I +can express, and discouraged him with so much vigour, that I did +not stop even at rudeness to convince him that his assiduities were +unwelcome; but all in vain. + +This had gone on for nearly a twelvemonth, to my infinite annoyance, +when one day, as I was sitting at some needlework with my companion, +Emily, as was my habit, in the parlour, the door opened, and my cousin +Edward entered the room. There was something, I thought, odd in his +manner, a kind of struggle between shame and impudence, a kind of +flurry and ambiguity, which made him appear, if possible, more than +ordinarily disagreeable. + +"Your servant, ladies," he said, seating himself at the same time; +"sorry to spoil your _tete-a-tete_; but never mind, I'll only take +Emily's place for a minute or two, and then we part for a while, fair +cousin. Emily, my father wants you in the corner turret; no shilly, +shally, he's in a hurry." She hesitated. "Be off--tramp, march, I +say," he exclaimed, in a tone which the poor girl dared not disobey. + +She left the room, and Edward followed her to the door. He stood there +for a minute or two, as if reflecting what he should say, perhaps +satisfying himself that no one was within hearing in the hall. At +length he turned about, having closed the door, as if carelessly, with +his foot, and advancing slowly, in deep thought, he took his seat at +the side of the table opposite to mine. There was a brief interval of +silence, after which he said:-- + +"I imagine that you have a shrewd suspicion of the object of my early +visit; but I suppose I must go into particulars. Must I?" + +"I have no conception," I replied, "what your object may be." + +"Well, well," said he becoming more at his ease as he proceeded, "it +may be told in a few words. You know that it is totally impossible, +quite out of the question, that an off-hand young fellow like me, and +a good-looking girl like yourself, could meet continually as you and +I have done, without an attachment--a liking growing up on one side or +other; in short, I think I have let you know as plainly as if I spoke +it, that I have been in love with you, almost from the first time +I saw you." He paused, but I was too much horrified to speak. He +interpreted my silence favourably. "I can tell you," he continued, +"I'm reckoned rather hard to please, and very hard to _hit_. I can't +say when I was taken with a girl before, so you see fortune reserved +me--." + +Here the odious wretch actually put his arm round my waist: the +action at once restored me to utterance, and with the most indignant +vehemence I released myself from his hold, and at the same time +said:-- + +"I _have_, sir, of course, perceived your most disagreeable +attentions; they have long been a source of great annoyance to me; and +you must be aware that I have marked my disapprobation, my disgust, as +unequivocally as I possibly could, without actual indelicacy." + +I paused, almost out of breath from the rapidity with which I had +spoken; and without giving him time to renew the conversation, I +hastily quitted the room, leaving him in a paroxysm of rage and +mortification. As I ascended the stairs, I heard him open the +parlour-door with violence, and take two or three rapid strides in the +direction in which I was moving. I was now much frightened, and ran +the whole way until I reached my room, and having locked the door, I +listened breathlessly, but heard no sound. This relieved me for +the present; but so much had I been overcome by the agitation and +annoyance attendant upon the scene which I had just passed through, +that when my cousin Emily knocked at the door, I was weeping in great +agitation. You will readily conceive my distress, when you reflect +upon my strong dislike to my cousin Edward, combined with my youth and +extreme inexperience. Any proposal of such a nature must have agitated +me; but that it should come from the man whom, of all others, I +instinctively most loathed and abhorred, and to whom I had, as clearly +as manner could do it, expressed the state of my feelings, was almost +too annoying to be borne; it was a calamity, too, in which I could not +claim the sympathy of my cousin Emily, which had always been extended +to me in my minor grievances. Still I hoped that it might not be +unattended with good; for I thought that one inevitable and most +welcome consequence would result from this painful _eclaircissement_, +in the discontinuance of my cousin's odious persecution. + +When I arose next morning, it was with the fervent hope that I +might never again behold his face, or even hear his name; but such +a consummation, though devoutedly to be wished, was hardly likely to +occur. The painful impressions of yesterday were too vivid to be +at once erased; and I could not help feeling some dim foreboding of +coming annoyance and evil. To expect on my cousin's part anything like +delicacy or consideration for me, was out of the question. I saw that +he had set his heart upon my property, and that he was not likely +easily to forego such a prize, possessing what might have been +considered opportunities and facilities almost to compel my +compliance. I now keenly felt the unreasonableness of my father's +conduct in placing me to reside with a family, with all the members of +which, with one exception, he was wholly unacquainted, and I bitterly +felt the helplessness of my situation. I determined, however, in the +event of my cousin's persevering in his addresses, to lay all the +particulars before my uncle, although he had never, in kindness or +intimacy, gone a step beyond our first interview, and to throw myself +upon his hospitality and his sense of honour for protection against a +repetition of such annoyances. + +My cousin's conduct may appear to have been an inadequate cause for +such serious uneasiness; but my alarm was awakened neither by his acts +nor by words, but entirely by his manner, which was strange and even +intimidating. At the beginning of our yesterday's interview, there was +a sort of bullying swagger in his air, which, towards the end, +gave place to something bordering upon the brutal vehemence of an +undisguised ruffian, a transition which had tempted me into a belief +that he might seek, even forcibly, to extort from me a consent to his +wishes, or by means still more horrible, of which I scarcely dared to +trust myself to think, to possess himself of my property. + +I was early next day summoned to attend my uncle in his private +room, which lay in a corner turret of the old building; and thither +I accordingly went, wondering all the way what this unusual measure +might prelude. When I entered the room, he did not rise in his usual +courteous way to greet me, but simply pointed to a chair opposite to +his own; this boded nothing agreeable. I sat down, however, silently +waiting until he should open the conversation. + +"Lady Margaret," at length he said, in a tone of greater sternness +than I thought him capable of using, "I have hitherto spoken to you as +a friend, but I have not forgotten that I am also your guardian, and +that my authority as such gives me a right to controul your conduct. +I shall put a question to you, and I expect and will demand a +plain, direct answer. Have I rightly been informed that you have +contemptuously rejected the suit and hand of my son Edward?" + +I stammered forth with a good deal of trepidation:-- + +"I believe, that is, I have, sir, rejected my cousin's proposals; and +my coldness and discouragement might have convinced him that I had +determined to do so." + +"Madame," replied he, with suppressed, but, as it appeared to me, +intense anger, "I have lived long enough to know that _coldness and +discouragement_, and such terms, form the common cant of a worthless +coquette. You know to the full, as well as I, that _coldness and +discouragement_ may be so exhibited as to convince their object that +he is neither distasteful nor indifferent to the person who wears that +manner. You know, too, none better, that an affected neglect, when +skillfully managed, is amongst the most formidable of the allurements +which artful beauty can employ. I tell you, madame, that having, +without one word spoken in discouragement, permitted my son's most +marked attentions for a twelvemonth or more, you have no _right_ to +dismiss him with no further explanation than demurely telling him that +you had always looked coldly upon him, and neither your wealth nor +_your ladyship_ (there was an emphasis of scorn on the word which +would have become Sir Giles Overreach himself) can warrant you in +treating with contempt the affectionate regard of an honest heart." + +I was too much shocked at this undisguised attempt to bully me into +an acquiescence in the interested and unprincipled plan for their +own aggrandisement, which I now perceived my uncle and his son had +deliberately formed, at once to find strength or collectedness to +frame an answer to what he had said. At length I replied, with a +firmness that surprised myself:-- + +"In all that you have just now said, sir, you have grossly misstated +my conduct and motives. Your information must have been most +incorrect, as far as it regards my conduct towards my cousin; my +manner towards him could have conveyed nothing but dislike; and if +anything could have added to the strong aversion which I have long +felt towards him, it would be his attempting thus to frighten me into +a marriage which he knows to be revolting to me, and which is sought +by him only as a means for securing to himself whatever property is +mine." + +As I said this, I fixed my eyes upon those of my uncle, but he was too +old in the world's ways to falter beneath the gaze of more searching +eyes than mine; he simply said-- + +"Are you acquainted with the provisions of your father's will?" + +I answered in the affirmative; and he continued:--"Then you must be +aware that if my son Edward were, which God forbid, the unprincipled, +reckless man, the ruffian you pretend to think him"--(here he spoke +very slowly, as if he intended that every word which escaped him +should be registered in my memory, while at the same time the +expression of his countenance underwent a gradual but horrible change, +and the eyes which he fixed upon me became so darkly vivid, that +I almost lost sight of everything else)--"if he were what you have +described him, do you think, child, he would have found no shorter way +than marriage to gain his ends? A single blow, an outrage not a degree +worse than you insinuate, would transfer your property to us!!" + +I stood staring at him for many minutes after he had ceased to speak, +fascinated by the terrible, serpent-like gaze, until he continued with +a welcome change of countenance:-- + +"I will not speak again to you, upon this topic, until one month has +passed. You shall have time to consider the relative advantages of the +two courses which are open to you. I should be sorry to hurry you to +a decision. I am satisfied with having stated my feelings upon the +subject, and pointed out to you the path of duty. Remember this day +month; not one word sooner." + +He then rose, and I left the room, much agitated and exhausted. + +This interview, all the circumstances attending it, but most +particularly the formidable expression of my uncle's countenance while +he talked, though hypothetically, of _murder_, combined to arouse all +my worst suspicions of him. I dreaded to look upon the face that +had so recently worn the appalling livery of guilt and malignity. I +regarded it with the mingled fear and loathing with which one looks +upon an object which has tortured them in a night-mare. + +In a few days after the interview, the particulars of which I have +just detailed, I found a note upon my toilet-table, and on opening it +I read as follows:-- + +"_My Dear Lady Margaret_, + +You will be, perhaps, surprised to see a strange face in your room +today. I have dismissed your Irish maid, and secured a French one to +wait upon you; a step rendered necessary by my proposing shortly to +visit the Continent with all my family. + +Your faithful guardian, "_ARTHUR TYRELL_." + +On inquiry, I found that my faithful attendant was actually gone, and +far on her way to the town of Galway; and in her stead there appeared +a tall, raw-boned, ill-looking, elderly Frenchwoman, whose sullen and +presuming manners seemed to imply that her vocation had never before +been that of a lady's-maid. I could not help regarding her as a +creature of my uncle's, and therefore to be dreaded, even had she been +in no other way suspicious. + +Days and weeks passed away without any, even a momentary doubt upon my +part, as to the course to be pursued by me. The allotted period had +at length elapsed; the day arrived upon which I was to communicate my +decision to my uncle. Although my resolution had never for a moment +wavered, I could not shake off the dread of the approaching colloquy; +and my heart sank within me as I heard the expected summons. I had +not seen my cousin Edward since the occurrence of the grand +_eclaircissement_; he must have studiously avoided me; I suppose from +policy, it could not have been from delicacy. I was prepared for a +terrific burst of fury from my uncle, as soon as I should make known +my determination; and I not unreasonably feared that some act of +violence or of intimidation would next be resorted to. Filled with +these dreary forebodings, I fearfully opened the study door, and the +next minute I stood in my uncle's presence. He received me with +a courtesy which I dreaded, as arguing a favourable anticipation +respecting the answer which I was to give; and after some slight delay +he began by saying-- + +"It will be a relief to both of us, I believe, to bring this +conversation as soon as possible to an issue. You will excuse me, +then, my dear niece, for speaking with a bluntness which, under other +circumstances, would be unpardonable. You have, I am certain, given +the subject of our last interview fair and serious consideration; +and I trust that you are now prepared with candour to lay your answer +before me. A few words will suffice; we perfectly understand one +another." + +He paused; and I, though feeling that I stood upon a mine which might +in an instant explode, nevertheless answered with perfect composure: +"I must now, sir, make the same reply which I did upon the last +occasion, and I reiterate the declaration which I then made, that I +never can nor will, while life and reason remain, consent to a union +with my cousin Edward." + +This announcement wrought no apparent change in Sir Arthur, except +that he became deadly, almost lividly pale. He seemed lost in dark +thought for a minute, and then, with a slight effort, said, "You have +answered me honestly and directly; and you say your resolution is +unchangeable; well, would it had been otherwise--would it had been +otherwise--but be it as it is; I am satisfied." + +He gave me his hand--it was cold and damp as death; under an assumed +calmness, it was evident that he was fearfully agitated. He continued +to hold my hand with an almost painful pressure, while, as if +unconsciously, seeming to forget my presence, he muttered, "Strange, +strange, strange, indeed! fatuity, helpless fatuity!" there was here a +long pause. "Madness _indeed_ to strain a cable that is rotten to +the very heart; it must break--and then--all goes." There was again +a pause of some minutes, after which, suddenly changing his voice and +manner to one of wakeful alacrity, he exclaimed, + +"Margaret, my son Edward shall plague you no more. He leaves this +country to-morrow for France; he shall speak no more upon this +subject--never, never more; whatever events depended upon your answer +must now take their own course; but as for this fruitless proposal, it +has been tried enough; it can be repeated no more." + +At these words he coldly suffered my hand to drop, as if to express +his total abandonment of all his projected schemes of alliance; and +certainly the action, with the accompanying words, produced upon my +mind a more solemn and depressing effect than I believed possible to +have been caused by the course which I had determined to pursue; it +struck upon my heart with an awe and heaviness which _will_ accompany +the accomplishment of an important and irrevocable act, even though +no doubt or scruple remains to make it possible that the agent should +wish it undone. + +"Well," said my uncle, after a little time, "we now cease to speak +upon this topic, never to resume it again. Remember you shall have +no farther uneasiness from Edward; he leaves Ireland for France +to-morrow; this will be a relief to you; may I depend upon your +_honour_ that no word touching the subject of this interview shall +ever escape you?" I gave him the desired assurance; he said, "It is +well; I am satisfied; we have nothing more, I believe, to say upon +either side, and my presence must be a restraint upon you, I shall +therefore bid you farewell." I then left the apartment, scarcely +knowing what to think of the strange interview which had just taken +place. + +On the next day my uncle took occasion to tell me that Edward had +actually sailed, if his intention had not been prevented by adverse +winds or weather; and two days after he actually produced a letter +from his son, written, as it said, _on board_, and despatched while +the ship was getting under weigh. This was a great satisfaction to me, +and as being likely to prove so, it was no doubt communicated to me by +Sir Arthur. + +During all this trying period I had found infinite consolation in the +society and sympathy of my dear cousin Emily. I never, in after-life, +formed a friendship so close, so fervent, and upon which, in all its +progress, I could look back with feelings of such unalloyed pleasure, +upon whose termination I must ever dwell with so deep, so yet +unembittered a sorrow. In cheerful converse with her I soon recovered +my spirits considerably, and passed my time agreeably enough, although +still in the utmost seclusion. Matters went on smoothly enough, +although I could not help sometimes feeling a momentary, but horrible +uncertainty respecting my uncle's character; which was not altogether +unwarranted by the circumstances of the two trying interviews, the +particulars of which I have just detailed. The unpleasant impression +which these conferences were calculated to leave upon my mind was fast +wearing away, when there occurred a circumstance, slight indeed +in itself, but calculated irrepressibly to awaken all my worst +suspicions, and to overwhelm me again with anxiety and terror. + +I had one day left the house with my cousin Emily, in order to take +a ramble of considerable length, for the purpose of sketching some +favourite views, and we had walked about half a mile when I perceived +that we had forgotten our drawing materials, the absence of which +would have defeated the object of our walk. Laughing at our own +thoughtlessness, we returned to the house, and leaving Emily outside, +I ran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils which lay +in my bed-room. As I ran up the stairs, I was met by the tall, +ill-looking Frenchwoman, evidently a good deal flurried; "Que veut +Madame?" said she, with a more decided effort to be polite, than I +had ever known her make before. "No, no--no matter," said I, hastily +running by her in the direction of my room. "Madame," cried she, in a +high key, "restez ici s'il vous plait, votre chambre n'est pas faite." +I continued to move on without heeding her. She was some way behind +me, and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance, for +I was now upon the very lobby, she made a desperate attempt to seize +hold of my person; she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl, +which she drew from my shoulders, but slipping at the same time upon +the polished oak floor, she fell at full length upon the boards. A +little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange +woman, I hastily pushed open the door of my room, at which I now +stood, in order to escape from her; but great was my amazement on +entering to find the apartment preoccupied. The window was open, and +beside it stood two male figures; they appeared to be examining the +fastenings of the casement, and their backs were turned towards the +door. One of them was my uncle; they both had turned on my entrance, +as if startled; the stranger was booted and cloaked, and wore a heavy, +broad-leafed hat over his brows; he turned but for a moment, and +averted his face; but I had seen enough to convince me that he was no +other than my cousin Edward. My uncle had some iron instrument in his +hand, which he hastily concealed behind his back; and coming towards +me, said something as if in an explanatory tone; but I was too +much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be. He said +something about "_repairs_--window-frames--cold, and safety." I did +not wait, however, to ask or to receive explanations, but hastily left +the room. As I went down stairs I thought I heard the voice of +the Frenchwoman in all the shrill volubility of excuse, and others +uttering suppressed but vehement imprecations, or what seemed to me to +be such. + +I joined my cousin Emily quite out of breath. I need not say that my +head was too full of other things to think much of drawing for that +day. I imparted to her frankly the cause of my alarms, but, at +the same time, as gently as I could; and with tears she promised +vigilance, devotion, and love. I never had reason for a moment to +repent the unreserved confidence which I then reposed in her. She was +no less surprised than I at the unexpected appearance of Edward, whose +departure for France neither of us had for a moment doubted, but +which was now proved by his actual presence to be nothing more than an +imposture practised, I feared, for no good end. The situation in which +I had found my uncle had very nearly removed all my doubts as to his +designs; I magnified suspicions into certainties, and dreaded night +after night that I should be murdered in my bed. The nervousness +produced by sleepless nights and days of anxious fears increased the +horrors of my situation to such a degree, that I at length wrote a +letter to a Mr. Jefferies, an old and faithful friend of my father's, +and perfectly acquainted with all his affairs, praying him, for +God's sake, to relieve me from my present terrible situation, and +communicating without reserve the nature and grounds of my suspicions. +This letter I kept sealed and directed for two or three days always +about my person, for discovery would have been ruinous, in expectation +of an opportunity, which might be safely trusted, of having it placed +in the post-office; as neither Emily nor I were permitted to pass +beyond the precincts of the demesne itself, which was surrounded by +high walls formed of dry stone, the difficulty of procuring such an +opportunity was greatly enhanced. + +At this time Emily had a short conversation with her father, which she +reported to me instantly. After some indifferent matter, he had +asked her whether she and I were upon good terms, and whether I was +unreserved in my disposition. She answered in the affirmative; and +he then inquired whether I had been much surprised to find him in my +chamber on the other day. She answered that I had been both surprised +and amused. "And what did she think of George Wilson's appearance?" +"Who?" inquired she. "Oh! the architect," he answered, "who is to +contract for the repairs of the house; he is accounted a handsome +fellow." "She could not see his face," said Emily, "and she was in +such a hurry to escape that she scarcely observed him." Sir Arthur +appeared satisfied, and the conversation ended. + +This slight conversation, repeated accurately to me by Emily, had the +effect of confirming, if indeed any thing was required to do so, +all that I had before believed as to Edward's actual presence; and I +naturally became, if possible, more anxious than ever to despatch the +letter to Mr. Jefferies. An opportunity at length occurred. As Emily +and I were walking one day near the gate of the demesne, a lad from +the village happened to be passing down the avenue from the house; +the spot was secluded, and as this person was not connected by service +with those whose observation I dreaded, I committed the letter to his +keeping, with strict injunctions that he should put it, without delay, +into the receiver of the town post-office; at the same time I added +a suitable gratuity, and the man having made many protestations of +punctuality, was soon out of sight. He was hardly gone when I began +to doubt my discretion in having trusted him; but I had no better +or safer means of despatching the letter, and I was not warranted in +suspecting him of such wanton dishonesty as a disposition to tamper +with it; but I could not be quite satisfied of its safety until I had +received an answer, which could not arrive for a few days. Before I +did, however, an event occurred which a little surprised me. I was +sitting in my bed-room early in the day, reading by myself, when I +heard a knock at the door. "Come in," said I, and my uncle entered the +room. "Will you excuse me," said he, "I sought you in the parlour, and +thence I have come here. I desired to say a word to you. I trust that +you have hitherto found my conduct to you such as that of a guardian +towards his ward should be." I dared not withhold my assent. "And," +he continued, "I trust that you have not found me harsh or unjust, +and that you have perceived, my dear niece, that I have sought to make +this poor place as agreeable to you as may be?" I assented again; +and he put his hand in his pocket, whence he drew a folded paper, and +dashing it upon the table with startling emphasis he said, "Did you +write that letter?" The sudden and fearful alteration of his voice, +manner, and face, but more than all, the unexpected production of my +letter to Mr. Jefferies, which I at once recognised, so confounded and +terrified me, that I felt almost choking. I could not utter a word. +"Did you write that letter?" he repeated, with slow and intense +emphasis. "You did, liar and hypocrite. You dared to write that foul +and infamous libel; but it shall be your last. Men will universally +believe you mad, if I choose to call for an inquiry. I can make +you appear so. The suspicions expressed in this letter are the +hallucinations and alarms of a moping lunatic. I have defeated your +first attempt, madam; and by the holy God, if ever you make another, +chains, darkness, and the keeper's whip shall be your portion." With +these astounding words he left the room, leaving me almost fainting. + +I was now almost reduced to despair; my last cast had failed; I had no +course left but that of escaping secretly from the castle, and placing +myself under the protection of the nearest magistrate. I felt if this +were not done, and speedily, that I should be _murdered_. No one, from +mere description, can have an idea of the unmitigated horror of my +situation; a helpless, weak, inexperienced girl, placed under the +power, and wholly at the mercy of evil men, and feeling that I had it +not in my power to escape for one moment from the malignant influences +under which I was probably doomed to fall; with a consciousness, too, +that if violence, if murder were designed, no human being would be +near to aid me; my dying shriek would be lost in void space. + +I had seen Edward but once during his visit, and as I did not meet +him again, I began to think that he must have taken his departure; a +conviction which was to a certain degree satisfactory, as I regarded +his absence as indicating the removal of immediate danger. Emily also +arrived circuitously at the same conclusion, and not without good +grounds, for she managed indirectly to learn that Edward's black horse +had actually been for a day and part of a night in the castle stables, +just at the time of her brother's supposed visit. The horse had gone, +and as she argued, the rider must have departed with it. + +This point being so far settled, I felt a little less uncomfortable; +when being one day alone in my bed-room, I happened to look out from +the window, and to my unutterable horror, I beheld peering through an +opposite casement, my cousin Edward's face. Had I seen the evil one +himself in bodily shape, I could not have experienced a more sickening +revulsion. I was too much appalled to move at once from the window, +but I did so soon enough to avoid his eye. He was looking fixedly down +into the narrow quadrangle upon which the window opened. I shrunk back +unperceived, to pass the rest of the day in terror and despair. I went +to my room early that night, but I was too miserable to sleep. + +At about twelve o'clock, feeling very nervous, I determined to call +my cousin Emily, who slept, you will remember, in the next room, which +communicated with mine by a second door. By this private entrance I +found my way into her chamber, and without difficulty persuaded her to +return to my room and sleep with me. We accordingly lay down together, +she undressed, and I with my clothes on, for I was every moment +walking up and down the room, and felt too nervous and miserable to +think of rest or comfort. Emily was soon fast asleep, and I lay awake, +fervently longing for the first pale gleam of morning, and reckoning +every stroke of the old clock with an impatience which made every hour +appear like six. + +It must have been about one o'clock when I thought I heard a slight +noise at the partition door between Emily's room and mine, as if +caused by somebody's turning the key in the lock. I held my breath, +and the same sound was repeated at the second door of my room, that +which opened upon the lobby; the sound was here distinctly caused +by the revolution of the bolt in the lock, and it was followed by a +slight pressure upon the door itself, as if to ascertain the security +of the lock. The person, whoever it might be, was probably satisfied, +for I heard the old boards of the lobby creak and strain, as if +under the weight of somebody moving cautiously over them. My sense +of hearing became unnaturally, almost painfully acute. I suppose +the imagination added distinctness to sounds vague in themselves. I +thought that I could actually hear the breathing of the person who was +slowly returning along the lobby. + +At the head of the stair-case there appeared to occur a pause; and I +could distinctly hear two or three sentences hastily whispered; +the steps then descended the stairs with apparently less caution. I +ventured to walk quickly and lightly to the lobby door, and attempted +to open it; it was indeed fast locked upon the outside, as was +also the other. I now felt that the dreadful hour was come; but one +desperate expedient remained--it was to awaken Emily, and by our +united strength, to attempt to force the partition door, which was +slighter than the other, and through this to pass to the lower part of +the house, whence it might be possible to escape to the grounds, and +so to the village. I returned to the bedside, and shook Emily, but in +vain; nothing that I could do availed to produce from her more than +a few incoherent words; it was a death-like sleep. She had certainly +drunk of some narcotic, as, probably, had I also, in spite of all the +caution with which I had examined every thing presented to us to eat +or drink. I now attempted, with as little noise as possible, to force +first one door, then the other; but all in vain. I believe no strength +could have affected my object, for both doors opened inwards. I +therefore collected whatever moveables I could carry thither, and +piled them against the doors, so as to assist me in whatever attempts +I should make to resist the entrance of those without. I then returned +to the bed and endeavoured again, but fruitlessly, to awaken my +cousin. It was not sleep, it was torpor, lethargy, death. I knelt down +and prayed with an agony of earnestness; and then seating myself upon +the bed, I awaited my fate with a kind of terrible tranquillity. + +I heard a faint clanking sound from the narrow court which I +have already mentioned, as if caused by the scraping of some iron +instrument against stones or rubbish. I at first determined not to +disturb the calmness which I now experienced, by uselessly watching +the proceedings of those who sought my life; but as the sounds +continued, the horrible curiosity which I felt overcame every +other emotion, and I determined, at all hazards, to gratify it. I, +therefore, crawled upon my knees to the window, so as to let the +smallest possible portion of my head appear above the sill. + +The moon was shining with an uncertain radiance upon the antique grey +buildings, and obliquely upon the narrow court beneath; one side of +it was therefore clearly illuminated, while the other was lost in +obscurity, the sharp outlines of the old gables, with their nodding +clusters of ivy, being at first alone visible. Whoever or whatever +occasioned the noise which had excited my curiosity, was concealed +under the shadow of the dark side of the quadrangle. I placed my hand +over my eyes to shade them from the moonlight, which was so bright as +to be almost dazzling, and, peering into the darkness, I first dimly, +but afterwards gradually, almost with full distinctness, beheld the +form of a man engaged in digging what appeared to be a rude hole close +under the wall. Some implements, probably a shovel and pickaxe, lay +beside him, and to these he every now and then applied himself as the +nature of the ground required. He pursued his task rapidly, and with +as little noise as possible. "So," thought I, as shovelful after +shovelful, the dislodged rubbish mounted into a heap, "they are +digging the grave in which, before two hours pass, I must lie, a +cold, mangled corpse. I am _theirs_--I cannot escape." I felt as if +my reason was leaving me. I started to my feet, and in mere despair I +applied myself again to each of the two doors alternately. I strained +every nerve and sinew, but I might as well have attempted, with my +single strength, to force the building itself from its foundations. I +threw myself madly upon the ground, and clasped my hands over my eyes +as if to shut out the horrible images which crowded upon me. + +The paroxysm passed away. I prayed once more with the bitter, agonised +fervour of one who feels that the hour of death is present and +inevitable. When I arose, I went once more to the window and looked +out, just in time to see a shadowy figure glide stealthily along the +wall. The task was finished. The catastrophe of the tragedy must soon +be accomplished. I determined now to defend my life to the last; and +that I might be able to do so with some effect, I searched the room +for something which might serve as a weapon; but either through +accident, or else in anticipation of such a possibility, every thing +which might have been made available for such a purpose had been +removed. + +I must then die tamely and without an effort to defend myself. A +thought suddenly struck me; might it not be possible to escape through +the door, which the assassin must open in order to enter the room? +I resolved to make the attempt. I felt assured that the door through +which ingress to the room would be effected was that which opened +upon the lobby. It was the more direct way, besides being, for obvious +reasons, less liable to interruption than the other. I resolved, then, +to place myself behind a projection of the wall, the shadow would +serve fully to conceal me, and when the door should be opened, and +before they should have discovered the identity of the occupant of +the bed, to creep noiselessly from the room, and then to trust to +Providence for escape. In order to facilitate this scheme, I removed +all the lumber which I had heaped against the door; and I had +nearly completed my arrangements, when I perceived the room suddenly +darkened, by the close approach of some shadowy object to the window. +On turning my eyes in that direction, I observed at the top of the +casement, as if suspended from above, first the feet, then the legs, +then the body, and at length the whole figure of a man present itself. +It was Edward Tyrrell. He appeared to be guiding his descent so as to +bring his feet upon the centre of the stone block which occupied the +lower part of the window; and having secured his footing upon this, he +kneeled down and began to gaze into the room. As the moon was gleaming +into the chamber, and the bed-curtains were drawn, he was able to +distinguish the bed itself and its contents. He appeared satisfied +with his scrutiny, for he looked up and made a sign with his hand. +He then applied his hands to the window-frame, which must have +been ingeniously contrived for the purpose, for with apparently no +resistance the whole frame, containing casement and all, slipped from +its position in the wall, and was by him lowered into the room. The +cold night wind waved the bed-curtains, and he paused for a moment; +all was still again, and he stepped in upon the floor of the room. +He held in his hand what appeared to be a steel instrument, shaped +something like a long hammer. This he held rather behind him, while, +with three long, _tip-toe_ strides, he brought himself to the bedside. +I felt that the discovery must now be made, and held my breath in +momentary expectation of the execration in which he would vent his +surprise and disappointment. I closed my eyes; there was a pause, but +it was a short one. I heard two dull blows, given in rapid succession; +a quivering sigh, and the long-drawn, heavy breathing of the sleeper +was for ever suspended. I unclosed my eyes, and saw the murderer fling +the quilt across the head of his victim; he then, with the instrument +of death still in his hand, proceeded to the lobby-door, upon which +he tapped sharply twice or thrice. A quick step was then heard +approaching, and a voice whispered something from without. Edward +answered, with a kind of shuddering chuckle, "Her ladyship is past +complaining; unlock the door, in the devil's name, unless you're +afraid to come in, and help me to lift her out of the window." The +key was turned in the lock, the door opened, and my uncle entered the +room. I have told you already that I had placed myself under the shade +of a projection of the wall, close to the door. I had instinctively +shrunk down cowering towards the ground on the entrance of Edward +through the window. When my uncle entered the room, he and his son +both stood so very close to me that his hand was every moment upon the +point of touching my face. I held my breath, and remained motionless +as death. + +"You had no interruption from the next room?" said my uncle. + +"No," was the brief reply. + +"Secure the jewels, Ned; the French harpy must not lay her claws upon +them. You're a steady hand, by G--d; not much blood--eh?" + +"Not twenty drops," replied his son, "and those on the quilt." + +"I'm glad it's over," whispered my uncle again; "we must lift the--the +_thing_ through the window, and lay the rubbish over it." + +They then turned to the bedside, and, winding the bed-clothes round +the body, carried it between them slowly to the window, and exchanging +a few brief words with some one below, they shoved it over the +window-sill, and I heard it fall heavily on the ground underneath. + +"I'll take the jewels," said my uncle; "there are two caskets in the +lower drawer." + +He proceeded, with an accuracy which, had I been more at ease, would +have furnished me with matter of astonishment, to lay his hand upon +the very spot where my jewels lay; and having possessed himself of +them, he called to his son:-- + +"Is the rope made fast above?" + +"I'm no fool; to be sure it is," replied he. + +They then lowered themselves from the window; and I rose lightly and +cautiously, scarcely daring to breathe, from my place of concealment, +and was creeping towards the door, when I heard my uncle's voice, in a +sharp whisper, exclaim, "Get up again; G--d d--n you, you've forgot +to lock the room door"; and I perceived, by the straining of the rope +which hung from above, that the mandate was instantly obeyed. Not +a second was to be lost. I passed through the door, which was only +closed, and moved as rapidly as I could, consistently with stillness, +along the lobby. Before I had gone many yards, I heard the door +through which I had just passed roughly locked on the inside. I glided +down the stairs in terror, lest, at every corner, I should meet the +murderer or one of his accomplices. I reached the hall, and listened, +for a moment, to ascertain whether all was silent around. No sound was +audible; the parlour windows opened on the park, and through one +of them I might, I thought, easily effect my escape. Accordingly, I +hastily entered; but, to my consternation, a candle was burning in the +room, and by its light I saw a figure seated at the dinner-table, upon +which lay glasses, bottles, and the other accompaniments of a drinking +party. Two or three chairs were placed about the table, irregularly, +as if hastily abandoned by their occupants. A single glance satisfied +me that the figure was that of my French attendant. She was fast +asleep, having, probably, drank deeply. There was something malignant +and ghastly in the calmness of this bad woman's features, dimly +illuminated as they were by the flickering blaze of the candle. A +knife lay upon the table, and the terrible thought struck me--"Should +I kill this sleeping accomplice in the guilt of the murderer, and thus +secure my retreat?" Nothing could be easier; it was but to draw the +blade across her throat, the work of a second. + +An instant's pause, however, corrected me. "No," thought I, "the God +who has conducted me thus far through the valley of the shadow of +death, will not abandon me now. I will fall into their hands, or I +will escape hence, but it shall be free from the stain of blood; His +will be done." I felt a confidence arising from this reflection, an +assurance of protection which I cannot describe. There were no other +means of escape, so I advanced, with a firm step and collected mind, +to the window. I noiselessly withdrew the bars, and unclosed the +shutters; I pushed open the casement, and without waiting to look +behind me, I ran with my utmost speed, scarcely feeling the ground +beneath me, down the avenue, taking care to keep upon the grass which +bordered it. I did not for a moment slacken my speed, and I had now +gained the central point between the park-gate and the mansion-house. +Here the avenue made a wider circuit, and in order to avoid delay, I +directed my way across the smooth sward round which the carriageway +wound, intending, at the opposite side of the level, at a point which +I distinguished by a group of old birch trees, to enter again upon the +beaten track, which was from thence tolerably direct to the gate. I +had, with my utmost speed, got about half way across this broad flat, +when the rapid tramp of a horse's hoofs struck upon my ear. My heart +swelled in my bosom, as though I would smother. The clattering of +galloping hoofs approached; I was pursued; they were now upon the +sward on which I was running; there was not a bush or a bramble to +shelter me; and, as if to render escape altogether desperate, the +moon, which had hitherto been obscured, at this moment shone forth +with a broad, clear light, which made every object distinctly visible. +The sounds were now close behind me. I felt my knees bending under +me, with the sensation which unnerves one in a dream. I reeled, +I stumbled, I fell; and at the same instant the cause of my alarm +wheeled past me at full gallop. It was one of the young fillies which +pastured loose about the park, whose frolics had thus all but maddened +me with terror. I scrambled to my feet, and rushed on with weak but +rapid steps, my sportive companion still galloping round and round me +with many a frisk and fling, until, at length, more dead than alive, +I reached the avenue-gate, and crossed the stile, I scarce knew how. +I ran through the village, in which all was silent as the grave, until +my progress was arrested by the hoarse voice of a sentinel, who +cried "Who goes there?" I felt that I was now safe. I turned in the +direction of the voice, and fell fainting at the soldier's feet. When +I came to myself, I was sitting in a miserable hovel, surrounded by +strange faces, all bespeaking curiosity and compassion. Many soldiers +were in it also; indeed, as I afterwards found, it was employed as a +guard-room by a detachment of troops quartered for that night in the +town. In a few words I informed their officer of the circumstances +which had occurred, describing also the appearance of the persons +engaged in the murder; and he, without further loss of time than was +necessary to procure the attendance of a magistrate, proceeded to the +mansion-house of Carrickleigh, taking with him a party of his men. +But the villains had discovered their mistake, and had effected their +escape before the arrival of the military. + +The Frenchwoman was, however, arrested in the neighbourhood upon the +next day. She was tried and condemned at the ensuing assizes; and +previous to her execution confessed that "_she had a hand in making +Hugh Tisdall's bed_." She had been a housekeeper in the castle at the +time, and a _chere amie_ of my uncle's. She was, in reality, able +to speak English like a native, but had exclusively used the French +language, I suppose to facilitate her designs. She died the same +hardened wretch she had lived, confessing her crimes only, as she +alleged, that her doing so might involve Sir Arthur Tyrrell, the +great author of her guilt and misery, and whom she now regarded with +unmitigated detestation. + +With the particulars of Sir Arthur's and his son's escape, as far +as they are known, you are acquainted. You are also in possession +of their after fate; the terrible, the tremendous retribution which, +after long delays of many years, finally overtook and crushed them. +Wonderful and inscrutable are the dealings of God with his creatures! + +Deep and fervent as must always be my gratitude to heaven for my +deliverance, effected by a chain of providential occurrences, the +failing of a single link of which must have ensured my destruction, +it was long before I could look back upon it with other feelings than +those of bitterness, almost of agony. The only being that had +ever really loved me, my nearest and dearest friend, ever ready to +sympathise, to counsel, and to assist; the gayest, the gentlest, the +warmest heart; the only creature on earth that cared for me; _her_ +life had been the price of my deliverance; and I then uttered the +wish, which no event of my long and sorrowful life has taught me to +recall, that she had been spared, and that, in her stead, _I_ were +mouldering in the grave, forgotten, and at rest. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Two Ghostly Mysteries, by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO GHOSTLY MYSTERIES *** + +***** This file should be named 12828.txt or 12828.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/2/12828/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Cathy Smith and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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