Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 3, Number 25, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 21 December 1872 — Page 8

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL. BT TIMOTHY TTTCOMB. I. There'sa song In the air!

I'-"

There's a star in the sky! There's a mother's deep prayer, And a baby's low cry

And the star rains its fire while the Beantt"For'the manger ol Bethlehem cradles a King! II. 5

There's a tnmnlt of Joy O'er the wonderful birth For the Virginia sweet hoy

Is the Lord of the e*Tth.

Ay! the star rains Its lire, and the Beautiful ft the Tn«r ger of Bethlehem cradles a Klngl XmZZ^Z lit. ...v.,

IB the light of tt»fr*Urj Lie the ages lmpearled And that song from afar

Has swept over the world.

Every hearth Is aflame, and the Beautiful In tht?homes of the nations that Jesos la King.

IT.

We rejoice to the light, Ana we echo the song

Th^comeiTdown through the night From the heavenly throng. Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they -And we Street in his cradle our Savior and

King. [—Scrlbner'* Monthly.

t,- [From Harper's Bazaar.]

Christmas Eve.,,

Off to-night I Mail train, eh? Why, Talbot, old follow, you will lose the very cream of the bunting. Nice open weather, with the scent breast-bigh, and the horses in tbeir best form. We draw Apple Gorse on Wednesday—a sure find and a splendid country. I want you to show these Melton dandies at Lord Wbipham'sthe way over Bullingsley Brook. It is a pity to leave us Just now."

Thus spoke our veteran M.

I, Talbot Citrew, whose name figured in the Landed Gentry as second son of Francis Carew, Esq., of Harbledown Court, and in the Army List as lieutenant In alight cavalry regiment, looked ruefal enough, I dare sav, as I assured tbe good old master of the hounds that sthere was no help for it, and that with all my desire to stay until the frost should put a stop to oar sylvan enjoyments, go I must. The fact was that yny regiuient was under orders for

India, and that before we sailed var father had nrged ine to accept an "invitation to spend the Christmas with an iincle and aunt ot mine, a certain Sir Charles and Lady Treherne, who lived a ]ong way off, in the wost of England, ana whom it so happened that I had -not seen sinoe my school-boy days. I bad no particular desire to devote my last davs in England to a visit at Bramshaw Hall, whero 1 had never before been a guest, and it was especially un-

Jploaslng to me to leave home just then. AVo lived in one of the most famous ot 'those "grass-sbires" which form the paradise of fox hunters and the emporium of weight-carrying hunters and iffi hounds of high degree while Bramshaw was situated in Blankshlre,which AH

overy one knows, is a rock, healthy, nnd einlnonty picturesque country. 'where lox bunting can only be pursued tinder difficulties.

My parents were, however, so anxious that I should not refuse my uncle's well-mean invitation that I reluctantly made up my mind to accept lt and as there were sundry inattora to transact In town, with refe ence to equipments, outfit, otc., and as we expected to embark for India early in the new year, I was obliged to hurry up to London at once to attend to the needful preparations. and to bo In time to reach Bramshaw before the Christmas festivities should fairly begin. When It began to •now hoavlly on the day of my loaving London I refleoted that tbe fine scenting weather in our own oountrv was over for the present, and that I bad not lost many runs by my unwilling absenoe.

With all that, I oould not help look log upon my visit to Bramsbaw as an unmitigated annoyanoe, I bad seen, as I have already remarked, very little of tbe relatives under whose roof I was to be domlcilod, and to all their friends as woll as to tho part ot tbe country in %btch they resided, I was a total stranger. The Trehernes were people •who had for several years led a quiet life on their own estate, and the district in whioh they lived was one that ihada reputation for tenaciously keeping up anoient usages and customs exploded In parts of England more infused with the metropolitan spirit of change. "I suppose I am in," said I to myself, as I gloomily gased out of tbe window of the railway carriage and "watched the whirling snow-flakea sweep past with blinding rapidity, "for what they call a good oldffcshlon«d Cbristmss. /know. Round games, snapdragon, bllndman's-buff. forfeits, and the rest and I shall be luoky if I escape hunt-tbe slipper."

Bramshaw Hall turned out to be "fine old place, built of stone whioh age had covered with nioesea and liohena of dainty green and golden russet tints, and very much superior in an artiatic •point of view to the red bricks and white ooplngs of our own ancestral mansion in central England. The Hall stood also in a commanding position, perched as it was on a atone terrace, overlooking all the surrounding country with suitehorrent woods, andbai peaks of gray rock, and tnepnrpl moorland olotbiog the neighboring bights as with a yal robe. One part of the old boose—the western endlooked upon a really lovely glen, something like a hit of Cumberland soenery transplanted to the south and there was a steep fall here from where the terrace ended down to the rough rooks beneath, and to the stream that battled and frothed among the boulders and deep overhanging banks of its narrow

I was very kindly retired by the baronet and by my aunt—It was Lady Trsherne, by-the-byo, to whom I was related—ana found myself welcomed by a number of guests ol different ages, ranging, so Ikr as I could guess, from •even to seventy year*, moat of whom "were Blank* hire people, or from the adjacent counties. I was the only late arrival, for alt the others had been for •everal days at Bramshaw so that, as I did not possess the slightest local knowledge, I was glad to get what !Frp»chmen call that carte dm pay* from those who were better Informed than I "was. Tbore was a young follow there whom I did know, one Tollemsche— [Lionel Totamacbe—a full cornet in the iLtncer regiment quartered at Slochesler. and who** relations had got him •n introduction to Sir Chartai as bcoai of the magnates of the eountiy side,

Awfully Jolly old place, you know, and all that/' said Cornet ToUemaofee to me, aside, and with an air of mysterious importance. "And as regards ur uncle and aunt, only wish that ww* mot* ot the MUM text, tar

kinder le I never kqpw. Capital cook, deeent cover-snoot-house, ing, and pretty girls staying here but

You don't believe in ghosts, Carew, of course?" of course not, said I, wondering.

Nor d«» I. Awful stufT said my friend, and went off to flirt with a Miss Porter, who came from Rochester too.

A lady^ whose acquaintance I preaently made, and who liked, apparently, to hen? theaound of l^W own voice, was, more explicit than the eifgmatlcal suballefh had Been. It waa thus that Mm Kethven satplalned mattars ••Why, you M*, Mr. Qarew, we ar0 rather celebrated for haunted howMf in tbis part of the countrf.and the wonder Was rsther thai BrtAshsw.old asH la. and with all the dissdnilJlilfWl donefiere that must have Msn done Of course—you men are satt wICKea cres^, tares, Mr. Carew, though of course you won't agree with me about *hat should not have haul aghost of lts own belore, But reaUy. what wtth thSroaU lings, and what with ihe light tread that passes by our bedroom doors at tbe strangest bones of ths night, and what with vague movements, and creaking of tbe old oak stairs, and things

being

H.,a

thorough sportsman, and a genial, warm-nearted gentleman of the old school, with whom I had been a favordt6 ever since h© ft rat rated in©, at the "ripe age of ten, tor riding my shaggy pony too close to the leading bounds,

¥Sibot

disturbed or thrown down

In a way no servant can account for— why, on© does not kno^r what to think and excepting your good aunt and uncle to whom no one likes to speak on tbe'subject, assure you we are all exceedingly uneaw ana uncomfortable."

And indeed, on farther inquiry, so I found it. A vague feeling oi discomfort, almost of alarm, was abroad among the guests. Dinner, however, so far as I could see, dispelled all these dismal day dreams as \ff baunted houses and creaking stairs and indeed I have not oflten' known people who enjoyed themselves bo heartily as these Blankshire gentry around my uncles hospitable board. They all knew each other, and had at tbeir fingers' ends, so to speak, tbe names and circumstances of every married daughter, and of every son at Sandhurst or the university. A tew outsiders there were: Tollemache, the Porter girls, and Major Porter—an apoplectic old soldier, who rare-, ly spoke except with reference to "the Dook" or "the Peninsula"—and myself esoteric persons, who did not know who Mary and Jans had married, and who had never admired Frank* score at cricket, or tbe matchless horseman-, ship of Adolphus. But thsy were all very kind, and did their best to lighten our natural sense of inferiority to those who were better informed. The dinner was an excellent one, and it passed merrily, fnd tbe clttldren came in at dessert id' gay frocks and sashes snd velvet

tunics

Eed

andshinintfcnrls, aooord-

ing to sex and complexion and there was a groat «ilver-gilt caldron full of something hot and strong which was called the wassail-bowl, and we all sip-

and laughed, and become seasonaly merry and blithely sportive. Then in the drawing-room there were games of all sorts—one of forfeits among them—and, to my own amassment,! found myself voted by the children into the high dignity and office of Lord of Misrule, or Grand Mufti, or something of tbe sort, which post I accepted be cause they clapped their little bands and seemed so eager and bright-eyed, and because even then, at one-and-twenty, I could not bear to say to children nay. And we bad a great deal of romping, laughter, nnd intense nonsense, to the disgust of young Toilersache, who wondered hsw an officer of my standing could thus demean himself until the tired darlings wore token off to bed, and it was almost time for us fcrown people to go to bed too. I tbink the liveliest of the young girls there, tbe quickest guesser ol charade or conundrum, the deftest at "post" or "puss in tho cornsr," the smartest competitor and forfeits, was my yonng cousin Blanche, the only child ot Sir Charles and Lady Treherne, a delloate pale slip ot a girl, wiih fins eyes and long fair hair, but by no moans so pretty as several of the little richcomplexloned wesl of England pixies who frolicked around her. Blanche's health, as I conjectured when first she

ut her thin hand into that ot "Cousin Carew," waa none of ths best and I oould see byLsdy Treherae's bslf-anxious, half-gratified look that she was surprised by lbs nnsusl snimation which her daughter, osnslly languid and reserved, displsyed on ths occasion of these Christmas sports.

Well, ws w?nt to bed. My room was at the east end of the house, snd was known as ths Tapestry Room. Its walls were, Indeed, covered with tapestry oi great antiquity and ugliness, snd the bed waa an imposing structure, calculated to impart to the Intelligent fbr-

bright, burned on the ample hearth, where the massive "dogs" or andirons ol parcel gilt steel were formed to re-

¥resent

the heraldic cosnisanoe of ths

rebernes. I was tired, bnt not disposed to sleep so Instead of retiring to rest, I sat down before the fire, from time to time teasing afresh log into ths blase, snd meditating on many things, on my life, psst, present, snd future, ss I gssed on the glowing embers, which seemed to have that atrange fosoi nation for ms that thej have had for thousands.

At last ths sullsn sound of ths great clock on tho turret shove the stablss reminded me thst it wss very late, conventionally as wsll as actually, snd that I had better get some sleep while I wss that,

could and then It was that, fueling my watch, and missing that aocustc ed pocket oompamlon, I reoollec

Fieoe

in ths uncertain light, gliding with a noiseless tresd and a smooth sveness of motion which was of itself renpsrkabls. I am, I hobe, as brave as my neighbors, and I may say, witfc^SV bojrttlng, that I have nOKbean found lMdtlg when face to face WKh dangej: in aUpglble ahape: buHrconfeai that a cold# shuddemv chill rah through my limbs, andfnst rnf heart MfepdodtW lsd horse, and then fceemed besting, ss I caugt| teroui form silen preaching me. The

storyof Vague alsitns smong the •isitoii on account of strange occurrsncss by niglxt in that old house, the very sodae. wfih Its «61emn state of antique magmfioence, .for pie manifestation of ME^h'^^R^^^^B^bairhidle Words wd l^.tosught thehjit, Che time whm

they

3cancy..open

fooling for aocuatomrecollected

tbat'when we were at play down stairs my watch had been one oi the forfeited pledges, lata redeemed, and that It had been left lying on the marble mantel*

In tbe great drawing-room, since had forgotten to take it up when my little playmates left us. "It serves me right,r' said I. cynically, with the vf» memorsnoe of Tolls on soke's foes floatting before my mental vision, "for making such a tool of mysslf, mind 1 I'll fetch it." Sol took up my candle and eailed forth. The passage which gave aeoess tomy rooss ww mJL ed the Oothle Gallery, pMhably because It wss narrow and dark, with hideous medievsl esrvlngs la sJehss, and stained-glsss osssmints, through tbe tinted panes oi which the pore white snow outside looked crimson, ochre yellow, or of a duaky green. This passage leads into the wider snd loftier one styled the Oaken Gallery where the family portraits hstxg sgainst ths paneled walls sad from this the broad and elaborately oarved statrcass or dark and polished wood oondncta to the entrance hall below. I made my way to the drawing-room, found tny watch without difficulty, the centre of a heap of torn glores, crashed flowsrs. snd the pink or bine jpapers that had been wrapped around French bonbons, relics of tho Juveasile revalry. I had nearly reached my room sgala when a wttst of wind, caused by the sudden opening of a door, extinguished my candle. Immediate!/ afterward I aaw the faint glimmer ora light slowly and steadily approaching. Nearer and nearer it came: and presently I oould distinguish a figure clothed in whits, or some lifhl ggior that leoksd white,

TKRRE-HAUTE SATURDAY EVENING MAIL, 0ECEMBKR 21, 1872.

Jlknyastavt-

iefemed to oeese sight or this payssnd surely apfad?s Blsnkshire isdy'

wera uttered ¥nt how I felt

sny thing rather than indtandto ridicule them. T^e apparition drew nearin involuntary impulss I shrank back into a doorway, ssrif to4U

Or, and by an

low it to pass. It did psss snd in moment more I bresthea more fireely, snd began to be heartily ashsmed of my superstitious fancies.

my young cons-

Blanche! Yes, it In, Blanohe Trehi her as she passed close by me, can her candle ins hand that waa ateady aa if it had been that of a statue and, in truth, marble itself could scarcely have been palerfhan her fair, Innocent face as she wentjby, to all appearanoe,without perceiving ine. She still wore the dress that she bad worn during tbe evening's merry-making down atalra, her pretty white frock relieved by some admixture of light blue. Her long hair, of a pale golden color, hung looee over her shoulders, and I notioea with wonder that her small feet were bare, so that her step caused no more sound than if she had indeed been a phantom. On she went, walking slowly but with no sign of hesitation, her eyes were fixed on something—what, I knew not— as if a spirit's shadowy nand had beckoned her onward. By some instinct I had refrained from addressing her,even in my surprise st the recognition but now, moved by an impulse tor which I could not account, I left my place of espial snd followed her at some distance, being careful to tread as lightly as I could. She passed on, along the Oaken Gallery, and I wondered more and more at the strangeness ot ber conduct. Her own chamber waa, I conjectured, on the floor above, as were those of several of the visitors, while others, as well as the master and mistress of the house, .slept In that part of tbe mansion from which every step re moved her farther and farther. Why in the name of common sense had she chosen to rango the house thus on this bitter winter's nigbtT and what oould be the stesdy purpose that drew hor forward, as steel is dawn to a magnet

Treherne. I recognised

AH now ahe csn go no farther, unless her intention be, as doubtless It is, to dssoend to the ^reoeption-rooms below by the grand staircase, for she has reached the end of the Oaken Gallery. Such waa my soliloquy ss I cudgeled my brains in the effort to devise a reason for these extraordinary proceedings on tbe psrt of girl of my cousin's age. It was just possible that she. like myself, might have left down stairs some object of which she was now in search but if so, why tbis ghostlike gliding with bare feet sbout the manaion of which she was the heiress, indulged and loved by all These thoughts came into my head as for an instant she stood still, near tbe angle of the broad landing-place, while in front of her was the great French window, filling up nearly two-thirds of the width of the wide passage, by which the Oaken Gallery was lighted. This window wss sn innovstion, no doubt, but sn improvement on the small-pan-od casimwt of stained- glass, through Which the sun hadl scarcely 'bad power to Illumine the old pictures that lined the walla, which it had auperoeded. "By Heaven she is lost!" wss my hssty exclamation, as to my infinite horror, I saw Blanohe torn from the stslrcsse, and deliberately yet quickly throw open the tall French window. Tbat very day, just after sunset. Sir lss had instated on my admiring is view from west windowterh!oheomanded a bold swsspof country, swellsnd Dladk pine-woods, lug moorland roeky fort and the distant sea. The tr window was st a great height above tie ground, since from lt one oonld look down, sheer over the edge of the stone torfacs on Whioh the manaion stood, to rocky dell, where far below a brawling stream made maalo among the boulders thst fretted its waters Into foam. All thirl remembered st tbe same Instant thst tbs dreadful truth flashed upon me. Blanche wss a sleep-walker —her sctlons were prompted by the etrange mechanical semi-consciousness of fche somnambulist—and from this* terrible slumber tbat was not rest ber swskenlng would be in snotbsr world. Nearer and nearer yet a|ie drew to the giddy verge, her eyes steadily fixed on

Sheatood poised on the very

1 of the window, through wbien the bleak night sir rushed lh, causing the candle In her unconscious hand to flare and flicker. I dared not call,dared not raise my voioe, leet I aheuld startle her. and precipitate the catastrophe that ssemed imminent. There was ehauMe, though a poor one, that aha would cloee the window and return to her room, as I had heard that aleeepwalkers sometimes do, Ignorant of the mortal peril so nesrly encountered.

Now she seems to bend slightly forward, her alender figure actually overhanging the abyss. A fall from such a helgbt muat be tatal. Bitterly blaming myself for my own lack of prudence In allowing things to proceed to tbis pitch before finterforred. I mustered all my strength for one deeperate bound, snrang to ber aide, and caught the girl's Mllng weight In my arma, at the very moment when ahe stepped from the wlodoW-edg*. A second or two woald have made my hauty movement too l«»et as8 as it wss lt.was writ ths* Blsncbe was slight burden, and thst wss active and atrong, or Mih might have fallen from that dlssy perch. Blanche, abruptly awaksned, broke tho silence of the boose by aa sfonlasd tereaun as of iblngled pain and tenor, and for am Instant she struggled while the osndlestick dropped from her hawd. The candle wss extinguished hi He foil bnt I looked down and eaw the tiny luminous spark of the burning wiek foiling, foiling through the midnight darkness, ana then heard tbe dull clank aa the silvsr candlestick reached the rocks below.

Blsnebe's shrieks had effectually aroused the household, snd before 1 could eootbe her natural alaum she wss clssped In her mother's arms whiles Babel voice ruee clamorously around na, and coqlectures, exclamations of horror or of thsnkfmnsas, were uttered on all hands, as vtoHors,and asrvants »suocseslvsly harrying to the spot whence tbe cries had been heard. iW the yonng heirees of the Treheraeswsse somnambulist wss what no one, not even her own parents, knew nor had tbe poor frightened child ber-

5sesse

If the least suspicion that this wss but at any rate the lnsjplent ghost stories with reference to Bram-

abaw Hadl were now nipped in the bud. and the most superstitiously disposed oould not doubt tne connection between the mysterious occurrences of which they had whispered and Blanche's unlucky peculiarity. The candlestick, f)int9d and battered, was found next morning among the rooks below the terrace.^-

I prefer-to pass lightly over tbe deep and for vent expreealons of gratitude and strong tseling with which Sir Charles sud/$*ad Treherne aeknowlirvartlon of their only

nd/vad jwerv II re then

edged the but retbember to have reddenand winced excessively under tbe weight of nraisOs undeserved, since any one else iqliny pise* woyld surely have done at much, and it rather annoyed me than otherwiae that, the company

milted In treating me am a sort of dfcring the rest of any stay, and in hueiorlng sn^ deferring to ms as if I h^d been some great public benefactor. The only exception to tbis general conspiracy to make much of an unworthy individual was Blanche herself. My youngoousin seemed to avoid me since tbat evenfulnight and of all the farewells that were said when I returned home the coldest "good-bye'! was Blanche's own.

We sailed for India and for four years I went through the usual round of Indian duties and amusements, with no opportunities of active service, but a fair average of sport with gun, rifle, and boar-spear, with plenty of drill as well as dancing* and an occasional change of station as the chief military event of the year. During this time I sometimes received, though rarely, a letter from my aunt but from home I often had Lidings of the Trehernea, who no longer resided constantly at Bramshaw, Dut were often in London, on the Continent, or at English sea-side watering, places. At the end of four years my elder brother, poor Tom, died, and my parents pressed me to leave the army and come home, the necessity for a profession in my case no longer existing. With some regret I bade adieu to my former life and its associations but, after all, there is no great hardship in being the future proprietor of an entailed estate like ours, and with tolerable resignation I sent in my papers and renounced the career of arms.

I had not been long in England before an invitation to repeat my former Christmas visit to Bramshaw Hall reached me, couched in such affectionate terms, and so urgent, tbat I could not find it in my heart to decline. "Mind," said my father, jestingly, "that you don't leave vour heart behind you there, unless indeed you haye left it in India. Miss Blanche, I am told by those who are judges ot such matters, has turned out amazingly good looking."

I laughe^and answered with a tone of perfect conyiction that there was little prospect of any love passages between my cousin, now sixteen years of age, and myself. I found that my father's account of Blanche's appearance hardly did justice to the reality. She had developed into a very pretty girl, who at moments, as when she sang, which she did in a sweet sad voice, and with much musical taste and skill, looked absolutely lovely. I took an opportunity to ask Lady Treherne, half jocularly, whether the "ghost" was effectually exorcised, and sleep-walking a thing of tbe past. With perfect confidence my aunt replied in the affirmative. Care and change of air and of scene, amusement and 6tudy, had, she said, done wonders for Blanche's health and whereas the extreme delicacy of her constitution had formerly caused much anxiety to her parents, they now consider her to be quite well and quite strong. "It was on her account, dear girl," said Lady Treherne, "that we quiet old folks have run about the world as we have done, traveling and pleasure-hunting for you must know, Talbot, tbis is tbe first Cbristmss we have spent at the Hall since—since you were with us."

A curious coincidence. It was wtyd snowy weather sgain, and with few exceptions the same company that I had formerly met had reassembled under Sir Charles' hoepitable roof. As before, I hsd arrived on Chrietmas eye snd as the dinner in its old stvle, and the 'danoe and the songs snd music, snd the games for the children, succeeded precisely in the same fashion. I oould nave imagined that the four last years were the baseless vision of a dream, and tbat thla was my first and only CbristmaM at Bramshaw Hall. One Change there certainly was. Blanche, no longer a child, was taken in to dinner by me, and she did not avoid me in the pointed, almost petulant manner in which she bad turned from me when she was but twelve years old but I oould mske no wsy with her in conversation, nor did she meet my eyes frankly, but allowed hers to rest any where but on my face when I addressed her, answered my best thlnge with monoayllablee, blushed when I spoke carelessly of our former meeting, and altogether disconcerted me, who was perhaps little vsin of my powers of

I soon gsve her up as hopeanil directed my attentions elsewhere.

Never in my life hsd I felt myself less disposed for sleep than when, late on the night of Cbristmaa eve, I sat before the crackling wood fire in my bedroom —they bsd given me tbe Tapestry Room, ss before—snd meditated on all that had oocurred, for good or ill, aince last I was tbe tenant of that ancient chamber. Four years ago poor Tom, my elder brother, was hsle and strong, snd Is younger son, with no prospects but such as my profession might, in theee—from military point of view— hard timee, open out before me. Yes, fouryeare ago how atrange waa tbe adventure of that other Christmas eve, to which my thoughte flew back, no matter on what subject I might be pondering!

I could not go to bed. Somehow, do what I would, I remained wakeful snd wstchfUl, with sn indeflnsble impression upon nie thst I wss wsnted, thst I hsd duty to perform, snd thst I must not sleep. I listened intently for the tflghteet sound, snd even the moan of the wind without eeemed to me likes i"""" voice complaining. Again snd •gain did I throw wood upon tbe Are, on til my sopply of fuel waned to such aa sxtent thst ft wss plsin that I must eoon retire to reet, or sit np flreless. "This will never do," said I "foncy is aakiaag a fool of me. I'll just slipont snd tsks a glance at tbe scene or my former adventure, snd then come back and go to sleep for tbe rest of the dsrk hours."

So saying. I took my candle hnd amd emerged into the Gothic Gallery. Inatlnctlvely I turned to tbe point where, four yean since, I bad espied tho gleam or ths light in Blanched bamdL All waa darknses now. Here, too. wss the doorway Into which I bad retired to allow^he apparition, as I hsd desmed It, to poes. Smiling st the recollection of any own irrational alau-tn, I went on, walking softly, to the corner of the Oaken Gallery. '"So vivid Is tho imsgtnation," sadd I, "that I si most expect to see tbe glimmer of tho light, the childish figure gliding on before ms, ss when—0

The words died swsy on my lips, for what I beheld was a sight that curdled my very llfebtcod with bori»r.

At the other end of the Oaken Gallery, receding from me, and within a few feet of the grant west window, was female draped In white, distinctly visi ble, and ^rryiug alighted oandie, with passr thst I haul noticed four yeaurs

tbeeamelm lye mechanical stea di

al nee advancing alowly, too,' and noiselessly, with the same air of being beckoned forward by a viewless band that had shocked me ins child so nsrrowly rescued from a cruel death. It was no dream—no creation of a distempered brain. No, it was Blanche herself, her bright hair floating like pale gold over her abouldere, and wearing a looee peignoir ot white cashmere. Wkile I stood speechless she advsnoed, and with a alow but certain movement of the hand which was free, she began to unclasp ths fostenlngs of the great French window.

For a moment I stood, ss if rooted to the ground by^jhorror. I tried to rush forward, but my fces seemed nailed to the floor, and my voice, when I essayed to call aloud, refused to obey my volition. The low creaking sound as the window slowly opened, and the Inward rush of the shrieking night wind, dissolved the spell of my helplessness, and 1 darted along the gallery, shouting, or attempting to shoutj though my voice reached my own ear but as a harsh and hollow murmur, Tha white figure, bending forward, seemecrabout to vanish in the blackness beyond. Suddenly the candle was extinguished by a stronger gust of wind, snd I Uttered a cry of horror, for I thought that Blanche had actually fallen but by Heaven's mercy I was in time, but just in time. My arm was round her wai9t, my hand was on her arm, she was tottering on the very verge of the dread precipice and by a quick and powerful exertion drew her baok. She awoke, with a low moaning cry, such as may often be heard on the lips of a child suddenly aroused from sleep. "What is this?" she said, wildly—

Where am I ?—Cousin—what— where?" Then, as she looked around, and saw the reality of the position, she shuddered, and sank feinting snq unconscious into my arms. Bearing her as swiftly and as tenderly as I could along the Oaken Gadlery, I laid her on a sofa tbat stood in the adjacent corridor, and hurrying to Lady Treheme's door, aroused my aunt from ber sleep, and related in a few words what had befallen her daughter, apd how a second time she had been providentially snatched from the jaws of death. "It was the association of ideas that did the mischief—not a doubt of it," said the old family physician, who had known Blanche from her infancy: "the cure seemed complete, and in effect was so but no doubt the Christmas spent for the first time at the old house and in the old way, the similarity of the weather and of the evening's amusements, and, above ail, Mr, Carew's presence, with the memory of the former adventure, influenced our young friend's- fancy in a manner that might have been—But we won't talk of that now."

The Trehernes left Bramshaw at once and at their earnest wish I accompanied tbem, and paid the remainder of my visit at their house in London. Here it was that I learned to find Blanche very, very dear to me, and after some weeks I ventured to ask her to be my wife. "I thought," said I, as I took her little hand, unresisting, in mine, "that you rather disliked me than .otherwise formerly but perhaps now—" "Do you remember four years ago?" she asked, interrupting me, and with a burning cueek and a glance, half arch, half shy, that puzzled me greatly. "Yes, of caurse I do," answered I, 'lexed.

lecause I have loved vou ever since you—first—" dered, and hid hor beautiftil blushing

—ever since you—first—"and sheshud-

face on my shoulder. Sir Charles snd Lady Treherne gave their willing sanction to the engagement between Blanche and myself, which was equally welcome to my own parents: but on acoount of the vouth of the bride elect it waa thought better to postpone the wedding for another year, till Miss Treherne should hsve passed her seventeenth birthdsy.

When I asked her, as in duty bound, to name tbe day for that all-important oeremony, the dear hesitated for a moand then, with tears, but not of sorrow, spsrkllng in her loving eyes, she softly msde snswer, "Cbristmss eve."

W. VOOR1IKES. JNO. C. BBIOGS OORHEES & BRIGGS,

Attorneys atXaw,

f--,

FOR

THE

4ri

p} Terre-HaaHe, laMk

Will give tbeir entire attez tlon to the practice of the law In all Its branches. Office on Ohio St., bet. Third and Fburih.

I IMI IE IN" S,

Agency ior BARR

HOLIDAYS.

Is the Stock now Arriving at the

NEW YORK STORE,

FOR FALL TRADE.

From the cheapest, to the finest FABRIC ail of which sre NEW snd selected with tbe greatest care and are to be sold st the LOWEST CASH PRICES.

We Allow no Misrepresentatioa

IF YOU PRICE OUR MUSLINS, YOU WILL BUY THBM, IF YOU PRICE OUR DRESS GOODS, CASSIMERES, NOTIONS, PRINTS, •,«» BLANKETS, JEANS. YARNS, Afe,

O W I A S E

AT THE NEW YORK 8TORE, 73 Main St., Near Court House Square

FRED. RUSCIIAUPT St CO^ TamHsit,

GULICK & BERRY,

•aJI

Warren, Hoberg & Go^

i*r. -i*« «i t- •.I?*

Have unquestionably the largest and best assorted stock of

flat Faars, Seal ftkfti K^miIks^ ifsck Cloth ClMkm Ml ark ink Velvet* tor"

Sitka, Broebo ss4 Mai ley Usg naMl floaaoM •MmWta, JBaaaaalsoaaao

Ot toaaanat Strip*

•^'llwwh ataaaT Scarf*.

At $2.50, $3.00, |3.60, $1.00 and $5.00.

vht' si

Striped Shawls for Hisses.

.« & imr, .fiib r-.i ".3" i: go Ladieo Balmoral and Boulevard Bklrt*. i&

Children's Knit Sacaucs. MnfRiand Bows. Ladles and Mimes Nubias." ^r' Hoods axtd Scarfe.

rta

I -rt*

Gentlemen's Scarfs and Comfort1!. Ladles Silk Ties and Scarfe. ... •in .'»i S&i 1 ,• oi *v

A Large and Complete Stock of

HANDKERCHIEFS.

For Ladles naad Gcntlcaneai. »«J J*|

Ladies and Gentlemen's, Misses, Boys and Children's, •to

Glotes and Kilt tens,

/ff

Ako our

I ba»

0elehrated^u^.

"PERIDOT" KID GLOVE,

In all Bices and Colors. in

«»«.*

awvJ- i$tn Me? NEWLAGES, vjW' tetU IfM LACE C0LLAH8,

h'O'1"1

LACE SETTS, &

4 4

LACE SLEEVES, etc.

-:U'i

•. '-.a »',a at ftj EMBROIDERIES, EMBROIDERED COLLARS,

HANDKERCHIEFS, Ac., Ac. 'M

For the convenience of the public, our store will remain open every evening next week until 8 o'clock.

WARREN,

nOBERG A €?».', Opera noasoCoraaer.

Vi i.

The Bee Hive

163 Main

(Near Sixth stieet.) & ,J UtU

MERINO OSIER Y,ai tow prl«C». UNDERWEAR* CORSETS! RUSTLES* HANDKERCHIEFS. ,iH HEMMED HANDKERC1I IEf&. EMBROIDERED LACE, *c. HEAVY BLACK FRINGES.

NUBIAS, HOODS, SCARFS. Afalrsapplyol FANCY

(,H|,

FUR TRIMMINGS. NEW LACE VEILS. .. ,s NEW LINEN COLLARS A CUFFS, FRENCH DOLLS, VMy haadMM

STAPLB NOTIONS I

iff-ir*

Dry-:-Goods,::fY-' -R

GENERAL DEALERS IN .ft"., .!

Drugs, Medicines, Chemicals-

Paints Oils. Olflfin. fer. \v

Paints, Oils, Glass, &c. Comer Main and Fourth Streets, TERRE-HAUTE, IND.

PECTORAL ELIXIR AGUE MEDICINE

Misss.

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and

BARR