"And so the house was abandoned by high and low, rich and poor alike.

And the worthy gossips of the neighborhood wisely nodded over their

tea-cups, and declared that the deserted condition of the house was but

a just retribution for the sins of its master.

"And in the meantime the health of the mistress grew worse and worse.

The most serious fears were entertained for her life and reason, death

or insanity seeming to be the most probable issue of her malady. Medical

advice was called in. The doctor, either in complaisance or sincerity,

agreed with Mr. Dubarry's theory of the patient's condition, ascribing

her illness to an 'abnormal state of the nervous system,' and he advised

change of air and scene, and he held forth good hopes that within a very

few months, when the young wife should become a mother, her health might

be perfectly reëstablished.

"Under these circumstances, early in the new year, Mr. Dubarry took his

wife to Williamsburg, to spend the winter among the gayeties of the

colonial Governor's court.

"The haunted house was shut up, and left to itself. Not a man or woman

could be found to live in it, for love or money.

"In the glories of the colonial capital, Mrs. Dubarry completely

recovered from her nervous malady. She was visited by no more 'optical

illusions' or 'cataleptic' fits. She even grew to regard her former

visitations in the same way in which her husband pretended to view

them--as mere nervous phenomena. And as the fashionable season at

Williamsburg closed, and as the spring opened, Mrs. Dubarry expressed an

ardent desire to return to 'Shut-up Dubarry' for her confinement. 'The

heir of the manor should be born on the manor,' she said.

"Mr. Dubarry had great doubts about the safety of this measure, and

attempted to dissuade his wife from it; but she was firm in her purpose,

and so she carried it.

"It was early in the royal month of June that the young wife was taken

back to her country home. Shut-up Dubarry looked as little like a

'haunted house' as any house could look: waving woods, sparkling waters,

blossoming trees, blooming flowers, singing birds--all the richness,

beauty and splendor of summer turned it into a paradise. Besides, Mrs.

Dubarry brought down half a dozen young cousins of both sexes with her,

and they filled the house with youthful life. Under these circumstances,

the old servants were tempted back. And all went on very well until one

day one of the young girls suddenly spoke out at the full

breakfast-table, and asked: "'Alicia, who is that strange, silent girl, in the red cloak, that is

always following you about?' "Mrs. Dubarry grew deadly pale, sat down the cup that she had held in

her hand, but she did not attempt to speak.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024