Lord Arthur Savile's Crime etc
by Oscar Wilde
Hypertext Meanings and Commentaries
from the Encyclopedia of the Self
by Mark Zimmerman

by Oscar Wilde

Contents

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
The Canterville Ghost
The Sphinx Without a Secret
The Model Millionaire
The Portrait of Mr. W. H.

LORD ARTHUR SAVILE'S CRIME

CHAPTER I

IT was Lady Windermere's last reception before Easter, and Bentinck
House was even more crowded than usual. Six Cabinet Ministers had
come on from the Speaker's Levee in their stars and ribands, all
the pretty women wore their smartest dresses, and at the end of the
picture-gallery stood the Princess Sophia of Carlsruhe, a heavy
Tartar-looking lady, with tiny black eyes and wonderful emeralds,
talking bad French at the top of her voice, and laughing
immoderately at everything that was said to her. It was certainly
a wonderful medley of people. Gorgeous peeresses chatted affably
to violent Radicals, popular preachers brushed coat-tails with
eminent sceptics, a perfect bevy of bishops kept following a stout
prima-donna from room to room, on the staircase stood several Royal
Academicians, disguised as artists, and it was said that at one
time the supper-room was absolutely crammed with geniuses. In
fact, it was one of Lady Windermere's best nights, and the Princess
stayed till nearly half-past eleven.

As soon as she had gone, Lady Windermere returned to the picture-
gallery, where a celebrated political economist was solemnly
explaining the scientific theory of music to an indignant virtuoso
from Hungary, and began to talk to the Duchess of Paisley. She
looked wonderfully beautiful with her grand ivory throat, her large
blue forget-me-not eyes, and her heavy coils of golden hair. OR
PUR they were - not that pale straw colour that nowadays usurps the
gracious name of gold, but such gold as is woven into sunbeams or
hidden in strange amber; and they gave to her face something of the
frame of a saint, with not a little of the fascination of a sinner.
She was a curious psychological study. Early in life she had
discovered the important truth that nothing looks so like innocence
as an indiscretion; and by a series of reckless escapades, half of
them quite harmless, she had acquired all the privileges of a
personality. She had more than once changed her husband; indeed,
Debrett credits her with three marriages; but as she had never
changed her lover, the world had long ago ceased to talk scandal
about her. She was now forty years of age, childless, and with
that inordinate passion for pleasure which is the secret of
remaining young.

Suddenly she looked eagerly round the room, and said, in her clear
contralto voice, 'Where is my cheiromantist?'

'Your what, Gladys?' exclaimed the Duchess, giving an involuntary
start.

'My cheiromantist, Duchess; I can't live without him at present.'

'Dear Gladys! you are always so original,' murmured the Duchess,
trying to remember what a cheiromantist really was, and hoping it
was not the same as a cheiropodist.

'He comes to see my hand twice a week regularly,' continued Lady
Windermere, 'and is most interesting about it.'

'Good heavens!' said the Duchess to herself, 'he is a sort of
cheiropodist after all. How very dreadful. I hope he is a
foreigner at any rate. It wouldn't be quite so bad then.'

'I must certainly introduce him to you.'

'Introduce him!' cried the Duchess; 'you don't mean to say he is
here?' and she began looking about for a small tortoise-shell fan
and a very tattered lace shawl, so as to be ready to go at a
moment's notice.

'Of course he is here; I would not dream of giving a party without
him. He tells me I have a pure psychic hand, and that if my thumb
had been the least little bit shorter, I should have been a
confirmed pessimist, and gone into a convent.'

'Oh, I see!' said the Duchess, feeling very much relieved; 'he
tells fortunes, I suppose?'

'And misfortunes, too,' answered Lady Windermere, 'any amount of
them. Next year, for instance, I am in great danger, both by land
and sea, so I am going to live in a balloon, and draw up my dinner
in a basket every evening. It is all written down on my little
finger, or on the palm of my hand, I forget which.'

'But surely that is tempting Providence, Gladys.'

'My dear Duchess, surely Providence can resist temptation by this
time. I think every one should have their hands told once a month,
so as to know what not to do. Of course, one does it all the same,
but it is so pleasant to be warned. Now if some one doesn't go and
fetch Mr. Podgers at once, I shall have to go myself.'

'Let me go, Lady Windermere,' said a tall handsome young man, who
was standing by, listening to the conversation with an amused
smile.

'Thanks so much, Lord Arthur; but I am afraid you wouldn't
recognise him.'

'If he is as wonderful as you say, Lady Windermere, I couldn't well
miss him. Tell me what he is like, and I'll bring him to you at
once.'

'Well, he is not a bit like a cheiromantist. I mean he is not
mysterious, or esoteric, or romantic-looking. He is a little,
stout man, with a funny, bald head, and great gold-rimmed
spectacles; something between a family doctor and a country
attorney. I'm really very sorry, but it is not my fault. People
are so annoying. All my pianists look exactly like poets, and all
my poets look exactly like pianists; and I remember last season
asking a most dreadful conspirator to dinner, a man who had blown
up ever so many people, and always wore a coat of mail, and carried
a dagger up his shirt-sleeve; and do you know that when he came he
looked just like a nice old clergyman, and cracked jokes all the
evening? Of course, he was very amusing, and all that, but I was
awfully disappointed; and when I asked him about the coat of mail,
he only laughed, and said it was far too cold to wear in England.
Ah, here is Mr. Podgers! Now, Mr. Podgers, I want you to tell the
Duchess of Paisley's hand. Duchess, you must take your glove off.
No, not the left hand, the other.'

'Dear Gladys, I really don't think it is quite right,' said the
Duchess, feebly unbuttoning a rather soiled kid glove.

'Nothing interesting ever is,' said Lady Windermere: 'ON A FAIT LE
MONDE AINSI. But I must introduce you. Duchess, this is Mr.
Podgers, my pet cheiromantist. Mr. Podgers, this is the Duchess of
Paisley, and if you say that she has a larger mountain of the moon
than I have, I will never believe in you again.'

'I am sure, Gladys, there is nothing of the kind in my hand,' said
the Duchess gravely.

'Your Grace is quite right,' said Mr. Podgers, glancing at the
little fat hand with its short square fingers, 'the mountain of the
moon is not developed. The line of life, however, is excellent.
Kindly bend the wrist. Thank you. Three distinct lines on the
RASCETTE! You will live to a great age, Duchess, and be extremely
happy. Ambition - very moderate, line of intellect not
exaggerated, line of heart - '

'Now, do be indiscreet, Mr. Podgers,' cried Lady Windermere.

'Nothing would give me greater pleasure,' said Mr. Podgers, bowing,
'if the Duchess ever had been, but I am sorry to say that I see
great permanence of affection, combined with a strong sense of
duty.'

'Pray go on, Mr. Podgers,' said the Duchess, looking quite pleased.

'Economy is not the least of your Grace's virtues,' continued Mr.
Podgers, and Lady Windermere went off into fits of laughter.

'Economy is a very good thing,' remarked the Duchess complacently;
'when I married Paisley he had eleven castles, and not a single
house fit to live in.'

'And now he has twelve houses, and not a single castle,' cried Lady
Windermere.

'Well, my dear,' said the Duchess, 'I like - '

'Comfort,' said Mr. Podgers, 'and modern improvements, and hot
water laid on in every bedroom. Your Grace is quite right.
Comfort is the only thing our civilisation can give us.

'You have told the Duchess's character admirably, Mr. Podgers, and
now you must tell Lady Flora's'; and in answer to a nod from the
smiling hostess, a tall girl, with sandy Scotch hair, and high
shoulder-blades, stepped awkwardly from behind the sofa, and held
out a long, bony hand with spatulate fingers.

'Ah, a pianist! I see,' said Mr. Podgers, 'an excellent pianist,
but perhaps hardly a musician. Very reserved, very honest, and
with a great love of animals.'

'Quite true!' exclaimed the Duchess, turning to Lady Windermere,
'absolutely true! Flora keeps two dozen collie dogs at Macloskie,
and would turn our town house into a menagerie if her father would
let her.'

'Well, that is just what I do with my house every Thursday
evening,' cried Lady Windermere, laughing, 'only I like lions
better than collie dogs.'

'Your one mistake, Lady Windermere,' said Mr. Podgers, with a
pompous bow.

'If a woman can't make her mistakes charming, she is only a
female,' was the answer. 'But you must read some more hands for
us. Come, Sir Thomas, show Mr. Podgers yours'; and a genial-
looking old gentleman, in a white waistcoat, came forward, and held
out a thick rugged hand, with a very long third finger.

'An adventurous nature; four long voyages in the past, and one to
come. Been ship-wrecked three times. No, only twice, but in
danger of a shipwreck your next journey. A strong Conservative,
very punctual, and with a passion for collecting curiosities. Had
a severe illness between the ages sixteen and eighteen. Was left a
fortune when about thirty. Great aversion to cats and Radicals.'

'Extraordinary!' exclaimed Sir Thomas; 'you must really tell my
wife's hand, too.'

'Your second wife's,' said Mr. Podgers quietly, still keeping Sir
Thomas's hand in his. 'Your second wife's. I shall be charmed';
but Lady Marvel, a melancholy-looking woman, with brown hair and
sentimental eyelashes, entirely declined to have her past or her
future exposed; and nothing that Lady Windermere could do would
induce Monsieur de Koloff, the Russian Ambassador, even to take his
gloves off. In fact, many people seemed afraid to face the odd
little man with his stereotyped smile, his gold spectacles, and his
bright, beady eyes; and when he told poor Lady Fermor, right out
before every one, that she did not care a bit for music, but was
extremely fond of musicians, it was generally felt that cheiromancy
was a most dangerous science, and one that ought not to be
encouraged, except in a TETE-A-TETE.

Lord Arthur Savile, however, who did not know anything about Lady
Fermor's unfortunate story, and who had been watching Mr. Podgers
with a great deal of interest, was filled with an immense curiosity
to have his own hand read, and feeling somewhat shy about putting
himself forward, crossed over the room to where Lady Windermere was
sitting, and, with a charming blush, asked her if she thought Mr.
Podgers would mind.

'Of course, he won't mind,' said Lady Windermere, 'that is what he
is here for. All my lions, Lord Arthur, are performing lions, and
jump through hoops whenever I ask them. But I must warn you
beforehand that I shall tell Sybil everything. She is coming to
lunch with me to-morrow, to talk about bonnets, and if Mr. Podgers
finds out that you have a bad temper, or a tendency to gout, or a
wife living in Bayswater, I shall certainly let her know all about
it.'

Lord Arthur smiled, and shook his head. 'I am not afraid,' he
answered. 'Sybil knows me as well as I know her.'

'Ah! I am a little sorry to hear you say that. The proper basis
for marriage is a mutual misunderstanding. No, I am not at all
cynical, I have merely got experience, which, however, is very much
the same thing. Mr. Podgers, Lord Arthur Savile is dying to have
his hand read. Don't tell him that he is engaged to one of the
most beautiful girls in London, because that appeared in the
MORNING POST a month ago.

'Dear Lady Windermere,' cried the Marchioness of Jedburgh, 'do let
Mr. Podgers stay here a little longer. He has just told me I
should go on the stage, and I am so interested.'

'If he has told you that, Lady Jedburgh, I shall certainly take him
away. Come over at once, Mr. Podgers, and read Lord Arthur's
hand.'

'Well,' said Lady Jedburgh, making a little MOUE as she rose from
the sofa, 'if I am not to be allowed to go on the stage, I must be
allowed to be part of the audience at any rate.'

'Of course; we are all going to be part of the audience,' said Lady
Windermere; 'and now, Mr. Podgers, be sure and tell us something
nice. Lord Arthur is one of my special favourites.'

But when Mr. Podgers saw Lord Arthur's hand he grew curiously pale,
and said nothing. A shudder seemed to pass through him, and his
great bushy eyebrows twitched convulsively, in an odd, irritating
way they had when he was puzzled. Then some huge beads of
perspiration broke out on his yellow forehead, like a poisonous
dew, and his fat fingers grew cold and clammy.

Lord Arthur did not fail to notice these strange signs of
agitation, and, for the first time in his life, he himself felt
fear. His impulse was to rush from the room, but he restrained
himself. It was better to know the worst, whatever it was, than to
be left in this hideous uncertainty.

'I am waiting, Mr. Podgers,' he said.

'We are all waiting,' cried Lady Windermere, in her quick,
impatient manner, but the cheiromantist made no reply.

'I believe Arthur is going on the stage,' said Lady Jedburgh, 'and
that, after your scolding, Mr. Podgers is afraid to tell him so.'

Suddenly Mr. Podgers dropped Lord Arthur's right hand, and seized
hold of his left, bending down so low to examine it that the gold
rims of his spectacles seemed almost to touch the palm. For a
moment his face became a white mask of horror, but he soon
recovered his SANG-FROID, and looking up at Lady Windermere, said
with a forced smile, 'It is the hand of a charming young man.

'Of course it is!' answered Lady Windermere, 'but will he be a
charming husband? That is what I want to know.'

'All charming young men are,' said Mr. Podgers.

'I don't think a husband should be too fascinating,' murmured Lady
Jedburgh pensively, 'it is so dangerous.'

'My dear child, they never are too fascinating,' cried Lady
Windermere. 'But what I want are details. Details are the only
things that interest. What is going to happen to Lord Arthur?'

'Well, within the next few months Lord Arthur will go a voyage - '

'Oh yes, his honeymoon, of course!'

'And lose a relative.'

'Not his sister, I hope?' said Lady Jedburgh, in a piteous tone of
voice.

'Certainly not his sister,' answered Mr. Podgers, with a
deprecating wave of the hand, 'a distant relative merely.'

'Well, I am dreadfully disappointed,' said Lady Windermere. 'I
have absolutely nothing to tell Sybil to-morrow. No one cares
about distant relatives nowadays. They went out of fashion years
ago. However, I suppose she had better have a black silk by her;
it always does for church, you know. And now let us go to supper.
They are sure to have eaten everything up, but we may find some hot
soup. Francois used to make excellent soup once, but he is so
agitated about politics at present, that I never feel quite certain
about him. I do wish General Boulanger would keep quiet. Duchess,
I am sure you are tired?'

'Not at all, dear Gladys,' answered the Duchess, waddling towards
the door. 'I have enjoyed myself immensely, and the cheiropodist,
I mean the cheiromantist, is most interesting. Flora, where can my
tortoise-shell fan be? Oh, thank you, Sir Thomas, so much. And my
lace shawl, Flora? Oh, thank you, Sir Thomas, very kind, I'm
sure'; and the worthy creature finally managed to get downstairs
without dropping her scent-bottle more than twice.

All this time Lord Arthur Savile had remained standing by the
fireplace, with the same feeling of dread over him, the same
sickening sense of coming evil. He smiled sadly at his sister, as
she swept past him on Lord Plymdale's arm, looking lovely in her
pink brocade and pearls, and he hardly heard Lady Windermere when
she called to him to follow her. He thought of Sybil Merton, and
the idea that anything could come between them made his eyes dim
with tears.

Looking at him, one would have said that Nemesis had stolen the
shield of Pallas, and shown him the Gorgon's head. He seemed
turned to stone, and his face was like marble in its melancholy.
He had lived the delicate and luxurious life of a young man of
birth and fortune, a life exquisite in its freedom from sordid
care, its beautiful boyish insouciance; and now for the first time
he became conscious of the terrible mystery of Destiny, of the
awful meaning of Doom.

How mad and monstrous it all seemed! Could it be that written on
his hand, in characters that he could not read himself, but that
another could decipher, was some fearful secret of sin, some blood-
red sign of crime? Was there no escape possible? Were we no
better than chessmen, moved by an unseen power, vessels the potter
fashions at his fancy, for honour or for shame? His reason
revolted against it, and yet he felt that some tragedy was hanging
over him, and that he had been suddenly called upon to bear an
intolerable burden. Actors are so fortunate. They can choose
whether they will appear in tragedy or in comedy, whether they will
suffer or make merry, laugh or shed tears. But in real life it is
different. Most men and women are forced to perform parts for
which they have no qualifications. Our Guildensterns play Hamlet
for us, and our Hamlets have to jest like Prince Hal. The world is
a stage, but the play is badly cast.

Suddenly Mr. Podgers entered the room. When he saw Lord Arthur he
started, and his coarse, fat face became a sort of greenish-yellow
colour. The two men's eyes met, and for a moment there was
silence.

'The Duchess has left one of her gloves here, Lord Arthur, and has
asked me to bring it to her,' said Mr. Podgers finally. 'Ah, I see
it on the sofa! Good evening.'

'Mr. Podgers, I must insist on your giving me a straightforward
answer to a question I am going to put to you.'

'Another time, Lord Arthur, but the Duchess is anxious. I am
afraid I must go.'

'You shall not go. The Duchess is in no hurry.'

'Ladies should not be kept waiting, Lord Arthur,' said Mr. Podgers,
with his sickly smile. 'The fair sex is apt to be impatient.'

Lord Arthur's finely-chiselled lips curled in petulant disdain.
The poor Duchess seemed to him of very little importance at that
moment. He walked across the room to where Mr. Podgers was
standing, and held his hand out.

'Tell me what you saw there,' he said. 'Tell me the truth. I must
know it. I am not a child.'

Mr. Podgers's eyes blinked behind his gold-rimmed spectacles, and
he moved uneasily from one foot to the other, while his fingers
played nervously with a flash watch-chain.

'What makes you think that I saw anything in your hand, Lord
Arthur, more than I told you?'

'I know you did, and I insist on your telling me what it was. I
will pay you. I will give you a cheque for a hundred pounds.'

The green eyes flashed for a moment, and then became dull again.

'Guineas?' said Mr. Podgers at last, in a low voice.

'Certainly. I will send you a cheque to-morrow. What is your
club?'

'I have no club. That is to say, not just at present. My address
is -, but allow me to give you my card'; and producing a bit of
gilt-edge pasteboard from his waistcoat pocket, Mr. Podgers handed
it, with a low bow, to Lord Arthur, who read on it,

MR. SEPTIMUS R. PODGERS
PROFESSIONAL CHEIROMANTIST
103A WEST MOON STREET

'My hours are from ten to four,' murmured Mr. Podgers mechanically,
'and I make a reduction for families.'

'Be quick,' cried Lord Arthur, looking very pale, and holding his
hand out.

Mr. Podgers glanced nervously round, and drew the heavy PORTIERE
across the door.

'It will take a little time, Lord Arthur, you had better sit down.'

'Be quick, sir,' cried Lord Arthur again, stamping his foot angrily
on the polished floor.

Mr. Podgers smiled, drew from his breast-pocket a small magnifying
glass, and wiped it carefully with his handkerchief

'I am quite ready,' he said.

CHAPTER II

TEN minutes later, with face blanched by terror, and eyes wild with
grief, Lord Arthur Savile rushed from Bentinck House, crushing his
way through the crowd of fur-coated footmen that stood round the
large striped awning, and seeming not to see or hear anything. The
night was bitter cold, and the gas-lamps round the square flared
and flickered in the keen wind; but his hands were hot with fever,
and his forehead burned like fire. On and on he went, almost with
the gait of a drunken man. A policeman looked curiously at him as
he passed, and a beggar, who slouched from an archway to ask for
alms, grew frightened, seeing misery greater than his own. Once he
stopped under a lamp, and looked at his hands. He thought he could
detect the stain of blood already upon them, and a faint cry broke
from his trembling lips.

Murder! that is what the cheiromantist had seen there. Murder!
The very night seemed to know it, and the desolate wind to howl it
in his ear. The dark corners of the streets were full of it. It
grinned at him from the roofs of the houses.

First he came to the Park, whose sombre woodland seemed to
fascinate him. He leaned wearily up against the railings, cooling
his brow against the wet metal, and listening to the tremulous
silence of the trees. 'Murder! murder!' he kept repeating, as
though iteration could dim the horror of the word. The sound of
his own voice made him shudder, yet he almost hoped that Echo might
hear him, and wake the slumbering city from its dreams. He felt a
mad desire to stop the casual passer-by, and tell him everything.

Then he wandered across Oxford Street into narrow, shameful alleys.
Two women with painted faces mocked at him as he went by. From a
dark courtyard came a sound of oaths and blows, followed by shrill
screams, and, huddled upon a damp door-step, he saw the crook-
backed forms of poverty and eld. A strange pity came over him.
Were these children of sin and misery predestined to their end, as
he to his? Were they, like him, merely the puppets of a monstrous
show?

And yet it was not the mystery, but the comedy of suffering that
struck him; its absolute uselessness, its grotesque want of
meaning. How incoherent everything seemed! How lacking in all
harmony! He was amazed at the discord between the shallow optimism
of the day, and the real facts of existence. He was still very
young.

After a time he found himself in front of Marylebone Church. The
silent roadway looked like a long riband of polished silver,
flecked here and there by the dark arabesques of waving shadows.
Far into the distance curved the line of flickering gas-lamps, and
outside a little walled-in house stood a solitary hansom, the
driver asleep inside. He walked hastily in the direction of
Portland Place, now and then looking round, as though he feared
that he was being followed. At the corner of Rich Street stood two
men, reading a small bill upon a hoarding. An odd feeling of
curiosity stirred him, and he crossed over. As he came near, the
word 'Murder,' printed in black letters, met his eye. He started,
and a deep flush came into his cheek. It was an advertisement
offering a reward for any information leading to the arrest of a
man of medium height, between thirty and forty years of age,
wearing a billy-cock hat, a black coat, and check trousers, and
with a scar upon his right cheek. He read it over and over again,
and wondered if the wretched man would be caught, and how he had
been scarred. Perhaps, some day, his own name might be placarded
on the walls of London. Some day, perhaps, a price would be set on
his head also.

The thought made him sick with horror. He turned on his heel, and
hurried on into the night.

Where he went he hardly knew. He had a dim memory of wandering
through a labyrinth of sordid houses, of being lost in a giant web
of sombre streets, and it was bright dawn when he found himself at
last in Piccadilly Circus. As he strolled home towards Belgrave
Square, he met the great waggons on their way to Covent Garden.
The white-smocked carters, with their pleasant sunburnt faces and
coarse curly hair, strode sturdily on, cracking their whips, and
calling out now and then to each other; on the back of a huge grey
horse, the leader of a jangling team, sat a chubby boy, with a
bunch of primroses in his battered hat, keeping tight hold of the
mane with his little hands, and laughing; and the great piles of
vegetables looked like masses of jade against the morning sky, like
masses of green jade against the pink petals of some marvellous
rose. Lord Arthur felt curiously affected, he could not tell why.
There was something in the dawn's delicate loveliness that seemed
to him inexpressibly pathetic, and he thought of all the days that
break in beauty, and that set in storm. These rustics, too, with
their rough, good-humoured voices, and their nonchalant ways, what
a strange London they saw! A London free from the sin of night and
the smoke of day, a pallid, ghost-like city, a desolate town of
tombs! He wondered what they thought of it, and whether they knew
anything of its splendour and its shame, of its fierce, fiery-
coloured joys, and its horrible hunger, of all it makes and mars
from morn to eve. Probably it was to them merely a mart where they
brought their fruits to sell, and where they tarried for a few
hours at most, leaving the streets still silent, the houses still
asleep. It gave him pleasure to watch them as they went by. Rude
as they were, with their heavy, hob-nailed shoes, and their awkward
gait, they brought a little of a ready with them. He felt that
they had lived with Nature, and that she had taught them peace. He
envied them all that they did not know.

By the time he had reached Belgrave Square the sky was a faint
blue, and the birds were beginning to twitter in the gardens.

CHAPTER III

WHEN Lord Arthur woke it was twelve o'clock, and the midday sun was
streaming through the ivory-silk curtains of his room. He got up
and looked out of the window. A dim haze of heat was hanging over
the great city, and the roofs of the houses were like dull silver.
In the flickering green of the square below some children were
flitting about like white butterflies, and the pavement was crowded
with people on their way to the Park. Never had life seemed
lovelier to him, never had the things of evil seemed more remote.

Then his valet brought him a cup of chocolate on a tray. After he
had drunk it, he drew aside a heavy PORTIERE of peach-coloured
plush, and passed into the bathroom. The light stole softly from
above, through thin slabs of transparent onyx, and the water in the
marble tank glimmered like a moonstone. He plunged hastily in,
till the cool ripples touched throat and hair, and then dipped his
head right under, as though he would have wiped away the stain of
some shameful memory. When he stepped out he felt almost at peace.
The exquisite physical conditions of the moment had dominated him,
as indeed often happens in the case of very finely-wrought natures,
for the senses, like fire, can purify as well as destroy.

After breakfast, he flung himself down on a divan, and lit a
cigarette. On the mantel-shelf, framed in dainty old brocade,
stood a large photograph of Sybil Merton, as he had seen her first
at Lady Noel's ball. The small, exquisitely-shaped head drooped
slightly to one side, as though the thin, reed-like throat could
hardly bear the burden of so much beauty; the lips were slightly
parted, and seemed made for sweet music; and all the tender purity
of girlhood looked out in wonder from the dreaming eyes. With her
soft, clinging dress of CREPE-DE-CHINE, and her large leaf-shaped
fan, she looked like one of those delicate little figures men find
in the olive-woods near Tanagra; and there was a touch of Greek
grace in her pose and attitude. Yet she was not PETITE. She was
simply perfectly proportioned - a rare thing in an age when so many
women are either over life-size or insignificant.

Now as Lord Arthur looked at her, he was filled with the terrible
pity that is born of love. He felt that to marry her, with the
doom of murder hanging over his head, would be a betrayal like that
of Judas, a sin worse than any the Borgia had ever dreamed of.
What happiness could there be for them, when at any moment he might
be called upon to carry out the awful prophecy written in his hand?
What manner of life would be theirs while Fate still held this
fearful fortune in the scales? The marriage must be postponed, at
all costs. Of this he was quite resolved. Ardently though he
loved the girl, and the mere touch of her fingers, when they sat
together, made each nerve of his body thrill with exquisite joy, he
recognised none the less clearly where his duty lay, and was fully
conscious of the fact that he had no right to marry until he had
committed the murder. This done, he could stand before the altar
with Sybil Merton, and give his life into her hands without terror
of wrongdoing. This done, he could take her to his arms, knowing
that she would never have to blush for him, never have to hang her
head in shame. But done it must be first; and the sooner the
better for both.

Many men in his position would have preferred the primrose path of
dalliance to the steep heights of duty; but Lord Arthur was too
conscientious to set pleasure above principle. There was more than
mere passion in his love; and Sybil was to him a symbol of all that
is good and noble. For a moment he had a natural repugnance
against what he was asked to do, but it soon passed away. His
heart told him that it was not a sin, but a sacrifice; his reason
reminded him that there was no other course open. He had to choose
between living for himself and living for others, and terrible
though the task laid upon him undoubtedly was, yet he knew that he
must not suffer selfishness to triumph over love. Sooner or later
we are all called upon to decide on the same issue - of us all, the
same question is asked. To Lord Arthur it came early in life -
before his nature had been spoiled by the calculating cynicism of
middle-age, or his heart corroded by the shallow, fashionable
egotism of our day, and he felt no hesitation about doing his duty.
Fortunately also, for him, he was no mere dreamer, or idle
dilettante. Had he been so, he would have hesitated, like Hamlet,
and let irresolution mar his purpose. But he was essentially
practical. Life to him meant action, rather than thought. He had
that rarest of all things, common sense.

The wild, turbid feelings of the previous night had by this time
completely passed away, and it was almost with a sense of shame
that he looked back upon his mad wanderings from street to street,
his fierce emotional agony. The very sincerity of his sufferings
made them seem unreal to him now. He wondered how he could have
been so foolish as to rant and rave about the inevitable. The only
question that seemed to trouble him was, whom to make away with;
for he was not blind to the fact that murder, like the religions of
the Pagan world, requires a victim as well as a priest. Not being
a genius, he had no enemies, and indeed he felt that this was not
the time for the gratification of any personal pique or dislike,
the mission in which he was engaged being one of great and grave
solemnity. He accordingly made out a list of his friends and
relatives on a sheet of notepaper, and after careful consideration,
decided in favour of Lady Clementina Beauchamp, a dear old lady who
lived in Curzon Street, and was his own second cousin by his
mother's side. He had always been very fond of Lady Clem, as every
one called her, and as he was very wealthy himself, having come
into all Lord Rugby's property when he came of age, there was no
possibility of his deriving any vulgar monetary advantage by her
death. In fact, the more he thought over the matter, the more she
seemed to him to be just the right person, and, feeling that any
delay would be unfair to Sybil, he determined to make his
arrangements at once.

The first thing to be done was, of course, to settle with the
cheiromantist; so he sat down at a small Sheraton writing-table
that stood near the window, drew a cheque for 105 pounds, payable
to the order of Mr. Septimus Podgers, and, enclosing it in an
envelope, told his valet to take it to West Moon Street. He then
telephoned to the stables for his hansom, and dressed to go out.
As he was leaving the room he looked back at Sybil Merton's
photograph, and swore that, come what may, he would never let her
know what he was doing for her sake, but would keep the secret of
his self-sacrifice hidden always in his heart.

On his way to the Buckingham, he stopped at a florist's, and sent
Sybil a beautiful basket of narcissus, with lovely white petals and
staring pheasants' eyes, and on arriving at the club, went straight
to the library, rang the bell, and ordered the waiter to bring him
a lemon-and-soda, and a book on Toxicology. He had fully decided
that poison was the best means to adopt in this troublesome
business. Anything like personal violence was extremely
distasteful to him, and besides, he was very anxious not to murder
Lady Clementina in any way that might attract public attention, as
he hated the idea of being lionised at Lady Windermere's, or seeing
his name figuring in the paragraphs of vulgar society - newspapers.
He had also to think of Sybil's father and mother, who were rather
old-fashioned people, and might possibly object to the marriage if
there was anything like a scandal, though he felt certain that if
he told them the whole facts of the case they would be the very
first to appreciate the motives that had actuated him. He had
every reason, then, to decide in favour of poison. It was safe,
sure, and quiet, and did away with any necessity for painful
scenes, to which, like most Englishmen, he had a rooted objection.

Of the science of poisons, however, he knew absolutely nothing, and
as the waiter seemed quite unable to find anything in the library
but RUFF'S GUIDE and BAILEY'S MAGAZINE, he examined the book-
shelves himself, and finally came across a handsomely-bound edition
of the PHARMACOPOEIA, and a copy of Erskine's TOXICOLOGY, edited by
Sir Mathew Reid, the President of the Royal College of Physicians,
and one of the oldest members of the Buckingham, having been
elected in mistake for somebody else; a CONTRETEMPS that so enraged
the Committee, that when the real man came up they black-balled him
unanimously. Lord Arthur was a good deal puzzled at the technical
terms used in both books, and had begun to regret that he had not
paid more attention to his classics at Oxford, when in the second
volume of Erskine, he found a very interesting and complete account
of the properties of aconitine, written in fairly clear English.
It seemed to him to be exactly the poison he wanted. It was swift
- indeed, almost immediate, in its effect - perfectly painless, and
when taken in the form of a gelatine capsule, the mode recommended
by Sir Mathew, not by any means unpalatable. He accordingly made a
note, upon his shirt-cuff, of the amount necessary for a fatal
dose, put the books back in their places, and strolled up St.
James's Street, to Pestle and Humbey's, the great chemists. Mr.
Pestle, who always attended personally on the aristocracy, was a
good deal surprised at the order, and in a very deferential manner
murmured something about a medical certificate being necessary.
However, as soon as Lord Arthur explained to him that it was for a
large Norwegian mastiff that he was obliged to get rid of, as it
showed signs of incipient rabies, and had already bitten the
coachman twice in the calf of the leg, he expressed himself as
being perfectly satisfied, complimented Lord Arthur on his
wonderful knowledge of Toxicology, and had the prescription made up
immediately.

Lord Arthur put the capsule into a pretty little silver BONBONNIERE
that he saw in a shop window in Bond Street, threw away Pestle and
Hambey's ugly pill-box, and drove off at once to Lady Clementina's.

'Well, MONSIEUR LE MAUVAIS SUJET,' cried the old lady, as he
entered the room, 'why haven't you been to see me all this time?'

'My dear Lady Clem, I never have a moment to myself,' said Lord
Arthur, smiling.

'I suppose you mean that you go about all day long with Miss Sybil
Merton, buying CHIFFONS and talking nonsense? I cannot understand
why people make such a fuss about being married. In my day we
never dreamed of billing and cooing in public, or in private for
that matter.'

'I assure you I have not seen Sybil for twenty-four hours, Lady
Clem. As far as I can make out, she belongs entirely to her
milliners.'

'Of course; that is the only reason you come to see an ugly old
woman like myself. I wonder you men don't take warning. ON A FAIT
DES FOLIES POUR MOI, and here I am, a poor rheumatic creature, with
a false front and a bad temper. Why, if it were not for dear Lady
Jansen, who sends me all the worst French novels she can find, I
don't think I could get through the day. Doctors are no use at
all, except to get fees out of one. They can't even cure my
heartburn.'

'I have brought you a cure for that, Lady Clem,' said Lord Arthur
gravely. 'It is a wonderful thing, invented by an American.'

'I don't think I like American inventions, Arthur. I am quite sure
I don't. I read some American novels lately, and they were quite
nonsensical.'

'Oh, but there is no nonsense at all about this, Lady Clem! I
assure you it is a perfect cure. You must promise to try it'; and
Lord Arthur brought the little box out of his pocket, and handed it
to her.

'Well, the box is charming, Arthur. Is it really a present? That
is very sweet of you. And is this the wonderful medicine? It
looks like a BONBON. I'll take it at once.'

'Good heavens! Lady Clem,' cried Lord Arthur, catching hold of her
hand, 'you mustn't do anything of the kind. It is a homoeopathic
medicine, and if you take it without having heartburn, it might do
you no end of harm. Wait till you have an attack, and take it
then. You will be astonished at the result.'

'I should like to take it now,' said Lady Clementina, holding up to
the light the little transparent capsule, with its floating bubble
of liquid aconitine. I am sure it is delicious. The fact is that,
though I hate doctors, I love medicines. However, I'll keep it
till my next attack.'

'And when will that be?' asked Lord Arthur eagerly. 'Will it be
soon?'

'I hope not for a week. I had a very bad time yesterday morning
with it. But one never knows.'

'You are sure to have one before the end of the month then, Lady
Clem?'

'I am afraid so. But how sympathetic you are to-day, Arthur!
Really, Sybil has done you a great deal of good. And now you must
run away, for I am dining with some very dull people, who won't
talk scandal, and I know that if I don't get my sleep now I shall
never be able to keep awake during dinner. Good-bye, Arthur, give
my love to Sybil, and thank you so much for the American medicine.'

'You won't forget to take it, Lady Clem, will you?' said Lord
Arthur, rising from his seat.

'Of course I won't, you silly boy. I think it is most kind of you
to think of me, and I shall write and tell you if I want any more.'

Lord Arthur left the house in high spirits, and with a feeling of
immense relief.

That night he had an interview with Sybil Merton. He told her how
he had been suddenly placed in a position of terrible difficulty,
from which neither honour nor duty would allow him to recede. He
told her that the marriage must be put off for the present, as
until he had got rid of his fearful entanglements, he was not a
free man. He implored her to trust him, and not to have any doubts
about the future. Everything would come right, but patience was
necessary.

The scene took place in the conservatory of Mr. Merton's house, in
Park Lane, where Lord Arthur had dined as usual. Sybil had never
seemed more happy, and for a moment Lord Arthur had been tempted to
play the coward's part, to write to Lady Clementina for the pill,
and to let the marriage go on as if there was no such person as Mr.
Podgers in the world. His better nature, however, soon asserted
itself, and even when Sybil flung herself weeping into his arms, he
did not falter. The beauty that stirred his senses had touched his
conscience also. He felt that to wreck so fair a life for the sake
of a few months' pleasure would be a wrong thing to do.

He stayed with Sybil till nearly midnight, comforting her and being
comforted in turn, and early the next morning he left for Venice,
after writing a manly, firm letter to Mr. Merton about the
necessary postponement of the marriage.

CHAPTER IV

IN Venice he met his brother, Lord Surbiton, who happened to have
come over from Corfu in his yacht. The two young men spent a
delightful fortnight together. In the morning they rode on the
Lido, or glided up and down the green canals in their long black
gondola; in the afternoon they usually entertained visitors on the
yacht; and in the evening they dined at Florian's, and smoked
innumerable cigarettes on the Piazza. Yet somehow Lord Arthur was
not happy. Every day he studied the obituary column in the TIMES,
expecting to see a notice of Lady Clementina's death, but every day
he was disappointed. He began to be afraid that some accident had
happened to her, and often regretted that he had prevented her
taking the aconitine when she had been so anxious to try its
effect. Sybil's letters, too, though full of love, and trust, and
tenderness, were often very sad in their tone, and sometimes he
used to think that he was parted from her for ever.

After a fortnight Lord Surbiton got bored with Venice, and
determined to run down the coast to Ravenna, as he heard that there
was some capital cock-shooting in the Pinetum. Lord Arthur at
first refused absolutely to come, but Surbiton, of whom he was
extremely fond, finally persuaded him that if he stayed at
Danieli's by himself he would be moped to death, and on the morning
of the 15th they started, with a strong nor'-east wind blowing, and
a rather choppy sea. The sport was excellent, and the free, open-
air life brought the colour back to Lord Arthur's cheek, but about
the 22nd he became anxious about Lady Clementina, and, in spite of
Surbiton's remonstrances, came back to Venice by train.

As he stepped out of his gondola on to the hotel steps, the
proprietor came forward to meet him with a sheaf of telegrams.
Lord Arthur snatched them out of his hand, and tore them open.
Everything had been successful. Lady Clementina had died quite
suddenly on the night of the 17th!

His first thought was for Sybil, and he sent her off a telegram
announcing his immediate return to London. He then ordered his
valet to pack his things for the night mail, sent his gondoliers
about five times their proper fare, and ran up to his sitting-room
with a light step and a buoyant heart. There he found three
letters waiting for him. One was from Sybil herself, full of
sympathy and condolence. The others were from his mother, and from
Lady Clementina's solicitor. It seemed that the old lady had dined
with the Duchess that very night, had delighted every one by her
wit and ESPRIT, but had gone home somewhat early, complaining of
heartburn. In the morning she was found dead in her bed, having
apparently suffered no pain. Sir Mathew Reid had been sent for at
once, but, of course, there was nothing to be done, and she was to
be buried on the 22nd at Beauchamp Chalcote. A few days before she
died she had made her will, and left Lord Arthur her little house
in Curzon Street, and all her furniture, personal effects, and
pictures, with the exception of her collection of miniatures, which
was to go to her sister, Lady Margaret Rufford, and her amethyst
necklace, which Sybil Merton was to have. The property was not of
much value; but Mr. Mansfield, the solicitor, was extremely anxious
for Lord Arthur to return at once, if possible, as there were a
great many bills to be paid, and Lady Clementina had never kept any
regular accounts.

Lord Arthur was very much touched by Lady Clementina's kind
remembrance of him, and felt that Mr. Podgers had a great deal to
answer for. His love of Sybil, however, dominated every other
emotion, and the consciousness that he had done his duty gave him
peace and comfort. When he arrived at Charing Cross, he felt
perfectly happy.

The Mertons received him very kindly. Sybil made him promise that
he would never again allow anything to come between them, and the
marriage was fixed for the 7th June. Life seemed to him once more
bright and beautiful, and all his old gladness came back to him
again.

One day, however, as he was going over the house in Curzon Street,
in company with Lady Clementina's solicitor and Sybil herself,
burning packages of faded letters, and turning out drawers of odd
rubbish, the young girl suddenly gave a little cry of delight.

'What have you found, Sybil?' said Lord Arthur, looking up from his
work, and smiling.

'This lovely little silver BONBONNIERE, Arthur. Isn't it quaint
and Dutch? Do give it to me! I know amethysts won't become me
till I am over eighty.'

It was the box that had held the aconitine.

Lord Arthur started, and a faint blush came into his cheek. He had
almost entirely forgotten what he had done, and it seemed to him a
curious coincidence that Sybil, for whose sake he had gone through
all that terrible anxiety, should have been the first to remind him
of it.

'Of course you can have it, Sybil. I gave it to poor Lady Clem
myself.'

'Oh! thank you, Arthur; and may I have the BONBON too? I had no
notion that Lady Clementina liked sweets. I thought she was far
too intellectual.'

Lord Arthur grew deadly pale, and a horrible idea crossed his mind.

'BONBON, Sybil? What do you mean?' he said in a slow, hoarse
voice.

'There is one in it, that is all. It looks quite old and dusty,
and I have not the slightest intention of eating it. What is the
matter, Arthur? How white you look!'

Lord Arthur rushed across the room, and seized the box. Inside it
was the amber-coloured capsule, with its poison-bubble. Lady
Clementina had died a natural death after all!

The shock of the discovery was almost too much for him. He flung
the capsule into the fire, and sank on the sofa with a cry of
despair.

CHAPTER V

MR. MERTON was a good deal distressed at the second postponement of
the marriage, and Lady Julia, who had already ordered her dress for
the wedding, did all in her power to make Sybil break off the
match. Dearly, however, as Sybil loved her mother, she had given
her whole life into Lord Arthur's hands, and nothing that Lady
Julia could say could make her waver in her faith. As for Lord
Arthur himself, it took him days to get over his terrible
disappointment, and for a time his nerves were completely unstrung.
His excellent common sense, however, soon asserted itself, and his
sound, practical mind did not leave him long in doubt about what to
do. Poison having proved a complete failure, dynamite, or some
other form of explosive, was obviously the proper thing to try.

He accordingly looked again over the list of his friends and
relatives, and, after careful consideration, determined to blow up
his uncle, the Dean of Chichester. The Dean, who was a man of
great culture and learning, was extremely fond of clocks, and had a
wonderful collection of timepieces, ranging from the fifteenth
century to the present day, and it seemed to Lord Arthur that this
hobby of the good Dean's offered him an excellent opportunity for
carrying out his scheme. Where to procure an explosive machine
was, of course, quite another matter. The London Directory gave
him no information on the point, and he felt that there was very
little use in going to Scotland Yard about it, as they never seemed
to know anything about the movements of the dynamite faction till
after an explosion had taken place, and not much even then.

Suddenly he thought of his friend Rouvaloff, a young Russian of
very revolutionary tendencies, whom he had met at Lady Windermere's
in the winter. Count Rouvaloff was supposed to be writing a life
of Peter the Great, and to have come over to England for the
purpose of studying the documents relating to that Tsar's residence
in this country as a ship carpenter; but it was generally suspected
that he was a Nihilist agent, and there was no doubt that the
Russian Embassy did not look with any favour upon his presence in
London. Lord Arthur felt that he was just the man for his purpose,
and drove down one morning to his lodgings in Bloomsbury, to ask
his advice and assistance.

'So you are taking up politics seriously?' said Count Rouvaloff,
when Lord Arthur had told him the object of his mission; but Lord
Arthur, who hated swagger of any kind, felt bound to admit to him
that he had not the slightest interest in social questions, and
simply wanted the explosive machine for a purely family matter, in
which no one was concerned but himself.

Count Rouvaloff looked at him for some moments in amazement, and
then seeing that he was quite serious, wrote an address on a piece
of paper, initialled it, and handed it to him across the table.

'Scotland Yard would give a good deal to know this address, my dear
fellow.'

'They shan't have it,' cried Lord Arthur, laughing; and after
shaking the young Russian warmly by the hand he ran downstairs,
examined the paper, and told the coachman to drive to Soho Square.

There he dismissed him, and strolled down Greek Street, till he
came to a place called Bayle's Court. He passed under the archway,
and found himself in a curious CUL-DE-SAC, that was apparently
occupied by a French Laundry, as a perfect network of clothes-lines
was stretched across from house to house, and there was a flutter
of white linen in the morning air. He walked right to the end, and
knocked at a little green house. After some delay, during which
every window in the court became a blurred mass of peering faces,
the door was opened by a rather rough-looking foreigner, who asked
him in very bad English what his business was. Lord Arthur handed
him the paper Count Rouvaloff had given him. When the man saw it
he bowed, and invited Lord Arthur into a very shabby front parlour
on the ground floor, and in a few moments Herr Winckelkopf, as he
was called in England, bustled into the room, with a very wine-
stained napkin round his neck, and a fork in his left hand.

'Count Rouvaloff has given me an introduction to you,' said Lord
Arthur, bowing, 'and I am anxious to have a short interview with
you on a matter of business. My name is Smith, Mr. Robert Smith,
and I want you to supply me with an explosive clock.'

'Charmed to meet you, Lord Arthur,' said the genial little German,
laughing. 'Don't look so alarmed, it is my duty to know everybody,
and I remember seeing you one evening at Lady Windermere's. I hope
her ladyship is quite well. Do you mind sitting with me while I
finish my breakfast? There is an excellent PATE, and my friends
are kind enough to say that my Rhine wine is better than any they
get at the German Embassy,' and before Lord Arthur had got over his
surprise at being recognised, he found himself seated in the back-
room, sipping the most delicious Marcobrunner out of a pale yellow
hock-glass marked with the Imperial monogram, and chatting in the
friendliest manner possible to the famous conspirator.

'Explosive clocks,' said Herr Winckelkopf, 'are not very good
things for foreign exportation, as, even if they succeed in passing
the Custom House, the train service is so irregular, that they
usually go off before they have reached their proper destination.
If, however, you want one for home use, I can supply you with an
excellent article, and guarantee that you will he satisfied with
the result. May I ask for whom it is intended? If it is for the
police, or for any one connected with Scotland Yard, I am afraid I
cannot do anything for you. The English detectives are really our
best friends, and I have always found that by relying on their
stupidity, we can do exactly what we like. I could not spare one
of them.'

'I assure you,' said Lord Arthur, 'that it has nothing to do with
the police at all. In fact, the clock is intended for the Dean of
Chichester.'

'Dear me! I had no idea that you felt so strongly about religion,
Lord Arthur. Few young men do nowadays.'

'I am afraid you overrate me, Herr Winckelkopf,' said Lord Arthur,
blushing. 'The fact is, I really know nothing about theology.'

'It is a purely private matter then?'

'Purely private.'

Herr Winckelkopf shrugged his shoulders, and left the room,
returning in a few minutes with a round cake of dynamite about the
size of a penny, and a pretty little French clock, surmounted by an
ormolu figure of Liberty trampling on the hydra of Despotism.

Lord Arthur's face brightened up when he saw it. 'That is just
what I want,' he cried, 'and now tell me how it goes off.'

'Ah! there is my secret,' answered Herr Winckelkopf, contemplating
his invention with a justifiable look of pride; 'let me know when
you wish it to explode, and I will set the machine to the moment.'

'Well, to-day is Tuesday, and if you could send it off at once - '

'That is impossible; I have a great deal of important work on hand
for some friends of mine in Moscow. Still, I might send it off to-
morrow.'

'Oh, it will be quite time enough!' said Lord Arthur politely, 'if
it is delivered to-morrow night or Thursday morning. For the
moment of the explosion, say Friday at noon exactly. The Dean is
always at home at that hour.'

'Friday, at noon,' repeated Herr Winckelkopf, and he made a note to
that effect in a large ledger that was lying on a bureau near the
fireplace.

'And now,' said Lord Arthur, rising from his seat, 'pray let me
know how much I am in your debt.'

'It is such a small matter, Lord Arthur, that I do not care to make
any charge. The dynamite comes to seven and sixpence, the clock
will be three pounds ten, and the carriage about five shillings. I
am only too pleased to oblige any friend of Count Rouvaloff's.'

'But your trouble, Herr Winckelkopf?'

'Oh, that is nothing! It is a pleasure to me. I do not work for
money; I live entirely for my art.'

Lord Arthur laid down 4 pounds, 2s. 6d. on the table, thanked the
little German for his kindness, and, having succeeded in declining
an invitation to meet some Anarchists at a meat-tea on the
following Saturday, left the house and went off to the Park.

For the next two days he was in a state of the greatest excitement,
and on Friday at twelve o'clock he drove down to the Buckingham to
wait for news. All the afternoon the stolid hall-porter kept
posting up telegrams from various parts of the country giving the
results of horse-races, the verdicts in divorce suits, the state of
the weather, and the like, while the tape ticked out wearisome
details about an all-night sitting in the House of Commons, and a
small panic on the Stock Exchange. At four o'clock the evening
papers came in, and Lord Arthur disappeared into the library with
the PALL MALL, the ST. JAMES'S, the GLOBE, and the ECHO, to the
immense indignation of Colonel Goodchild, who wanted to read the
reports of a speech he had delivered that morning at the Mansion
House, on the subject of South African Missions, and the
advisability of having black Bishops in every province, and for
some reason or other had a strong prejudice against the EVENING
NEWS. None of the papers, however, contained even the slightest
allusion to Chichester, and Lord Arthur felt that the attempt must
have failed. It was a terrible blow to him, and for a time he was
quite unnerved. Herr Winckelkopf, whom he went to see the next day
was full of elaborate apologies, and offered to supply him with
another clock free of charge, or with a case of nitro-glycerine
bombs at cost price. But he had lost all faith in explosives, and
Herr Winckelkopf himself acknowledged that everything is so
adulterated nowadays, that even dynamite can hardly be got in a
pure condition. The little German, however, while admitting that
something must have gone wrong with the machinery, was not without
hope that the clock might still go off, and instanced the case of a
barometer that he had once sent to the military Governor at Odessa,
which, though timed to explode in ten days, had not done so for
something like three months. It was quite true that when it did go
off, it merely succeeded in blowing a housemaid to atoms, the
Governor having gone out of town six weeks before, but at least it
showed that dynamite, as a destructive force, was, when under the
control of machinery, a powerful, though a somewhat unpunctual
agent. Lord Arthur was a little consoled by this reflection, but
even here he was destined to disappointment, for two days
afterwards, as he was going upstairs, the Duchess called him into
her boudoir, and showed him a letter she had just received from the
Deanery.

'Jane writes charming letters,' said the Duchess; 'you must really
read her last. It is quite as good as the novels Mudie sends us.'

Lord Arthur seized the letter from her hand. It ran as follows:-

THE DEANERY, CHICHESTER,
27TH MAY.

My Dearest Aunt,

Thank you so much for the flannel for the Dorcas Society, and also
for the gingham. I quite agree with you that it is nonsense their
wanting to wear pretty things, but everybody is so Radical and
irreligious nowadays, that it is difficult to make them see that
they should not try and dress like the upper classes. I am sure I
don't know what we are coming to. As papa has often said in his
sermons, we live in an age of unbelief.

We have had great fun over a clock that an unknown admirer sent
papa last Thursday. It arrived in a wooden box from London,
carriage paid, and papa feels it must have been sent by some one
who had read his remarkable sermon, 'Is Licence Liberty?' for on
the top of the clock was a figure of a woman, with what papa said
was the cap of Liberty on her head. I didn't think it very
becoming myself, but papa said it was historical, so I suppose it
is all right. Parker unpacked it, and papa put it on the
mantelpiece in the library, and we were all sitting there on Friday
morning, when just as the clock struck twelve, we heard a whirring
noise, a little puff of smoke came from the pedestal of the figure,
and the goddess of Liberty fell off, and broke her nose on the
fender! Maria was quite alarmed, but it looked so ridiculous, that
James and I went off into fits of laughter, and even papa was
amused. When we examined it, we found it was a sort of alarum
clock, and that, if you set it to a particular hour, and put some
gunpowder and a cap under a little hammer, it went off whenever you
wanted. Papa said it must not remain in the library, as it made a
noise, so Reggie carried it away to the schoolroom, and does
nothing but have small explosions all day long. Do you think
Arthur would like one for a wedding present? I suppose they are
quite fashionable in London. Papa says they should do a great deal
of good, as they show that Liberty can't last, but must fall down.
Papa says Liberty was invented at the time of the French
Revolution. How awful it seems!

I have now to go to the Dorcas, where I will read them your most
instructive letter. How true, dear aunt, your idea is, that in
their rank of life they should wear what is unbecoming. I must say
it is absurd, their anxiety about dress, when there are so many
more important things in this world, and in the next. I am so glad
your flowered poplin turned out so well, and that your lace was not
torn. I am wearing my yellow satin, that you so kindly gave me, at
the Bishop's on Wednesday, and think it will look all right. Would
you have bows or not? Jennings says that every one wears bows now,
and that the underskirt should be frilled. Reggie has just had
another explosion, and papa has ordered the clock to be sent to the
stables. I don't think papa likes it so much as he did at first,
though he is very flattered at being sent such a pretty and
ingenious toy. It shows that people read his sermons, and profit
by them.

Papa sends his love, in which James, and Reggie, and Maria all
unite, and, hoping that Uncle Cecil's gout is better, believe me,
dear aunt, ever your affectionate niece,

JANE PERCY.

PS. - Do tell me about the bows. Jennings insists they are the
fashion.

Lord Arthur looked so serious and unhappy over the letter, that the
Duchess went into fits of laughter.

'My dear Arthur,' she cried, 'I shall never show you a young lady's
letter again! But what shall I say about the clock? I think it is
a capital invention, and I should like to have one myself.'

'I don't think much of them,' said Lord Arthur, with a sad smile,
and, after kissing his mother, he left the room.

When he got upstairs, he flung himself on a sofa, and his eyes
filled with tears. He had done his best to commit this murder, but
on both occasions he had failed, and through no fault of his own.
He had tried to do his duty, but it seemed as if Destiny herself
had turned traitor. He was oppressed with the sense of the
barrenness of good intentions, of the futility of trying to be
fine. Perhaps, it would be better to break off the marriage
altogether. Sybil would suffer, it is true, but suffering could
not really mar a nature so noble as hers. As for himself, what did
it matter? There is always some war in which a man can die, some
cause to which a man can give his life, and as life had no pleasure
for him, so death had no terror. Let Destiny work out his doom.
He would not stir to help her.

At half-past seven he dressed, and went down to the club. Surbiton
was there with a party of young men, and he was obliged to dine
with them. Their trivial conversation and idle jests did not
interest him, and as soon as coffee was brought he left them,
inventing some engagement in order to get away. As he was going
out of the club, the hall-porter handed him a letter. It was from
Herr Winckelkopf, asking him to call down the next evening, and
look at an explosive umbrella, that went off as soon as it was
opened. It was the very latest invention, and had just arrived
from Geneva. He tore the letter up into fragments. He had made up
his mind not to try any more experiments. Then he wandered down to
the Thames Embankment, and sat for hours by the river. The moon
peered through a mane of tawny clouds, as if it were a lion's eye,
and innumerable stars spangled the hollow vault, like gold dust
powdered on a purple dome. Now and then a barge swung out into the
turbid stream, and floated away with the tide, and the railway
signals changed from green to scarlet as the trains ran shrieking
across the bridge. After some time, twelve o'clock boomed from the
tall tower at Westminster, and at each stroke of the sonorous bell
the night seemed to tremble. Then the railway lights went out, one
solitary lamp left gleaming like a large ruby on a giant mast, and
the roar of the city became fainter.

At two o'clock he got up, and strolled towards Blackfriars. How
unreal everything looked! How like a strange dream! The houses on
the other side of the river seemed built out of darkness. One
would have said that silver and shadow had fashioned the world
anew. The huge dome of St. Paul's loomed like a bubble through the
dusky air.

As he approached Cleopatra's Needle he saw a man leaning over the
parapet, and as he came nearer the man looked up, the gas-light
falling full upon his face.

It was Mr. Podgers, the cheiromantist! No one could mistake the
fat, flabby face, the gold-rimmed spectacles, the sickly feeble
smile, the sensual mouth.

Lord Arthur stopped. A brilliant idea flashed across him, and he
stole softly up behind. In a moment he had seized Mr. Podgers by
the legs, and flung him into the Thames. There was a coarse oath,
a heavy splash, and all was still. Lord Arthur looked anxiously
over, but could see nothing of the cheiromantist but a tall hat,
pirouetting in an eddy of moonlit water. After a time it also
sank, and no trace of Mr. Podgers was visible. Once he thought
that he caught sight of the bulky misshapen figure striking out for
the staircase by the bridge, and a horrible feeling of failure came
over him, but it turned out to be merely a reflection, and when the
moon shone out from behind a cloud it passed away. At last he
seemed to have realised the decree of destiny. He heaved a deep
sigh of relief, and Sybil's name came to his lips.

'Have you dropped anything, sir?' said a voice behind him suddenly.

He turned round, and saw a policeman with a bull's-eye lantern.

'Nothing of importance, sergeant,' he answered, smiling, and
hailing a passing hansom, he jumped in, and told the man to drive
to Belgrave Square.

For the next few days he alternated between hope and fear. There
were moments when he almost expected Mr. Podgers to walk into the
room, and yet at other times he felt that Fate could not be so
unjust to him. Twice he went to the cheiromantist's address in
West Moon Street, but he could not bring himself to ring the bell.
He longed for certainty, and was afraid of it.

Finally it came. He was sitting in the smoking-room of the club
having tea, and listening rather wearily to Surbiton's account of
the last comic song at the Gaiety, when the waiter came in with the
evening papers. He took up the ST. JAMES'S, and was listlessly
turning over its pages, when this strange heading caught his eye:

SUICIDE OF A CHEIROMANTIST.

He turned pale with excitement, and began to read. The paragraph
ran as follows:

Yesterday morning, at seven o'clock, the body of Mr. Septimus R.
Podgers, the eminent cheiromantist, was washed on shore at
Greenwich, just in front of the Ship Hotel. The unfortunate
gentleman had been missing for some days, and considerable anxiety
for his safety had been felt in cheiromantic circles. It is
supposed that he committed suicide under the influence of a
temporary mental derangement, caused by overwork, and a verdict to
that effect was returned this afternoon by the coroner's jury. Mr.
Podgers had just completed an elaborate treatise on the subject of
the Human Hand, that will shortly be published, when it will no
doubt attract much attention. The deceased was sixty-five years of
age, and does not seem to have left any relations.

Lord Arthur rushed out of the club with the paper still in his
hand, to the immense amazement of the hall-porter, who tried in
vain to stop him, and drove at once to Park Lane. Sybil saw him
from the window, and something told her that he was the bearer of
good news. She ran down to meet him, and, when she saw his face,
she knew that all was well.

'My dear Sybil,' cried Lord Arthur, 'let us be married to-morrow!'

'You foolish boy! Why, the cake is not even ordered!' said Sybil,
laughing through her tears.

CHAPTER VI

WHEN the wedding took place, some three weeks later, St. Peter's
was crowded with a perfect mob of smart people. The service was
read in the most impressive manner by the Dean of Chichester, and
everybody agreed that they had never seen a handsomer couple than
the bride and bridegroom. They were more than handsome, however -
they were happy. Never for a single moment did Lord Arthur regret
all that he had suffered for Sybil's sake, while she, on her side,
gave him the best things a woman can give to any man - worship,
tenderness, and love. For them romance was not killed by reality.
They always felt young.

Some years afterwards, when two beautiful children had been born to
them, Lady Windermere came down on a visit to Alton Priory, a
lovely old place, that had been the Duke's wedding present to his
son; and one afternoon as she was sitting with Lady Arthur under a
lime-tree in the garden, watching the little boy and girl as they
played up and down the rose-walk, like fitful sunbeams, she
suddenly took her hostess's hand in hers, and said, 'Are you happy,
Sybil?'

'Dear Lady Windermere, of course I am happy. Aren't you?'

'I have no time to be happy, Sybil. I always like the last person
who is introduced to me; but, as a rule, as soon as I know people I
get tired of them.'

'Don't your lions satisfy you, Lady Windermere?'

'Oh dear, no! lions are only good for one season. As soon as their
manes are cut, they are the dullest creatures going. Besides, they
behave very badly, if you are really nice to them. Do you remember
that horrid Mr. Podgers? He was a dreadful impostor. Of course, I
didn't mind that at all, and even when he wanted to borrow money I
forgave him, but I could not stand his making love to me. He has
really made me hate cheiromancy. I go in for telepathy now. It is
much more amusing.'

'You mustn't say anything against cheiromancy here, Lady
Windermere; it is the only subject that Arthur does not like people
to chaff about. I assure you he is quite serious over it.'

'You don't mean to say that he believes in it, Sybil?'

'Ask him, Lady Windermere, here he is'; and Lord Arthur came up the
garden with a large bunch of yellow roses in his hand, and his two
children dancing round him.

'Lord Arthur?'

'Yes, Lady Windermere.'

'You don't mean to say that you believe in cheiromancy?'

'Of course I do,' said the young man, smiling.

'But why?'

'Because I owe to it all the happiness of my life,' he murmured,
throwing himself into a wicker chair.

'My dear Lord Arthur, what do you owe to it?'

'Sybil,' he answered, handing his wife the roses, and looking into
her violet eyes.

'What nonsense!' cried Lady Windermere. 'I never heard such
nonsense in all my life.'

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

CHAPTER I

WHEN Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville
Chase, every one told him he was doing a very foolish thing, as
there was no doubt at all that the place was haunted. Indeed, Lord
Canterville himself, who was a man of the most punctilious honour,
had felt it his duty to mention the fact to Mr. Otis when they came
to discuss terms.

'We have not cared to live in the place ourselves,' said Lord
Canterville, 'since my grandaunt, the Dowager Duchess of Bolton,
was frightened into a fit, from which she never really recovered,
by two skeleton hands being placed on her shoulders as she was
dressing for dinner, and I feel bound to tell you, Mr. Otis, that
the ghost has been seen by several living members of my family, as
well as by the rector of the parish, the Rev. Augustus Dampier, who
is a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. After the unfortunate
accident to the Duchess, none of our younger servants would stay
with us, and Lady Canterville often got very little sleep at night,
in consequence of the mysterious noises that came from the corridor
and the library.'

'My Lord,' answered the Minister, 'I will take the furniture and
the ghost at a valuation. I come from a modern country, where we
have everything that money can buy; and with all our spry young
fellows painting the Old World red, and carrying off your best
actresses and prima-donnas, I reckon that if there were such a
thing as a ghost in Europe, we'd have it at home in a very short
time in one of our public museums, or on the road as a show.'

'I fear that the ghost exists,' said Lord Canterville, smiling,
'though it may have resisted the overtures of your enterprising
impresarios. It has been well known for three centuries, since
1584 in fact, and always makes its appearance before the death of
any member of our family.'

'Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville.
But there is no such thing, sir, as a ghost, and I guess the laws
of Nature are not going to be suspended for the British
aristocracy.'

'You are certainly very natural in America,' answered Lord
Canterville, who did not quite understand Mr. Otis's last
observation, 'and if you don't mind a ghost in the house, it is all
right. Only you must remember I warned you.'

A few weeks after this, the purchase was completed, and at the
close of the season the Minister and his family went down to
Canterville Chase. Mrs. Otis, who, as Miss Lucretia R. Tappan, of
West 53rd Street, had been a celebrated New York belle, was now a
very handsome, middle-aged woman, with fine eyes, and a superb
profile. Many American ladies on leaving their native land adopt
an appearance of chronic ill-health, under the impression that it
is a form of European refinement, but Mrs. Otis had never fallen
into this error. She had a magnificent constitution, and a really
wonderful amount of animal spirits. Indeed, in many respects, she
was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we
have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of
course, language. Her eldest son, christened Washington by his
parents in a moment of patriotism, which he never ceased to regret,
was a fair-haired, rather good-looking young man, who had qualified
himself for American diplomacy by leading the German at the Newport
Casino for three successive seasons, and even in London was well
known as an excellent dancer. Gardenias and the peerage were his
only weaknesses. Otherwise he was extremely sensible. Miss
Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as
a fawn, and with a fine freedom in her large blue eyes. She was a
wonderful amazon, and had once raced old Lord Bilton on her pony
twice round the park, winning by a length and a half, just in front
of the Achilles statue, to the huge delight of the young Duke of
Cheshire, who proposed for her on the spot, and was sent back to
Eton that very night by his guardians, in floods of tears. After
Virginia came the twins, who were usually called 'The Stars and
Stripes,' as they were always getting swished. They were
delightful boys, and with the exception of the worthy Minister the
only true republicans of the family.

As Canterville Chase is seven miles from Ascot, the nearest railway
station, Mr. Otis had telegraphed for a waggonette to meet them,
and they started on their drive in high spirits. It was a lovely
July evening, and the air was delicate with the scent of the pine-
woods. Now and then they heard a wood pigeon brooding over its own
sweet voice, or saw, deep in the rustling fern, the burnished
breast of the pheasant. Little squirrels peered at them from the
beech-trees as they went by, and the rabbits scudded away through
the brushwood and over the mossy knolls, with their white tails in
the air. As they entered the avenue of Canterville Chase, however,
the sky became suddenly overcast with clouds, a curious stillness
seemed to hold the atmosphere, a great flight of rooks passed
silently over their heads, and, before they reached the house, some
big drops of rain had fallen.

Standing on the steps to receive them was an old woman, neatly
dressed in black silk, with a white cap and apron. This was Mrs.
Umney, the housekeeper, whom Mrs. Otis, at Lady Canterville's
earnest request, had consented to keep on in her former position.
She made them each a low curtsey as they alighted, and said in a
quaint, old-fashioned manner, 'I bid you welcome to Canterville
Chase.'  Following her, they passed through the fine Tudor hall
into the library, a long, low room, panelled in black oak, at the
end of which was a large stained-glass window. Here they found tea
laid out for them, and, after taking off their wraps, they sat down
and began to look round, while Mrs. Umney waited on them.

Suddenly Mrs. Otis caught sight of a dull red stain on the floor
just by the fireplace and, quite unconscious of what it really
signified, said to Mrs. Umney, 'I am afraid something has been
spilt there.'

'Yes, madam,' replied the old housekeeper in a low voice, 'blood
has been spilt on that spot.'

'How horrid,' cried Mrs. Otis; 'I don't at all care for blood-
stains in a sitting-room. It must be removed at once.'

The old woman smiled, and answered in the same low, mysterious
voice, 'It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was
murdered on that very spot by her own husband, Sir Simon de
Canterville, in 1575. Sir Simon survived her nine years, and
disappeared suddenly under very mysterious circumstances. His body
has never been discovered, but his guilty spirit still haunts the
Chase. The blood-stain has been much admired by tourists and
others, and cannot be removed.'

'That is all nonsense,' cried Washington Otis; 'Pinkerton's
Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no
time,' and before the terrified housekeeper could interfere he had
fallen upon his knees, and was rapidly scouring the floor with a
small stick of what looked like a black cosmetic. In a few moments
no trace of the blood-stain could be seen.

'I knew Pinkerton would do it,' he exclaimed triumphantly, as he
looked round at his admiring family; but no sooner had he said
these words than a terrible flash of lightning lit up the sombre
room, a fearful peal of thunder made them all start to their feet,
and Mrs. Umney fainted.

'What a monstrous climate!' said the American Minister calmly, as
he lit a long cheroot. 'I guess the old country is so
overpopulated that they have not enough decent weather for
everybody. I have always been of opinion that emigration is the
only thing for England.'

'My dear Hiram,' cried Mrs. Otis, 'what can we do with a woman who
faints?'

'Charge it to her like breakages,' answered the Minister; 'she
won't faint after that'; and in a few moments Mrs. Umney certainly
came to. There was no doubt, however, that she was extremely
upset, and she sternly warned Mr. Otis to beware of some trouble
coming to the house.

'I have seen things with my own eyes, sir,' she said, 'that would
make any Christian's hair stand on end, and many and many a night I
have not closed my eyes in sleep for the awful things that are done
here.'  Mr. Otis, however, and his wife warmly assured the honest
soul that they were not afraid of ghosts, and, after invoking the
blessings of Providence on her new master and mistress, and making
arrangements for an increase of salary, the old housekeeper
tottered off to her own room.

CHAPTER II

THE storm raged fiercely all that night, but nothing of particular
note occurred. The next morning, however, when they came down to
breakfast, they found the terrible stain of blood once again on the
floor. 'I don't think it can be the fault of the Paragon
Detergent,' said Washington, 'for I have tried it with everything.
It must be the ghost.'  He accordingly rubbed out the stain a
second time, but the second morning it appeared again. The third
morning also it was there, though the library had been locked up at
night by Mr. Otis himself, and the key carried upstairs. The whole
family were now quite interested; Mr. Otis began to suspect that he
had been too dogmatic in his denial of the existence of ghosts,
Mrs. Otis expressed her intention of joining the Psychical Society,
and Washington prepared a long letter to Messrs. Myers and Podmore
on the subject of the Permanence of Sanguineous Stains when
connected with Crime. That night all doubts about the objective
existence of phantasmata were removed for ever.

The day had been warm and sunny; and, in the cool of the evening,
the whole family went out for a drive. They did not return home
till nine o'clock, when they had a light supper. The conversation
in no way turned upon ghosts, so there were not even those primary
conditions of receptive expectation which so often precede the
presentation of psychical phenomena. The subjects discussed, as I
have since learned from Mr. Otis, were merely such as form the
ordinary conversation of cultured Americans of the better class,
such as the immense superiority of Miss Fanny Davenport over Sarah
Bernhardt as an actress; the difficulty of obtaining green corn,
buckwheat cakes, and hominy, even in the best English houses; the
importance of Boston in the development of the world-soul; the
advantages of the baggage check system in railway travelling; and
the sweetness of the New York accent as compared to the London
drawl. No mention at all was made of the supernatural, nor was Sir
Simon de Canterville alluded to in any way. At eleven o'clock the
family retired, and by half-past all the lights were out. Some
time after, Mr. Otis was awakened by a curious noise in the
corridor, outside his room. It sounded like the clank of metal,
and seemed to be coming nearer every moment. He got up at once,
struck a match, and looked at the time. It was exactly one
o'clock. He was quite calm, and felt his pulse, which was not at
all feverish. The strange noise still continued, and with it he
heard distinctly the sound of footsteps. He put on his slippers,
took a small oblong phial out of his dressing-case, and opened the
door. Right in front of him he saw, in the wan moonlight, an old
man of terrible aspect. His eyes were as red burning coals; long
grey hair fell over his shoulders in matted coils; his garments,
which were of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and from his
wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves.

'My dear sir,' said Mr. Otis, 'I really must insist on your oiling
those chains, and have brought you for that purpose a small bottle
of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It is said to be completely
efficacious upon one application, and there are several
testimonials to that effect on the wrapper from some of our most
eminent native divines. I shall leave it here for you by the
bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you with more should
you require it.'  With these words the United States Minister laid
the bottle down on a marble table, and, closing his door, retired
to rest.

For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in
natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the
polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollow groans,
and emitting a ghastly green light. Just, however, as he reached
the top of the great oak staircase, a door was flung open, two
little white-robed figures appeared, and a large pillow whizzed
past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, hastily
adopting the Fourth Dimension of Space as a means of escape, he
vanished through the wainscoting, and the house became quite quiet.

On reaching a small secret chamber in the left wing, he leaned up
against a moonbeam to recover his breath, and began to try and
realise his position. Never, in a brilliant and uninterrupted
career of three hundred years, had he been so grossly insulted. He
thought of the Dowager Duchess, whom he had frightened into a fit
as she stood before the glass in her lace and diamonds; of the four
housemaids, who had gone off into hysterics when he merely grinned
at them through the curtains of one of the spare bedrooms; of the
rector of the parish, whose candle he had blown out as he was
coming late one night from the library, and who had been under the
care of Sir William Gull ever since, a perfect martyr to nervous
disorders; and of old Madame de Tremouillac, who, having wakened up
one morning early and seen a skeleton seated in an arm-chair by the
fire reading her diary, had been confined to her bed for six weeks
with an attack of brain fever, and, on her recovery, had become
reconciled to the Church, and broken off her connection with that
notorious sceptic Monsieur de Voltaire. He remembered the terrible
night when the wicked Lord Canterville was found choking in his
dressing-room, with the knave of diamonds half-way down his throat,
and confessed, just before he died, that he had cheated Charles
James Fox out of 50,000 pounds at Crockford's by means of that very
card, and swore that the ghost had made him swallow it. All his
great achievements came back to him again, from the butler who had
shot himself in the pantry because he had seen a green hand tapping
at the window pane, to the beautiful Lady Stutfield, who was always
obliged to wear a black velvet band round her throat to hide the
mark of five fingers burnt upon her white skin, and who drowned
herself at last in the carp-pond at the end of the King's Walk.
With the enthusiastic egotism of the true artist he went over his
most celebrated performances, and smiled bitterly to himself as he
recalled to mind his last appearance as 'Red Ruben, or the
Strangled Babe,' his DEBUT as 'Gaunt Gibeon, the Blood-sucker of
Bexley Moor,' and the FURORE he had excited one lovely June evening
by merely playing ninepins with his own bones upon the lawn-tennis
ground. And after all this, some wretched modern Americans were to
come and offer him the Rising Sun Lubricator, and throw pillows at
his head! It was quite unbearable. Besides, no ghosts in history
had ever been treated in this manner. Accordingly, he determined
to have vengeance, and remained till daylight in an attitude of
deep thought.

CHAPTER III

THE next morning when the Otis family met at breakfast, they
discussed the ghost at some length. The United States Minister was
naturally a little annoyed to find that his present had not been
accepted. 'I have no wish,' he said, 'to do the ghost any personal
injury, and I must say that, considering the length of time he has
been in the house, I don't think it is at all polite to throw
pillows at him' - a very just remark, at which, I am sorry to say,
the twins burst into shouts of laughter. 'Upon the other hand,' he
continued, 'if he really declines to use the Rising Sun Lubricator,
we shall have to take his chains from him. It would be quite
impossible to sleep, with such a noise going on outside the
bedrooms.'

For the rest of the week, however, they were undisturbed, the only
thing that excited any attention being the continual renewal of the
blood-stain on the library floor. This certainly was very strange,
as the door was always locked at night by Mr. Otis, and the windows
kept closely barred. The chameleon-like colour, also, of the stain
excited a good deal of comment. Some mornings it was a dull
(almost Indian) red, then it would be vermilion, then a rich
purple, and once when they came down for family prayers, according
to the simple rites of the Free American Reformed Episcopalian
Church, they found it a bright emerald-green. These kaleidoscopic
changes naturally amused the party very much, and bets on the
subject were freely made every evening. The only person who did
not enter into the joke was little Virginia, who, for some
unexplained reason, was always a good deal distressed at the sight
of the blood-stain, and very nearly cried the morning it was
emerald-green.

The second appearance of the ghost was on Sunday night. Shortly
after they had gone to bed they were suddenly alarmed by a fearful
crash in the hall. Rushing downstairs, they found that a large
suit of old armour had become detached from its stand, and had
fallen on the stone floor, while, seated in a high-backed chair,
was the Canterville gh