A Mirror Vision

The hostess, au elegantly dressed lady of 60, with abundant white hair puffed above eyes still black and bright with a flre that must once have kindled a flame in many a heart, caught the ball of ceaversation as it carne her way. "In my youth we never heard of this thing yon cali mental telegraph, theosophy and the like, but every now and then there took place, as now, occurrences which pnzzled the thoughtfnl, thongh they had no name to give the phenomena. But, like most young girls, I was skeptical of all that was not directly natural whcn I thought of it at all, which was uot often, until I had the experience I am going to teil you of, which was so strange that it upset me for some weeks, which agitation carne not so much from the real shock and fright that I sulïered as from the mysterious circumstances that attended it. "My own home was a country place some 15 miles from a large city, where I had several families of relatives whom I visited once or twice a year or whenever there was to be given any ball or opera or festivity of sufficient importance for me to desire to attend it. I was just 17 when a rojil personage from Europe came across the pond to get a peep at rhe Yankees, and thongh democratie to the point of being rabid every manly head was uncovered in the country, every manly throat ached with cheering this personage, and every feminiue heart beat high with the hope of ha ving the royal eye rest for a moment upou the new gown which was to be had at all hazards if the f amily dined on potatoes alone for a year to come. "There were to be a series of entertainments given in honor of his highness, and I, like all the rest of the world, must attend in all thefinery my father's ampie means allowed me. From my mother's side of the f amily I had inherïted some very fine diamonds, amounting in value to over $10,000, and even a great deal more in those days, when these gems were not so commou, and on this occasion I teased my father to let me wear them. "I hadnómother to telline that such rich jewelry was not in the best of taste on one êo young and au unmarried woman, so when I started for the city I carried the diamonds with me. But my maid was au elderly woman, who had also been my iiurse siuce my motherless babyhood, and the jewels were in her care. Unfortunately, however, Marian feil ill the day after I left home, and being confined to her bed I was dependent on my aunt's maid for services in my dressing, etc. In order to lighten thiswoman's dnties, which were heavy, as my cousins also frequently required her aid as hairdresser and seamstress, I looked after my clothes and waited on myself as much as possible, performing such acts of my toilet as I could. "It thus happened that one night, after returning from a reception at the house of a í'oreign consul, I disrobed myself of my trained evening dress, and slipping on a loóse sack sat. down to brush my hair before retiring. My seat was just in front of a large glass above my dresser, or what was then called a 'bureau, ' on which I had placed tho jewelry I had worn - the diamoads I have spoken of. "As I plied the brush my eyes naturally feil on this mirror, which reflected the room behind me, and as I continued to look I saw evolving itself appareutly from empty air the figure of a man. Hewaswell dressed, even stylishly, and was after a fashion handsmne, but deathly pale, and his eyes glittered feverishly. "He crept nearer and nearer to me, seeming to look only at the diamonds loosely strewn upou the marble before me, but his right hand was thrust into his breast, and as he stood over. me he suddenly jerked it out and raised high above me a small Spanish dagger, the hilt of which was of a dead gold, or Etruscan gold, as it is called. This was set with rubíes, which I noticed with that peculiar atteutionto tri fles so often displayed in momeuts of danger. Up to this point I had been too tenifled to cali out or even to move, not even turning my head to look around rae, but watching the movements of the assassin as they were reflected in the mirror. But as he brought down his hand with a swift, murderous motion to strike me from my chair with a single blow the spell that had held me snapped, and I sprang to my f eet with a shriek of terror and rushed to the door. "Even as I ran I wondered at not encountering the man, but though I could not remember afterward seeing him ar all I did nnt s.tay, irat unlooking the door flirag it open, still screaming as inst a, the sounds conld issue frorn my Ups. It happenc-d that twoof my young men cousins liad lingored later than i the rest of the family at the entertain ment referred to, and having just come ! in were coming np the main staircase close to my room. Rushing to these, I threw inyself into the arms of the neari est, Christopher, shrieking, 'Tho man, : the man!' "The two young men hurried to my room and looked about, but could see no one. The windows were all fastened, 1 and as I had myself just come out of the single door to the apartment, and J from which no oneelse conld have slipÍ ped without our seeing him, the only ! chance was for the burglar to have con1 cealed himself in the room. "By this time the rest of the household was aroused, and not only my room, but the entire place, was thoroughly searched. The three windows of the room were provided with heavy old fashioned shutters, twoof them opening on the street, an unbroken descent of over 40 feet, while the other had not been unclosed for years, for it looked almost into one in the next house, which ■was also seen to be tightly secured. '■ The house itself was occupied by a i spectable family in strai tened círcumstances. It therefore seemed an impossibility for a man to have entered the J room nnseen by me and to have made his escape in the few seconds it took my ! cousins to reach the spot where I had j seen him. So itwas thought that I had I fallen asleepiu my chair, and my visión had been the result of my late supper of i minced chicken and champagne, and j though I was still shivering from my j l'right I allowed myself to be almost persuaded that this was the real truth. "By the next night I had so thoroughly been laughed into believing this that I took my seat before the mirror and began brushing my hair as nonchalantly as at flrst, when to my utter horror I saw that figure form itself from nothing, absolutely nothing, and again advance upon me with that menacing attitude. Again it raised its hands to strike, the terrible eyes seemed to glare into mine, fixed on them in the mirror, and, as before, released from the horror that held me stricken into marble, I lcaped to my feet and ran screaminy into the corridor without. I glancei back into the room, but there was n one visible there, but I was not to be convinced this time that an overheatec imagination was to blaine. I fled to my auut's door, and as she opened it feil fainting in her arms. I was not to be stirred from my belief that my life had ! been threatened in that dreadful room j by all the searchng and arguments that j were made and announced my intention of returning home in the morning. "But the next night was to be that of the grand ball given in honor of the priuce, and that, with the fact that I had the prettiest gown in the city to wear, flnally prevailed on me to alter my mind, though I made it a condition that Marian, my maid, was to occupy a little antechamber opening into mine, and that my stalwart cousin, Christopher, who was afterward my loved husband for uearly 40 years, was to sleep on a cot in the hall just outside my door. So with a contented mind I went to the ball, returning late to find my good maid asleep, and as she was still not well I crept quietly in and proceeded to undress. "I let down my hair, and, though too fatigued, as usual, to brush it, sat for some momeuts looking at myself in the glass - I was a little vain in those days - when all at once I saw behind me the man with his knife in his hand. "But this time he did not evolve from air, but was there, real flesh and blood, his hot breath nearly scorching the back of my neck. I leaped to my feet with a scream, and as I did so he strook at me, but the blade glanced aside, wounding me only slightly in the shoulder. I screamed aloud, and he felled me with a blow just as Marian and Christopher came rushing in. Seeing them, the robber and assassin sprang for the open window and would have escaped by leaping - an easy feat for a muscular man - in the window of the house next door, which was also open and only about three feet distaut. This had evidently been the way by which he had entered and which he used as an egress. But Christopher caught him and dragged him back, and after a struggle secured him, aided by his brothers, who had been summoued by Marian, so when I of ened my eyes from my swoon it was to see the would be murderer lying bound, while near me lay a small dagger, with a haudle of Etruscan gold, studded with flawed rubies. "But here is the strange part of the story: On the night of bis capture he had entered my room for the first time, though on tho two previous nights he had watched me through the shutters of the two windows. He was the sou of the family residing next door, and from the love of dress and pleasure beyond his meaus had involved himself hopelessly in debt, and seeing my diamonds had conceived the idea of killing or at least silencing me and stealing them to payhis debts. But though his mind had dwelt persisteutly on the scheme he had lacked courage to carry it out until the night of the ball, when. pressed by au importúnate creditor, ho had let himself into the room, where he had concealed himself until my arrival, not knowing of the protectors I had been warned to have near me."