s a
light night, and the window-shutters unclosed--but whom she had never
seen before, stepped in on tiptoe, and with an appearance of great
caution. He was a rather small man, with a very red face; he wore an
oddly cut frock coat, the collar of which stood up, and trousers, rough
and wide, like those of a sailor, turned up at the ankles, and either
short boots or clumsy shoes, covered with mud. This man listened beside
the nurse's bed, which stood next the door, as if to satisfy himself
that she was sleeping soundly; and having done so for some seconds, he
began to move cautiously in a diagonal line, across the room to the
chimney-piece, where he stood for a while, and so resumed his tiptoe
walk, skirting the wall, until he reached a chest of drawers, some of
which were open, and into which he looked, and began to rummage in a
hurried way, as the child supposed, making search for something worth
taking away. He then passed on to the window, where was a
dressing-table, at which he also stopped, turning over the things upon
it, and standing for some time at the window as if looking out, and then
resuming his walk by the side wall opposite to that by which he had
moved up to the window, he returned in the same way toward the nurse's
bed, so as to reach it at the foot. With its side to the end wall, in
which was the door, was placed the little bed in which lay my eldest
child, who watched his proceedings with the extremest terror. As he drew
near she instinctively moved herself in the bed, with her head and
shoulders to the wall, drawing up her feet; but he passed by without
appearing to observe, or, at least, to care for her presence.
Immediately after the nurse turned in her bed as if about to waken; and
when the child, who had drawn the clothes about her head, again ventured
to peep out, the man was gone.

The child had no idea of her having seen any thing more formidable than
a thief. With the prowling, cautious, and noiseless manner of proceeding
common to such marauders, the air and movements of the man whom she had
seen entirely corresponded. And on hearing her perfectly distinct and
consistent account, I could myself arrive at no other conclusion than
that a stranger had actually got into the house. I had, therefore, in
the first instance, a most careful examination made to discover any
traces of an entrance having been made by any window into the house. The
doors had been found barred and locked as usual; but no s