her chamber. Ruth had the gret
front chamber, opposite to Mis' Sullivan's. I've been in it; it was a
monstrous big room, with outlandish furniture in it, that the Gineral
brought over from an old palace out to Italy. And there was a great big
lookin'-glass over the dressin'-table, that they said come from Venice,
that swung so that you could see the whole room in it. Wal, she was a
standin' front o' this, jist goin' to undress herself, a hearin' the
rain drip on the leaves and the wind a whishin' and whis-perin' in the
old elm-trees, and jist a thinkin' over her lot, and what should she
do now, all alone in the world, when of a sudden she felt a kind o'
lightness in her head, and she thought she seemed to see somebody in the
glass a movin'. And she looked behind, and there wa'n't nobody there.
Then she looked forward in the glass, and saw a strange big room, that
she'd never seen before, with a long painted winder in it; and along
side o' this stood a tall cabinet with a good many drawers in it. And
she saw herself, and knew that it was herself, in this room, along with
another woman whose back was turned towards her. She saw herself speak
to this woman, and p'int to the cabinet. She saw the woman nod her head.
She saw herself go to the cabinet, and open the middle drawer, and take
out a bundle o' papers from the very back end on't. She saw her take out
a paper from the middle, and open it, and hold it up; and she knew that
there was the missin' will. Wal, it all overcome her so that she fainted
clean away. And her maid found her a ly-in' front o' the dressin'-table
on the floor.

"She was sick of a fever' for a week or fortnight a'ter; and your Aunt
Lois she was down takin' care of her; and, as soon as she got able to be
moved, she was took out to Lady Lothrop's. Jeff he was jist as attentive
and good as he could be; but she wouldn't bear him near her room. If he
so much as set a foot on the stairs that led to it she'd know it, and
got so wild that he hed to be kept from comin' into the front o' the
house. But he was doin' his best to buy up good words from everybody. He
paid all the servants double; he kept every one in their places, and
did so well by 'em all that the gen'l word among 'em was that Miss Ruth
couldn't do better than to marry such a nice, open-handed gentleman.

"Wal, Lady Lothrop she wrote to Lady Maxwell all that hed happened; and
Lady Maxwell, she sent over for Ruth to come over and be a companion f