t to rest. She
stole downstairs, peeped through the keyhole of the library, saw you
asleep, the book lying before you, entered, took away the book softly,
meant to glance at its contents and to return it. You were sleeping so
soundly she thought you would not wake for an hour; she carried it into
the library, leaving the door open, and there began to pore over it. She
stumbled first on one of the passages in Latin; she hoped to find some
part in plain English, turned over the leaves, putting her candle close
to them, for the old woman's eyes were dim, when she heard you make some
sound in your sleep. Alarmed, she looked round; you were moving uneasily
in your seat, and muttering to yourself. From watching you she was soon
diverted by the consequences of her own confounded curiosity and folly.
In moving, she had unconsciously brought the poor manuscript close to
the candle; the leaves caught the flame; her own cap and hand burning
first made her aware of the mischief done. She threw down the book; her
sleeve was in flames; she had first to tear off the sleeve, which
was, luckily for her, not sewn to her dress. By the time she recovered
presence of mind to attend to the book, half its leaves were reduced to
tinder. She did not dare then to replace what was left of the manuscript
on your table; returned with it to her room, hid it, and resolved to
keep her own secret. I should never have guessed it; I had never
even spoken to her of the occurrence; but when I talked over the
disappearance of the book to Margrave last night, and expressed my
disbelief of your story, he said, in his merry way: 'But do you think
that Fenwick is the only person curious about your cousin's odd ways
and strange history? Why, every servant in the household would have been
equally curious. You have examined your servants, of course?' 'No, I
never thought of it.' 'Examine them now, then. Examine especially that
old housekeeper. I observe a great change in her manner since I came
here, weeks ago, to look over the house. She has something on her
mind,--I see it in her eyes.' Then it occurred to me, too, that the
woman's manner had altered, and that she seemed always in a tremble and
a fidget. I went at once to her room, and charged her with stealing the
book. She fell on her knees, and told the whole story as I have told
it to you, and as I shall take care to tell it to all to whom I have so
foolishly blabbed my yet more foolish suspicions of yourself.