The Arm Chair Library No. 79: The Haunted Homestead — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Charmed,” I auswered. Without pereéiving the double en- tendre hidden in my reply, she said: “And you have always slept well, then?” “Never better,’ I replied; “in that chamber,” I mentally added. In her ignorance of this silent re- servation, she was pleased with my an- swer, and sat smiling quietly and studying, apparently, the glowing coals of fire in the chimney-place. I breke her reverie by saying, in a careless, off-hand way: “Apropos de rien, you have not told me the story of that mysterious por- fm trait yet.” | peat “No, I haven’t! But, indeed, I am ~ not sure that the history of Madeleine Van Der Vaughan has anything to do with that portrait, since | am not sure that it is hers.” aaa | ae “No matter; take it for granted that it is; or, at least, tell the story whether or not.” ‘ “Very well; listen, then,” said Ma- thilde, settling herself comfortably in her chair, and commencing the narra- tive. “The Van Der Vaughans, as you may perceive by their name, are of Teutonic origin, though by frequent intermarriage with other races they have no doubt lost, or modified, many ._ of their national traits. Their resi- By dence in this part of the country dates back to the time of the first settle- ment of New York by the Dutch. “Why this particular family should have wandered down to the back- woods and mountains of Virginia re- mains a mystery, unless they were of a patriotic and poetical turn, and found in her wild hills and boundless woods something fo remind them of the es Hartz Mountains and thé Black For- ae est. However that may be, they came, took up a great tract of land, built _ _____ themselves a dwelling place (the old ES. Eee He - <2} x 3 7 ate a He = a ty Pie *, an aan % + A a = Seu ENA TS pe x me Pew ek Lee ie ile ae Ps a SOR He is Sy . vr LA ak pie Ji THE HAGNTED TIOMESTEAD. house adjoining this) and settled down permanently. 19 “For a time they were prosperous, as others were, and then, by bad ag- riculture, they grew poor, as others in this neighborhood did. If we may- believé tradition, the poorer this fam- ily grew the prouder they became, un- til at last, pride and poverty united, culminated in the character and the circumstances of the last heiress of the telder branch of the family, Madeleine Van Der Vaughan. “At the age of twenty-five, Made- leine Van Der Vaughan was left, by the death of her father (her mother died long before) sele heiress of a worn-out plantation and dilapidated house. ““Madeleine is reported to have pos- sessed great and singular beauty—a tall and imperial form, a fine head, with strongly marked and _ perfectly regular dent nrchs a deep, rich com- plexion, and hair, eyes and eyebrows all black as Erebus. . Gifted and ac- complished was she also, and, as | stated; proud as Lucifer. It is said that this overweening pride prevented her taking a husband from among her numerous visitors, none of whom, though of the best families in the State, she deemed worthy of her own ‘high alliance.’ “TIntil at last her relative, Ernest Wolfgang Van Der Vaughan, made his appearance in her train and claimed her hand; a claim that was indorsed by her acceptance. “Tt is said that family pride had to do with this marriage much more than love. However that might be, no soonér was the knot securely tied than ~ Mr. Van Der Vaughan began to im- portune his wife to sell her land and homestead that they might emigrate to the West. But in vain; for Mrs. Van Der Vaughan would not for an Gomichbooks- con