f sketching some
favourite views, and we had walked about half a mile when I perceived
that we had forgotten our drawing materials, the absence of which
would have defeated the object of our walk. Laughing at our own
thoughtlessness, we returned to the house, and leaving Emily outside,
I ran upstairs to procure the drawing-books and pencils which lay
in my bed-room. As I ran up the stairs, I was met by the tall,
ill-looking Frenchwoman, evidently a good deal flurried; "Que veut
Madame?" said she, with a more decided effort to be polite, than I
had ever known her make before. "No, no--no matter," said I, hastily
running by her in the direction of my room. "Madame," cried she, in a
high key, "restez ici s'il vous plait, votre chambre n'est pas faite."
I continued to move on without heeding her. She was some way behind
me, and feeling that she could not otherwise prevent my entrance, for
I was now upon the very lobby, she made a desperate attempt to seize
hold of my person; she succeeded in grasping the end of my shawl,
which she drew from my shoulders, but slipping at the same time upon
the polished oak floor, she fell at full length upon the boards. A
little frightened as well as angry at the rudeness of this strange
woman, I hastily pushed open the door of my room, at which I now
stood, in order to escape from her; but great was my amazement on
entering to find the apartment preoccupied. The window was open, and
beside it stood two male figures; they appeared to be examining the
fastenings of the casement, and their backs were turned towards the
door. One of them was my uncle; they both had turned on my entrance,
as if startled; the stranger was booted and cloaked, and wore a heavy,
broad-leafed hat over his brows; he turned but for a moment, and
averted his face; but I had seen enough to convince me that he was no
other than my cousin Edward. My uncle had some iron instrument in his
hand, which he hastily concealed behind his back; and coming towards
me, said something as if in an explanatory tone; but I was too
much shocked and confounded to understand what it might be. He said
something about "_repairs_--window-frames--cold, and safety." I did
not wait, however, to ask or to receive explanations, but hastily left
the room. As I went down stairs I thought I heard the voice of
the Frenchwoman in all the shrill volubility of excuse, and others
uttering suppressed but vehement imprecations, or what seemed to me to
be suc