got worse and worse.
Mr. Fouret came to examine her. 'What's the matter with the brute?'
he said, 'you've made her walk too fast I'm afraid; she seems to be
tired and exhausted.'

"'Mr. Fouret,' I responded, 'I came along very slowly, but on the
road I met Mrs. X.'

"'Did she touch the cow?' he inquired.

"'Yes,' I answered.

"'What a nuisance,' he exclaimed, and turning to the servant-boy who
was there he said: 'take a horse and fetch the vet. as quickly as
you possibly can.'

"The veterinary surgeon came. Of course, he was not going to say he
did not know what was the matter with the beast, so he said it
was----I forget the name now, it was a queer word he said, I know, a
name which he was sure we should not remember anyone of us,--and
told us to fetch some medicine.

"We gave her the drug. She seemed a little bit better and we left
her for the night. In going to have a look at her on the following
morning, I found the poor animal dead."

"Well," said Frank, "what proofs have you that it was really this
woman who caused your cow to give up the ghost?"

"What proofs?" ejaculated the old man; "well, I think there were
proofs enough; but, to be quite sure, Mr. Fouret consulted a white
witch. She told him it was an old woman who was jealous of him, and
gave my employer a powder to burn. 'You may be certain that the
culpable person will come to you, when you have burnt that powder,'
she said to him.

"Mr. Fouret did as he had been told to do, and Mrs. X. came on the
following morning. She said: 'I thought I would call so as to have a
look at your new acquisition.'"

"I do not care to hear any more," interrupted Frank; "science and
reasoning will in time do away with all this."

It was now time for them to attend to their work. They went. Not one
word did they exchange. There seemed to be a gap between them. Old
Pierre was vexed at being rebuked by a young man. Frank was in
despair.

The next day when they were seated as usual having a chat after
dinner, Pierre quietly produced from his pocket the _Gazette de
Guernesey_. He had not said a word about superstition during the
morning, but silently handed the paper to Frank, pointing with his
finger at a paragraph.

Not a word was exchanged. The young man took the paper and read
aloud: "Spiritualism. Another convert to spiritualism is reported,
the learned ----. He is well known as the able and energetic editor
of the ----."

The old man looked at Frank a