vorite deserted turret, to contemplate a glorious sunset
behind the distant mountains, when Rose joined me on the summit, from
whence we gazed on the dizzy depth below. She was unusually serious and
pale; her laugh was hushed, and she spoke in whispers.

"Why do you choose this spot, Evelin, to indulge your reveries?" she said,
"for I can not bear to remain here; and Harold would not ascend this
western tower for all the universe."

"And why is it so distasteful to you, Rose?" I inquired, with some
curiosity, "for the view is the most superb I ever witnessed. Is this wing
of the castle _haunted_?" I added, with a smile, taking her arm, and
making a step nearer to the edge, guarded only by a very low, broad
parapet.

She convulsively drew me back, exclaiming--"Oh! Evelin, if you knew the
dreadful recollections attached to this turret, you would not marvel at my
being so nervous. _I_ do not believe it is haunted, but there are folks
who do. They report that white fleecy shadows hover around it by night,
though perhaps the owls and birds building in the crevices may account for
the supposed supernatural appearances."

"And wherefore, Rose, is this turret in such bad repute? What are the
dreadful recollections attached to it? A legend of olden times, perhaps?"

"Alas, Evelin," responded my companion, "'tis a reality of our own. My
poor cousin, Jocelin Priestly, met with his fearful end here. He fell from
this dizzy height on the shaven turf beneath, and lived but a few moments
afterward."

"But how did this fatal accident occur, Rose?" I inquired. "Why have you
never mentioned it before?"

Paler than ever, Rose replied, with a faltering voice, "Because it was
_not_ an _accident_, Evelin" (she shivered, and put her lips close to my
ear). "He was cast down intentionally."

"By whom, Rose?" My heart throbbed violently; strange thoughts were
rushing through my brain.

"I dare not tell you; I am forbidden to reveal more. I was very young at
the time, and things were hushed up; but poor Milly has been a changed
being ever since."

"Mildred!" I exclaimed, in surprise; "what effect could this tragedy have
on her, more than on other members of your family?"

"It had, it had, Evelin, because she desired to screen the guilty; but ask
me no more, and let us quit this hateful place."

My mind was bewildered and uneasy. Who could the guilty person alluded to
be, and wherefore such a mystery preserved? The wildest conjecture