sight of her, and put his hand on her heart.

My mistress stared hard in Mr. Goodricke's face. "Not dead!" says she,
whispering, and turning all of a tremble from head to foot.

"Yes," says the doctor, very quiet and grave. "Dead. I was afraid it
would happen suddenly when I examined her heart yesterday." My mistress
stepped back from the bedside while he was speaking, and trembled and
trembled again. "Dead!" she whispers to herself; "dead so suddenly!
dead so soon! What will the Count say?" Mr. Goodricke advised her to go
downstairs, and quiet herself a little. "You have been sitting up all
night," says he, "and your nerves are shaken. This person," says he,
meaning me, "this person will stay in the room till I can send for the
necessary assistance." My mistress did as he told her. "I must prepare
the Count," she says. "I must carefully prepare the Count." And so she
left us, shaking from head to foot, and went out.

"Your master is a foreigner," says Mr. Goodricke, when my mistress had
left us. "Does he understand about registering the death?" "I can't
rightly tell, sir," says I, "but I should think not." The doctor
considered a minute, and then says he, "I don't usually do such
things," says he, "but it may save the family trouble in this case if I
register the death myself. I shall pass the district office in half an
hour's time, and I can easily look in. Mention, if you please, that I
will do so." "Yes, sir," says I, "with thanks, I'm sure, for your
kindness in thinking of it." "You don't mind staying here till I can
send you the proper person?" says he. "No, sir," says I; "I'll stay
with the poor lady till then. I suppose nothing more could be done,
sir, than was done?" says I. "No," says he, "nothing; she must have
suffered sadly before ever I saw her--the case was hopeless when I was
called in." "Ah, dear me! we all come to it, sooner or later, don't
we, sir?" says I. He gave no answer to that--he didn't seem to care
about talking. He said, "Good-day," and went out.

I stopped by the bedside from that time till the time when Mr.
Goodricke sent the person in, as he had promised. She was, by name,
Jane Gould. I considered her to be a respectable-looking woman. She
made no remark, except to say that she understood what was wanted of
her, and that she had winded a many of them in her time.

How master bore the news, when he first heard it, is more than I can
tell, not having been present. W