"
"Martha," said I, "something _has_ frightened you very much, and I
insist on knowing what it is; your keeping me in the dark upon the
subject will make me much more uneasy than any thing you could tell
me; I desire you, therefore, to let me know what agitates you; I
command you to tell me." "Your ladyship said you saw a black curtain
falling across the door when you were coming into the room," said the
old woman.
"I did," said I; "but though the whole thing appears somewhat strange
I cannot see any thing in the matter to agitate you so excessively.
"It's for no good you saw that, my lady," said the crone; "something
terrible is coming; it's a sign, my lady--a sign that never fails."
"Explain, explain what you mean, my good woman," said I, in spite of
myself, catching more than I could account for, of her superstitious
terror.
"Whenever something--something _bad_ is going to happen to the
Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black
handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces; I
saw it myself," continued she, lowering her voice, "when I was only
a little girl, and I'll never forget it; I often heard of it before,
though I never saw it till then, nor since, praised be God; but I
was going into Lady Jane's room to waken her in the morning; and sure
enough when I got first to the bed and began to draw the curtain,
something dark was waved across the division, but only for a moment;
and when I saw rightly into the bed, there was she lying cold and
dead, God be merciful to me; so, my lady, there is small blame to me
to be daunted when any one of the family sees it, for it's many's the
story I heard of it, though I saw it but once.
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