Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 309: what you’re looking at

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—_—_—— + 296 ee ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. next the bed-chamber—then a dressing-room—j|from the correct one. then a bath-room—beyond which was the landing | way.” at the head of the private staircase. I must fur- ther observe that since Lady Kelvedon’s illness, her handmaidens had taken it by turns to occupy a couch which was made up in the dressing-room adjoining her ladyship’s own chamber. This duty was generally shared between Matilda and Agatha. It was Agatha’s turn to occupy that couch on the present occasion ; but she had not yet made her appearance,—it being Hermione’s custom to ring when she required the presence of her handmaiden for the night. “Come, let us sit down and talk for ten minutes,” said Lady Kelvedon, “ before we sepa- rate. Jam so glad to have you all with me that I can scarcely even afford to part with you until to-morrow morning !” “And you feel so much better, my dear Her- mione—do you not ?” asked Aline. “ Oh, infinitely better !” responded Lady Kelve- don. ‘It seems,” she added, with a quick glance of significancy flung towards me, “ as if the lapse of the last week had begun to give me a new lease of life. I have now energy and spirits: to-morrow we will again take a long ride in the carriage—I even promise myself a little walking exercise; and in a few days, if I go on thus im- proving at the same rate, I shall astonish you all by taking a canter across the park.” “ Nothing could afford me greater pleasure,” said the Countess, “ than to hear you talk in this cheerful strain. But it is our friend Ellen who has performed the miracle. His lordship assured me just now at dinner that it was her presence only which had wrought the cure . Just at this moment we were all four startled by a crashing sound, which seemed to emanate from somewhere within the suite of apartments. It was an abruptly occurring and quickly passsing din, just as if some heavy object had falien or some- thing had given way. “ Good heavens! what can it be?” ejaculated Lady Kelvedon; and all the colour had now fled from her cheeks. ‘Do not be alarmed,” I said: “ depend upon it, we shall find that nothing very serious has hap- pened! It seems as if it were a portion of the ceiling that had fallen in one of the inner rooms. But we will soon ascertain :’—and I took upa wax taper. “My dear Ellen,” exclaimed Lady Kelvedon, seizing me by the arm, “ let me ring for some one! —let us summon assistance !” Oh, no,” I said: “it is unnecessary. Hark! the noise has ceased P” “We will at least go with you, Ellen,” said the | Countess of Belgrave, preparing to follow Lady Kelvedon and myself. “ And I am not to be left behind,” said Aline, bringing up the rear. We passed in this manner from the boudoir into the bedchamber,—I myself carrying the light, Hermione hanging to my arm, Cecilia and Aline following close behind. There was nothing in the bedchamber to account for the sound; and we passed thence into the dressing-room. “Ah!” JT ejaculated, “the atmosphere is thick with dust! You will find that my mode of ac- Something has given But it was not in the dressing-room, nor yet in the bath-room which lay beyond, that we could discover the cause. I now opened the door lead- ing upon the landing: but I immediately recoiled for a fearful chasm appeared to be yawning at my feet. At the same time an ejaculation of terror burst from the lips of Lady Kelvedon, as she caught me by the arm to pull me back. “Good heavens!” she cried; “ the flooring has given way !” “The flooring!’ exclaimed Cecilia and Aline, as if they were both speaking in the same breath. “‘ Yes, indeed—it is so,” I responded. “ But there is no danger of this floor” —alluding to the one on which we then stood—* giving way like- wise. It is the upper part of the staircase which has fallen out, as it were, from the wall; and the landing, losing its main support, has fallen in.” Yes—the case was as I have represented it: the whole of the landing and the three or four upper steps of the staircase had disappeared from the view—or rather lay in a confused jumble of broken woodwork, lath, and plaster on the ground-floor beneath ! CHAPTER CXxXVI. THE CHASM. Lapy KEtLvepon, though improved in health and spirits, was yet very far from being strong enough to encounter this incident without emotion ; and I therefore lost not an instant in speaking to her in the most reassuring manner,—characterizing the affair as one of those little incidents which might be expected to take place in new buildings as well as in old. I however closed the door that looked upon that chasm as quick as possible, and got Lady Kelvedon back into the boudoir with the least possible delay. * Let us send for his lordship!” said Her- mione. “Indeed I think we ought to let the whole household know i “ Ob, pray tranquillize yourself,” I said : “ there is not the slightest necessity for doling anything of the kind !” “ No—not the slightest,” said the Countess of Belgrave, who thoroughly understood what my purpose was: aamely to avoid any additional causes of excitement, and to let the matter pass over as smoothly as possible, for the sake of Lady Kelve- don’s nerves, which would be incapable of enduring any severe play upon them. “ But I dare say,” said Hermione, “ the whole household is by this time alarmed !—the din must have been heard in the servants’ offices !” “Take my word for it,” I said, “ the noise was not heard at all—or if so, it was attributed to some other cause. Remember, that private stair- case is enclosed within four very thick walls ; and between it and the servants’ offices there are the store-rooms. Besides, if the sound had been really heard, we should by this time have had all the domestics flocking hither to ascertain what is counting for the disturbance was not very far | the matter.” CORNICE OOOLKS (E(0)