The higher circle in the family?to wit, Adolph, Jane and Rosa?agreed that she was no lady; ladies never keep working about as she did,?that she had no air at all; and they were surprised that she should be any relation of the StEven Marie declared that it was absolutely fatiguing to see Cousin Ophelia always so busyAnd, in fact, Miss Ophelia?s industry was so incessant as to lay some foundation for the complaintShe sewed and stitched away, from daylight till dark, with the energy of one who is pressed on by some immediate urgency; and then, when the light faded, and the work was folded away, with one turn out came the ever-ready knitting-work, and there she was again, going on as briskly as everIt really was a labor to see her Chapter 20 Topsy One morning, while Miss Ophelia was busy in some of her domestic cares, StClare?s voice was heard, calling her at the foot of the stairs ?Come down here, Cousin, I?ve something to show you ?What is it?? said Miss Ophelia, coming down, with her sewing in her hand ?I?ve made a purchase for your department,?see here,? said StClare; and, with the word, he pulled along a little negro girl, about eight or nine years of age She was one of the blackest of her race; and her round shining eyes, glittering as glass beads, moved with quick and restless glances over everything in the roomHer mouth, half open with astonishment at the wonders of the new Mas?r?s parlor, displayed a white and brilliant set of teethHer woolly hair was braided in sundry little tails, which stuck out in every directionThe expression of her face was an odd mixture of shrewdness and cunning, over which was oddly drawn, like a kind of veil, an expression of the most doleful gravity and solemnityShe was dressed in a single filthy, ragged garment, made of bagging; and stood with her hands demurely folded before herAltogether, there was something odd and goblin-like about her appearance,?something, as Miss Ophelia afterwards said, ?so heathenish,? as to inspire that good lady with utter dismay; and turning to StClare, she said, ?Augustine, what in the world have you brought that thing here for?? ?For you to educate, to be sure, and train in the way she should goI thought she was rather a funny specimen in the Jim Crow lineHere, Topsy,? he added, giving a whistle, as a man would to call the attention of a dog, ?give us a song, now, and show us some of your dancing The black, glassy eyes glittered with a kind of wicked drollery, and the thing struck up, in a clear shrill voice, an odd negro melody, to which she kept time with her hands and feet, spinning round, clapping her hands, knocking her knees together, in a wild, fantastic sort of time, and producing in her throat all those odd guttural sounds which distinguish the native music of her race; and finally, turning a summerset or two, and giving a prolonged closing note, as odd and unearthly as that of a steam-whistle, she came suddenly down on the carpet, and stood with her hands folded, and a most sanctimonious expression of meekness and solemnity over her face, only broken by the cunning glances which she shot askance from the corners of her eyes Miss Ophelia stood silent, perfectly paralyzed with amazementClare, like a mischievous fellow as he was, appeared to enjoy her astonishment; and, addressing the child again, said, ?Topsy, this is your new mistressI?m going to give you up to her; see now that you behave yourself ?Yes, Mas?r,? said Topsy, with sanctimonious gravity, her wicked eyes twinkling as she spoke ?You?re going to be good, Topsy, you understand,? said St ?O yes, Mas?r,? said Topsy, with another twinkle, her hands still devoutly folded ?Now, Augustine, what upon earth is this for?? said Miss Ophelia?Your house is so full of these little plagues, now, that a body can?t set down their foot without treading on ?emI get up in the morning, and find one asleep behind the door, and see one black head poking out from under the table, one lying on the door-mat,?and they are mopping and mowing and grinning between all the railings, and tumbling over the kitchen floor! What on earth did you want to bring this one for?? ?For you to educate?didn?t I tell you? You?re always preaching about educatingI thought I would make you a present of a fresh-caught specimen, and let you try your hand on her, and bring her up in the way she should go ?I don?t want her, I am sure;?I have more to do with ?em now than I want to ?That?s you Christians, all over!?you?ll get up a society, and get some poor missionary to spend all his days among just such heathenBut let me see one of you that would take one into your house with you, and take the labor of their conversion on yourselves! No; when it comes to that, they are dirty and disagreeable, and it?s too much care, and so on ?Augustine, you know I didn?t think of it in that light,? said Miss Ophelia, evidently softening?Well, it might be a real missionary work,? said she, looking rather more favorably on the childClare had touched the right stringMiss Ophelia?s conscientiousness was ever on the alert?But,? she added, ?I really didn?t see the need of buying this one;?there are enough now, in your house, to take all my time and skill ?Well, then, Cousin,? said shop St

If I do, or if I even open this again, it will be to deal with different people and different themes, for here at the end, where the romance of my life is told, ere I go back to take up the thread of my life-work, I say sadly and without hope, "FINIS" THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE, 25 SEPTEMBER A HAMPSTEAD MYSTERY The neighborhood of Hampstead is just at present exercised with a series of events which seem to run on lines parallel to those of what was known to the writers of headlines as "The Kensington Horror," or "The Stabbing Woman," or "The Woman in Black During the past two or three days several cases have occurred of young children straying from home or neglecting to return from their playing on the HeathIn all these cases the children were too young to give any properly intelligible account of themselves, but the consensus of their excuses is that they had been with a "bloofer lady It has always been late in the evening when they have been missed, and on two occasions the children have not been found until early in the following morningIt is generally supposed in the neighborhood that, as the first child missed gave as his reason for being away that a "bloofer lady" had asked him to come for a walk, the others had picked up the phrase and used it as occasion servedThis is the more natural as the favourite game of the little ones at present is luring each other away by wilesA correspondent writes us that to see some of the tiny tots pretending to be the "bloofer lady" is supremely funnySome of our caricaturists might, he says, take a lesson in the irony of grotesque by comparing the reality and the pictureIt is only in accordance with general principles of human nature that the "bloofer lady" should be the popular role at these al fresco performancesOur correspondent naively says that even Ellen Terry could not be so winningly attractive as some of these grubby-faced little children pretend, and even imagine themselves, to be There is, however, possibly a serious side to the question, for some of the children, indeed all who have been missed at night, have been slightly torn or wounded in the throatThe wounds seem such as might be made by a rat or a small dog, and although of not much importance individually, would tend to show that whatever animal inflicts them has a system or method of its ownThe police of the division have been instructed to keep a sharp lookout for straying children, especially when very young, in and around Hampstead Heath, and for any stray dog which may be about THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE, 25 SEPTEMBER EXTRA SPECIAL THE HAMPSTEAD HORROR ANOTHER CHILD INJURED THE "BLOOFER LADY" We have just received intelligence that another child, missed last night, was only discovered late in the morning under a furze bush at the Shooter's Hill side of Hampstead Heath, which is perhaps, less frequented than the other partsIt has the same tiny wound in the throat as has been noticed in other casesIt was terribly weak, and looked quite emaciatedIt too, when partially restored, had the common story to tell of being lured away by the "bloofer lady" CHAPTER 14 MINA HARKER'S JOURNAL 23 September-Jonathan is better after a bad nightI am so glad that he has plenty of work to do, for that keeps his mind off the terrible things, and oh, I am rejoiced that he is not now weighed down with the responsibility of his new positionI knew he would be true to himself, and now how proud I am to see my Jonathan rising to the height of his advancement and keeping pace in all ways with the duties that come upon himHe will be away all day till late, for he said he could not lunch at homeMy household work is done, so I shall take his foreign journal, and lock myself up in my room and read it-I hadn't the heart to write last night, that terrible record of Jonathan's upset me soPoor dear! How he must have suffered, whether it be true or only imaginationI wonder if there is any truth in it at allDid he get his brain fever, and then write all those terrible things, or had he some cause for it all? I suppose I shall never know, for I dare not open the subject to himAnd yet that man we saw yesterday! He seemed quite certain of him, poor fellow! I suppose it was the funeral upset him and sent his mind back on some train of thought He believes it all himselfI remember how on our wedding day he said "Unless some solemn duty come upon me to go back to the bitter hours, asleep or awake, mad or sane?" There seems to be through it all some thread of continuityThat fearful Count was coming to LondonIf it should be, and he came to London, with its teeming millions? There may be a solemn duty, and if it come we must not shrink from itI shall get my typewriter this very hour and begin transcribingThen we shall be ready for other eyes if requiredAnd if it be wanted, then, perhaps, if I am ready, poor Jonathan may not be upset, for I can speak for him and never let him be troubled or worried with it at allIf ever Jonathan quite gets over the nervousness he may want to tell me of it all, and I can ask him questions and find out things, and see how I may comfort him LETTER, VAN HELSING TO MRSHARKER 24 September (Confidence) "Dear Madam, "I pray you to pardon my writing, in that I am so far friend as that I sent to you sad news of Miss Lucy Westenra's deathBy the kindness of Lord Godalming, I am empowered to read her letters and papers, for I am deeply concerned about certain matters vitally shop important

THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE, 25 SEPTEMBER A HAMPSTEAD MYSTERY The neighborhood of Hampstead is just at present exercised with a series of events which seem to run on lines parallel to those of what was known to the writers of headlines as "The Kensington Horror," or "The Stabbing Woman," or "The Woman in Black During the past two or three days several cases have occurred of young children straying from home or neglecting to return from their playing on the HeathIn all these cases the children were too young to give any properly intelligible account of themselves, but the consensus of their excuses is that they had been with a "bloofer lady It has always been late in the evening when they have been missed, and on two occasions the children have not been found until early in the following morningIt is generally supposed in the neighborhood that, as the first child missed gave as his reason for being away that a "bloofer lady" had asked him to come for a walk, the others had picked up the phrase and used it as occasion servedThis is the more natural as the favourite game of the little ones at present is luring each other away by wilesA correspondent writes us that to see some of the tiny tots pretending to be the "bloofer lady" is supremely funnySome of our caricaturists might, he says, take a lesson in the irony of grotesque by comparing the reality and the pictureIt is only in accordance with general principles of human nature that the "bloofer lady" should be the popular role at these al fresco performancesOur correspondent naively says that even Ellen Terry could not be so winningly attractive as some of these grubby-faced little children pretend, and even imagine themselves, to be There is, however, possibly a serious side to the question, for some of the children, indeed all who have been missed at night, have been slightly torn or wounded in the throatThe wounds seem such as might be made by a rat or a small dog, and although of not much importance individually, would tend to show that whatever animal inflicts them has a system or method of its ownThe police of the division have been instructed to keep a sharp lookout for straying children, especially when very young, in and around Hampstead Heath, and for any stray dog which may be about THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE, 25 SEPTEMBER EXTRA SPECIAL THE HAMPSTEAD HORROR ANOTHER CHILD INJURED THE "BLOOFER LADY" We have just received intelligence that another child, missed last night, was only discovered late in the morning under a furze bush at the Shooter's Hill side of Hampstead Heath, which is perhaps, less frequented than the other partsIt has the same tiny wound in the throat as has been noticed in other casesIt was terribly weak, and looked quite emaciatedIt too, when partially restored, had the common story to tell of being lured away by the "bloofer lady" CHAPTER 14 MINA HARKER'S JOURNAL 23 September-Jonathan is better after a bad nightI am so glad that he has plenty of work to do, for that keeps his mind off the terrible things, and oh, I am rejoiced that he is not now weighed down with the responsibility of his new positionI knew he would be true to himself, and now how proud I am to see my Jonathan rising to the height of his advancement and keeping pace in all ways with the duties that come upon himHe will be away all day till late, for he said he could not lunch at homeMy household work is done, so I shall take his foreign journal, and lock myself up in my room and read it-I hadn't the heart to write last night, that terrible record of Jonathan's upset me soPoor dear! How he must have suffered, whether it be true or only imaginationI wonder if there is any truth in it at allDid he get his brain fever, and then write all those terrible things, or had he some cause for it all? I suppose I shall never know, for I dare not open the subject to himAnd yet that man we saw yesterday! He seemed quite certain of him, poor fellow! I suppose it was the funeral upset him and sent his mind back on some train of thought He believes it all himselfI remember how on our wedding day he said "Unless some solemn duty come upon me to go back to the bitter hours, asleep or awake, mad or sane?" There seems to be through it all some thread of continuityThat fearful Count was coming to LondonIf it should be, and he came to London, with its teeming millions? There may be a solemn duty, and if it come we must not shrink from itI shall get my typewriter this very hour and begin transcribingThen we shall be ready for other eyes if requiredAnd if it be wanted, then, perhaps, if I am ready, poor Jonathan may not be upset, for I can speak for him and never let him be troubled or worried with it at allIf ever Jonathan quite gets over the nervousness he may want to tell me of it all, and I can ask him questions and find out things, and see how I may comfort him LETTER, VAN HELSING TO MRSHARKER 24 September (Confidence) "Dear Madam, "I pray you to pardon my writing, in that I am so far friend as that I sent to you sad news of Miss Lucy Westenra's deathBy the kindness of Lord Godalming, I am empowered to read her letters and papers, for I am deeply concerned about certain matters vitally importantIn them I find some letters from you, which show how great friends you were and how you love shop her

Then he said that he had spoken in a light manner, and he hoped that if he had made a mistake in doing so on so grave, so momentous, and occasion for him, I would forgive himHe really did look serious when he was saying it, and I couldn't help feeling a sort of exultation that he was number Two in one dayAnd then, my dear, before I could say a word he began pouring out a perfect torrent of love-making, laying his very heart and soul at my feetHe looked so earnest over it that I shall never again think that a man must be playful always, and never earnest, because he is merry at timesI suppose he saw something in my face which checked him, for he suddenly stopped, and said with a sort of manly fervour that I could have loved him for if I had been free? "Lucy, you are an honest hearted girl, I knowI should not be here speaking to you as I am now if I did not believe you clean grit, right through to the very depths of your soulTell me, like one good fellow to another, is there any one else that you care for? And if there is I'll never trouble you a hair's breadth again, but will be, if you will let me, a very faithful friend My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them? Here was I almost making fun of this great hearted, true gentlemanI burst into tears, I am afraid, my dear, you will think this a very sloppy letter in more ways than one, and I really felt very badly Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? But this is heresy, and I must not say itI am glad to say that, though I was crying, I was able to look into MrMorris' brave eyes, and I told him out straight? "Yes, there is some one I love, though he has not told me yet that he even loves me I was right to speak to him so frankly, for quite a light came into his face, and he put out both his hands and took mine, I think I put them into his, and said in a hearty way? "That's my brave girlIt's better worth being late for a chance of winning you than being in time for any other girl in the worldIf it's for me, I'm a hard nut to crack, and I take it standing upIf that other fellow doesn't know his happiness, well, he'd better look for it soon, or he'll have to deal with meLittle girl, your honesty and pluck have made me a friend, and that's rarer than a lover, it's more selfish anyhowMy dear, I'm going to have a pretty lonely walk between this and Kingdom ComeWon't you give me one kiss? It'll be something to keep off the darkness now and thenYou can, you know, if you like, for that other good fellow, or you could not love him, hasn't spoken yet That quite won me, Mina, for it was brave and sweet of him, and noble too, to a rival, wasn't it? And he so sad, so I leant over and kissed him He stood up with my two hands in his, and as he looked down into my face, I am afraid I was blushing very much, he said, "Little girl, I hold your hand, and you've kissed me, and if these things don't make us friends nothing ever willThank you for your sweet honesty to me, and goodbye He wrung my hand, and taking up his hat, went straight out of the room without looking back, without a tear or a quiver or a pause, and I am crying like a baby Oh, why must a man like that be made unhappy when there are lots of girls about who would worship the very ground he trod on? I know I would if I were free, only I don't want to be freeMy dear, this quite upset me, and I feel I cannot write of happiness just at once, after telling you of it, and I don't wish to tell of the number Three until it can be all happyEver your loving? Lucy P-Oh, about number Three, I needn't tell you of number Three, need I? Besides, it was all so confusedIt seemed only a moment from his coming into the room till both his arms were round me, and he was kissing meI am very, very happy, and I don't know what I have done to deserve itI must only try in the future to show that I am not ungrateful to God for all His goodness to me in sending to me such a lover, such a husband, and such a friendSEWARD'S DIARY (Kept in phonograph) 25 May-Ebb tide in appetite todayCannot eat, cannot rest, so diary insteadSince my rebuff of yesterday I have a sort of empty feelingNothing in the world seems of sufficient importance to be worth the doingAs I knew that the only cure for this sort of thing was work, I went amongst the patientsI picked out one who has afforded me a study of much interestHe is so quaint that I am determined to understand him as well as I canToday I seemed to get nearer than ever before to the heart of his shop mystery

It can but make your husband love you the more, and all us, your friends, more honour you, as well as more esteem and love She took it back with another blush and a bright smile And so now, up to this very hour, all the records we have are complete and in orderThe Professor took away one copy to study after dinner, and before our meeting, which is fixed for nine o'clockThe rest of us have already read everything, so when we meet in the study we shall all be informed as to facts, and can arrange our plan of battle with this terrible and mysterious enemy MINA HARKER'S JOURNAL 30 SeptemberSeward's study two hours after dinner, which had been at six o'clock, we unconsciously formed a sort of board or committeeProfessor Van Helsing took the head of the table, to which DrSeward motioned him as he came into the roomHe made me sit next to him on his right, and asked me to act as secretaryJonathan sat next to meOpposite us were Lord Godalming, DrMorris, Lord Godalming being next the Professor, and Dr The Professor said, "I may, I suppose, take it that we are all acquainted with the facts that are in these papers We all expressed assent, and he went on, "Then it were, I think, good that I tell you something of the kind of enemy with which we have to dealI shall then make known to you something of the history of this man, which has been ascertained for meSo we then can discuss how we shall act, and can take our measure according "There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they existEven had we not the proof of our own unhappy experience, the teachings and the records of the past give proof enough for sane peoplesI admit that at the first I was scepticWere it not that through long years I have trained myself to keep an open mind, I could not have believed until such time as that fact thunder on my ear'See! See! I prove, I prove' Alas! Had I known at first what now I know, nay, had I even guess at him, one so precious life had been spared to many of us who did love herBut that is gone, and we must so work, that other poor souls perish not, whilst we can saveThe nosferatu do not die like the bee when he sting onceHe is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evilThis vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men, he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages, he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divination by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to are for him at command; he is brute, and more than brute; he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not; he can, within his range, direct the elements, the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things, the rat, and the owl, and the bat, the moth, and the fox, and the wolf, he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and come unknownHow then are we to begin our strike to destroy him? How shall we find his where, and having found it, how can we destroy? My friends, this is much, it is a terrible task that we undertake, and there may be consequence to make the brave shudderFor if we fail in this our fight he must surely win, and then where end we? Life is nothings, I heed him notBut to fail here, is not mere life or deathIt is that we become as him, that we henceforward become foul things of the night like him, without heart or conscience, preying on the bodies and the souls of those we love bestTo us forever are the gates of heaven shut, for who shall open them to us again? We go on for all time abhorred by all, a blot on the face of God's sunshine, an arrow in the side of Him who died for manBut we are face to face with duty, and in such case must we shrink? For me, I say no, but then I am old, and life, with his sunshine, his fair places, his song of birds, his music and his love, lie far behindSome have seen sorrow, but there are fair days yet in storeWhat say you?" Whilst he was speaking, Jonathan had taken my handI feared, oh so much, that the appalling nature of our danger was overcoming him when I saw his hand stretch out, but it was life to me to feel its touch, so strong, so self reliant, so resoluteA brave man's hand can speak for itself, it does not even need a woman's love to hear its music When the Professor had done speaking my husband looked in my eyes, and I in his, there was no need for speaking between us "I answer for Mina and myself," he said "Count me in, Professor," said shop Mr