St Martin's Eve Author:Ellen Wood Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER XVII. CONFLICTING STATEMENTS. How the night went on subsequently, few at the Hall could tell. For some time it was one inextricable scene of horror... more » and confusion. One of the grooms, unbidden, saddled a horse and went galloping for Mr. Pym; and in an almost incredibly short space of time, the surgeon was there. But what could he do? That one precious little spirit had gone, never to be recalled by leech of this world. Another, however, wanted the attentions of Mr. Pym,—and that was little George. The child, aroused by the cries of Honour from a sleep he had fallen into in the dining-room, had escaped up-stairs into the nursery. A panic of terror overtook him, baby though he was, at what he saw there, and at being told it was Benja, and he fell into a succession of fits of sickness and shivering. It must be assumed—it was so assumed in the house—that this burning was the result of accident ; the result, it may also be said, of Honour Tritton's carelessness. She had gone down-stairs secure in the belief that the boy would obey her mandate and not touch the church. Oh, how could she have been so foolish! To look at a new toy and not touch it, to gaze at its attractions from a respectful distance and not finger it, is philosophy beyond a child. Perhaps the little boy—for he was an obedient boy naturally —tried for some minutes to exercise his patience; but no doubt could be entertained that he at length took the church in his hands again. In how short a time the accident occurred, and how it occurred, was as yet hidden—it may be said, hidden in mystery. The position of those in the house during this time appeared to be as follows. The servants were all below stairs, with the exception of Prance; and Honour, as you have heard, was with them. Mrs. St. John and George ...« less