Two Ghostly Mysteries | Page 3

She became hourly worse, and, on Tuesday night,
a little after midnight, she expired.[B] I mention this circumstance,
because it was one upon which a thousand wild and fantastical reports
were founded, though one would have thought that the truth scarcely
required to be improved upon; and again, because it produced a strong
and lasting effect upon my spirits, and indeed, I am inclined to think,
upon my character. I was, for several years after this occurrence, long
after the violence of my grief subsided, so wretchedly low-spirited and
nervous, that I could scarcely be said to live, and during this time,
habits of indecision, arising out of a listless acquiescence in the will of
others, a fear of encountering even the slightest opposition, and a
disposition to shrink from what are commonly called amusements,
grew upon me so strongly, that I have scarcely even yet, altogether
overcome them. We saw nothing more of Mr. Carew. He returned to
England as soon as the melancholy rites attendant upon the event which
I have just mentioned were performed; and not being altogether

inconsolable, he married again within two years; after which, owing to
the remoteness of our relative situations, and other circumstances, we
gradually lost sight of him. I was now an only child; and, as my elder
sister had died without issue, it was evident that, in the ordinary course
of things, my father's property, which was altogether in his power,
would go to me, and the consequence was, that before I was fourteen,
Ashtown-house was besieged by a host of suitors; however, whether it
was that I was too young, or that none of the aspirants to my hand stood
sufficiently high in rank or wealth, I was suffered by both parents to do
exactly as I pleased; and well was it for me, as I afterwards found that
fortune, or, rather Providence, had so ordained it, that I had not suffered
my affections to become in any degree engaged, for my mother would
never have suffered any silly fancy of mine, as she was in the habit of
styling an attachment, to stand in the way of her ambitious views;
views which she was determined to carry into effect, in defiance of
every obstacle, and in order to accomplish which, she would not have
hesitated to sacrifice anything so unreasonable and contemptible as a
girlish passion.
When I reached the age of sixteen, my mother's plans began to
develope themselves, and, at her suggestion, we moved to Dublin to
sojourn for the winter, in order that no time might be lost in disposing
of me to the best advantage. I had been too long accustomed to
consider myself as of no importance whatever, to believe for a moment
that I was in reality the cause of all the bustle and preparation which
surrounded me, and being thus relieved from the pain which a
consciousness of my real situation would have inflicted, I journeyed
towards the capital with a feeling of total indifference.
My father's wealth and connection had established him in the best
society, and, consequently, upon our arrival in the metropolis, we
commanded whatever enjoyment or advantages its gaieties afforded.
The tumult and novelty of the scenes in which I was involved did not
fail considerably to amuse me, and my mind gradually recovered its
tone, which was naturally cheerful. It was almost immediately known
and reported that I was an heiress, and of course my attractions were
pretty generally acknowledged. Among the many gentlemen whom it
was my fortune to please, one, ere long, established himself in my
mother's good graces, to the exclusion of all less important aspirants.

However, I had not understood, or even remarked his attentions, nor, in
the slightest degree, suspected his or my mother's plans respecting me,
when I was made aware of them rather abruptly by my mother herself.
We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his residence
in Stephen's-green, and I was, with the assistance of my waiting-maid,
employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich ornaments which, in
profuseness and value, could scarcely have found their equals in any
private family in Ireland. I had thrown myself into a lounging chair
beside the fire, listless and exhausted, after the fatigues of the evening,
when I was aroused from the reverie into which I had fallen, by the
sound of footsteps approaching my chamber, and my mother entered.
"Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone. "I wish to say a word or
two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I hope?"
"No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my
seat with the formal respect so little practised now.
"Sit down, my dear,"