The rest of this letter gave a list of George?s school studies, each one headed by a flourishing capital; and also told the names of four new colts that appeared on the premises since Tom left; and stated, in the same connection, that father and mother were wellThe style of the letter was decidedly concise and terse; but Tom thought it the most wonderful specimen of composition that had appeared in modern timesHe was never tired of looking at it, and even held a council with Eva on the expediency of getting it framed, to hang up in his roomNothing but the difficulty of arranging it so that both sides of the page would show at once stood in the way of this undertaking The friendship between Tom and Eva had grown with the child?s growthIt would be hard to say what place she held in the soft, impressible heart of her faithful attendantHe loved her as something frail and earthly, yet almost worshipped her as something heavenly and divineHe gazed on her as the Italian sailor gazes on his image of the child Jesus,?with a mixture of reverence and tenderness; and to humor her graceful fancies, and meet those thousand simple wants which invest childhood like a many-colored rainbow, was Tom?s chief delightIn the market, at morning, his eyes were always on the flower-stalls for rare bouquets for her, and the choicest peach or orange was slipped into his pocket to give to her when he came back; and the sight that pleased him most was her sunny head looking out the gate for his distant approach, and her childish questions,??Well, Uncle Tom, what have you got for me today?? Nor was Eva less zealous in kind offices, in returnThough a child, she was a beautiful reader;?a fine musical ear, a quick poetic fancy, and an instinctive sympathy with what?s grand and noble, made her such a reader of the Bible as Tom had never before heardAt first, she read to please her humble friend; but soon her own earnest nature threw out its tendrils, and wound itself around the majestic book; and Eva loved it, because it woke in her strange yearnings, and strong, dim emotions, such as impassioned, imaginative children love to feel The parts that pleased her most were the Revelations and the Prophecies,?parts whose dim and wondrous imagery, and fervent language, impressed her the more, that she questioned vainly of their meaning;?and she and her simple friend, the old child and the young one, felt just alike about itAll that they knew was, that they spoke of a glory to be revealed,?a wondrous something yet to come, wherein their soul rejoiced, yet knew not why; and though it be not so in the physical, yet in moral science that which cannot be understood is not always profitlessFor the soul awakes, a trembling stranger, between two dim eternities,?the eternal past, the eternal futureThe light shines only on a small space around her; therefore, she needs must yearn towards the unknown; and the voices and shadowy movings which come to her from out the cloudy pillar of inspiration have each one echoes and answers in her own expecting natureIts mystic imagery are so many talismans and gems inscribed with unknown hieroglyphics; she folds them in her bosom, and expects to read them when she passes beyond the veil At this time in our story, the whole StClare establishment is, for the time being, removed to their villa on Lake PontchartrainThe heats of summer had driven all who were able to leave the sultry and unhealthy city, to seek the shores of the lake, and its cool sea-breezesClare?s villa was an East Indian cottage, surrounded by light verandahs of bamboo-work, and opening on all sides into gardens and pleasure-groundsThe common sitting-room opened on to a large garden, fragrant with every picturesque plant and flower of the tropics, where winding paths ran down to the very shores of the lake, whose silvery sheet of water lay there, rising and falling in the sunbeams,?a picture never for an hour the same, yet every hour more beautiful It is now one of those intensely golden sunsets which kindles the whole horizon into one blaze of glory, and makes the water another skyThe lake lay in rosy or golden streaks, save where white-winged vessels glided hither and thither, like so many spirits, and little golden stars twinkled through the glow, and looked down at themselves as they trembled in the water Tom and Eva were seated on a little mossy seat, in an arbor, at the foot of the gardenIt was Sunday evening, and Eva?s Bible lay open on her kneeShe read,??And I saw a sea of glass, mingled with fire ?Tom,? said Eva, suddenly stopping, and pointing to the lake, ?there ?t is ?What, Miss Eva?? ?Don?t you see,?there?? said the child, pointing to the glassy water, which, as it rose and fell, reflected the golden glow of the sky?There?s a ?sea of glass, mingled with fire? ?True enough, Miss Eva,? said Tom; and Tom sang? ?O, had I the wings of the morning, I?d fly away to Canaan?s shore; Bright angels should convey me home, To the new Jerusalem ?Where do you suppose new Jerusalem is, Uncle Tom?? said Eva ?O, up in the clouds, Miss Eva ?Then I think I see it,? said Eva?Look in those clouds!?they look like great gates of pearl; and you can see beyond them?far, far off?it?s all goldTom, sing about ?spirits bright? Tom sung the words of a well-known Methodist hymn, ?I see a band of spirits bright, That taste the glories there; They all are robed in spotless white, And conquering palms they bear ?Uncle Tom, I?ve seen them,? said Eva Tom had no doubt of it at all; it did not surprise him in the leastIf Eva had told him she had been to heaven, he would have thought it entirely probable ?They come to me sometimes in my sleep, those spirits;? and Eva?s eyes grew dreamy, and she hummed, in a low voice, ?They are all robed in spotless white, And conquering palms they shop bear

We asked Vincent to what he attributed them, and he replied that it must have been a bite of some animal, perhaps a rat, but for his own part, he was inclined to think it was one of the bats which are so numerous on the northern heights of London"Out of so many harmless ones," he said, "there may be some wild specimen from the South of a more malignant speciesSome sailor may have brought one home, and it managed to escape, or even from the Zoological Gardens a young one may have got loose, or one be bred there from a vampireThese things do occur, you, knowOnly ten days ago a wolf got out, and was, I believe, traced up in this directionFor a week after, the children were playing nothing but Red Riding Hood on the Heath and in every alley in the place until this 'bloofer lady' scare came along, since then it has been quite a gala time with themEven this poor little mite, when he woke up today, asked the nurse if he might go awayWhen she asked him why he wanted to go, he said he wanted to play with the 'bloofer lady' "I hope," said Van Helsing, "that when you are sending the child home you will caution its parents to keep strict watch over itThese fancies to stray are most dangerous, and if the child were to remain out another night, it would probably be fatalBut in any case I suppose you will not let it away for some days?" "Certainly not, not for a week at least, longer if the wound is not healed Our visit to the hospital took more time than we had reckoned on, and the sun had dipped before we came outWhen Van Helsing saw how dark it was, he said, "There is not hurryIt is more late than I thoughtCome, let us seek somewhere that we may eat, and then we shall go on our way We dined at 'Jack Straw's Castle' along with a little crowd of bicyclists and others who were genially noisyAbout ten o'clock we started from the innIt was then very dark, and the scattered lamps made the darkness greater when we were once outside their individual radiusThe Professor had evidently noted the road we were to go, for he went on unhesitatingly, but, as for me, I was in quite a mixup as to localityAs we went further, we met fewer and fewer people, till at last we were somewhat surprised when we met even the patrol of horse police going their usual suburban roundAt last we reached the wall of the churchyard, which we climbed overWith some little difficulty, for it was very dark, and the whole place seemed so strange to us, we found the Westenra tombThe Professor took the key, opened the creaky door, and standing back, politely, but quite unconsciously, motioned me to precede himThere was a delicious irony in the offer, in the courtliness of giving preference on such a ghastly occasionMy companion followed me quickly, and cautiously drew the door to, after carefully ascertaining that the lock was a falling, and not a spring oneIn the latter case we should have been in a bad plightThen he fumbled in his bag, and taking out a matchbox and a piece of candle, proceeded to make a lightThe tomb in the daytime, and when wreathed with fresh flowers, had looked grim and gruesome enough, but now, some days afterwards, when the flowers hung lank and dead, their whites turning to rust and their greens to browns, when the spider and the beetle had resumed their accustomed dominance, when the time-discoloured stone, and dust-encrusted mortar, and rusty, dank iron, and tarnished brass, and clouded silver-plating gave back the feeble glimmer of a candle, the effect was more miserable and sordid than could have been imaginedIt conveyed irresistibly the idea that life, animal life, was not the only thing which could pass away Van Helsing went about his work systematicallyHolding his candle so that he could read the coffin plates, and so holding it that the sperm dropped in white patches which congealed as they touched the metal, he made assurance of Lucy's coffinAnother search in his bag, and he took out a turnscrew "What are you going to do?" I asked "To open the coffinYou shall yet be convinced Straightway he began taking out the screws, and finally lifted off the lid, showing the casing of lead beneathThe sight was almost too much for meIt seemed to be as much an affront to the dead as it would have been to have stripped off her clothing in her sleep whilst livingI actually took hold of his hand to stop him He only said, "You shall see," and again fumbling in his bag took out a tiny fret shop saw

Some sailor may have brought one home, and it managed to escape, or even from the Zoological Gardens a young one may have got loose, or one be bred there from a vampireThese things do occur, you, knowOnly ten days ago a wolf got out, and was, I believe, traced up in this directionFor a week after, the children were playing nothing but Red Riding Hood on the Heath and in every alley in the place until this 'bloofer lady' scare came along, since then it has been quite a gala time with themEven this poor little mite, when he woke up today, asked the nurse if he might go awayWhen she asked him why he wanted to go, he said he wanted to play with the 'bloofer lady' "I hope," said Van Helsing, "that when you are sending the child home you will caution its parents to keep strict watch over itThese fancies to stray are most dangerous, and if the child were to remain out another night, it would probably be fatalBut in any case I suppose you will not let it away for some days?" "Certainly not, not for a week at least, longer if the wound is not healed Our visit to the hospital took more time than we had reckoned on, and the sun had dipped before we came outWhen Van Helsing saw how dark it was, he said, "There is not hurryIt is more late than I thoughtCome, let us seek somewhere that we may eat, and then we shall go on our way We dined at 'Jack Straw's Castle' along with a little crowd of bicyclists and others who were genially noisyAbout ten o'clock we started from the innIt was then very dark, and the scattered lamps made the darkness greater when we were once outside their individual radiusThe Professor had evidently noted the road we were to go, for he went on unhesitatingly, but, as for me, I was in quite a mixup as to localityAs we went further, we met fewer and fewer people, till at last we were somewhat surprised when we met even the patrol of horse police going their usual suburban roundAt last we reached the wall of the churchyard, which we climbed overWith some little difficulty, for it was very dark, and the whole place seemed so strange to us, we found the Westenra tombThe Professor took the key, opened the creaky door, and standing back, politely, but quite unconsciously, motioned me to precede himThere was a delicious irony in the offer, in the courtliness of giving preference on such a ghastly occasionMy companion followed me quickly, and cautiously drew the door to, after carefully ascertaining that the lock was a falling, and not a spring oneIn the latter case we should have been in a bad plightThen he fumbled in his bag, and taking out a matchbox and a piece of candle, proceeded to make a lightThe tomb in the daytime, and when wreathed with fresh flowers, had looked grim and gruesome enough, but now, some days afterwards, when the flowers hung lank and dead, their whites turning to rust and their greens to browns, when the spider and the beetle had resumed their accustomed dominance, when the time-discoloured stone, and dust-encrusted mortar, and rusty, dank iron, and tarnished brass, and clouded silver-plating gave back the feeble glimmer of a candle, the effect was more miserable and sordid than could have been imaginedIt conveyed irresistibly the idea that life, animal life, was not the only thing which could pass away Van Helsing went about his work systematicallyHolding his candle so that he could read the coffin plates, and so holding it that the sperm dropped in white patches which congealed as they touched the metal, he made assurance of Lucy's coffinAnother search in his bag, and he took out a turnscrew "What are you going to do?" I asked "To open the coffinYou shall yet be convinced Straightway he began taking out the screws, and finally lifted off the lid, showing the casing of lead beneathThe sight was almost too much for meIt seemed to be as much an affront to the dead as it would have been to have stripped off her clothing in her sleep whilst livingI actually took hold of his hand to stop him He only said, "You shall see," and again fumbling in his bag took out a tiny fret sawStriking the turnscrew through the lead with a swift downward stab, which made me wince, he made a small hole, which was, however, big enough to admit the point of the sawI had expected a rush of gas from the week-old shop corpse

He went on with his singing, just as though we had not been presentHe had got a scrap of paper and was folding it into a notebookWe had to come away as ignorant as we went in His is a curious case indeedWe must watch him tonight LETTER, MITCHELL, SONS

They stood silent; then there were last words, and sobs, and bitter weeping,?such parting as those may make whose hope to meet again is as the spider?s web,?and the husband and wife were parted Chapter 4 An Evening in Uncle Tom?s Cabin The cabin of Uncle Tom was a small log building, close adjoining to ?the house,? as the negro par excellence designates his master?s dwellingIn front it had a neat garden-patch, where, every summer, strawberries, raspberries, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, flourished under careful tendingThe whole front of it was covered by a large scarlet bignonia and a native multiflora rose, which, entwisting and interlacing, left scarce a vestige of the rough logs to be seenHere, also, in summer, various brilliant annuals, such as marigolds, petunias, four-o?clocks, found an indulgent corner in which to unfold their splendors, and were the delight and pride of Aunt Chloe?s heart Let us enter the dwellingThe evening meal at the house is over, and Aunt Chloe, who presided over its preparation as head cook, has left to inferior officers in the kitchen the business of clearing away and washing dishes, and come out into her own snug territories, to ?get her ole man?s supper?; therefore, doubt not that it is her you see by the fire, presiding with anxious interest over certain frizzling items in a stew-pan, and anon with grave consideration lifting the cover of a bake-kettle, from whence steam forth indubitable intimations of ?something good A round, black, shining face is hers, so glossy as to suggest the idea that she might have been washed over with white of eggs, like one of her own tea rusksHer whole plump countenance beams with satisfaction and contentment from under her well-starched checked turban, bearing on it, however, if we must confess it, a little of that tinge of self-consciousness which becomes the first cook of the neighborhood, as Aunt Chloe was universally held and acknowledged to be A cook she certainly was, in the very bone and centre of her soulNot a chicken or turkey or duck in the barn-yard but looked grave when they saw her approaching, and seemed evidently to be reflecting on their latter end; and certain it was that she was always meditating on trussing, stuffing and roasting, to a degree that was calculated to inspire terror in any reflecting fowl livingHer corn-cake, in all its varieties of hoe-cake, dodgers, muffins, and other species too numerous to mention, was a sublime mystery to all less practised compounders; and she would shake her fat sides with honest pride and merriment, as she would narrate the fruitless efforts that one and another of her compeers had made to attain to her elevation The arrival of company at the house, the arranging of dinners and suppers ?in style,? awoke all the energies of her soul; and no sight was more welcome to her than a pile of travelling trunks launched on the verandah, for then she foresaw fresh efforts and fresh triumphs Just at present, however, Aunt Chloe is looking into the bake-pan; in which congenial operation we shall leave her till we finish our picture of the cottage In one corner of it stood a bed, covered neatly with a snowy spread; and by the side of it was a piece of carpeting, of some considerable sizeOn this piece of carpeting Aunt Chloe took her stand, as being decidedly in the upper walks of life; and it and the bed by which it lay, and the whole corner, in fact, were treated with distinguished consideration, and made, so far as possible, sacred from the marauding inroads and desecrations of little folksIn fact, that corner was the drawing-room of the establishmentIn the other corner was a bed of much humbler pretensions, and evidently designed for useThe wall over the fireplace was adorned with some very brilliant scriptural prints, and a portrait of General Washington, drawn and colored in a manner which would certainly have astonished that hero, if ever he happened to meet with its like On a rough bench in the corner, a couple of woolly-headed boys, with glistening black eyes and fat shining cheeks, were busy in superintending the first walking operations of the baby, which, as is usually the case, consisted in getting up on its feet, balancing a moment, and then tumbling down,?each successive failure being violently cheered, as something decidedly clever A table, somewhat rheumatic in its limbs, was drawn out in front of the fire, and covered with a cloth, displaying cups and saucers of a decidedly brilliant pattern, with other symptoms of an approaching mealAt this table was seated Uncle Tom, MrShelby?s best hand, who, as he is to be the hero of our story, we must daguerreotype for our readersHe was a large, broad-chested, powerfully-made man, of a full glossy black, and a face whose truly African features were characterized by an expression of grave and steady good sense, united with much kindliness and benevolenceThere was something about his whole air self-respecting and dignified, yet united with a confiding and humble simplicity He was very busily intent at this moment on a slate lying before him, on which he was carefully and slowly endeavoring to accomplish a copy of some letters, in which operation he was overlooked by young Mas?r George, a smart, bright boy of thirteen, who appeared fully to realize the dignity of his position as instructor ?Not that way, Uncle Tom,?not that way,? said he, briskly, as Uncle Tom laboriously brought up the tail of his g the wrong side out; ?that makes a q, you see ?La sakes, now, does it?? said Uncle Tom, looking with a respectful, admiring air, as his young teacher flourishingly scrawled q?s and g?s innumerable for his edification; and then, taking the pencil in his big, heavy fingers, he patiently recommenced ?How easy white folks al?us does things!? said Aunt Chloe, pausing while she was greasing a griddle with a scrap of bacon on her fork, and regarding young Master George with pride?The way he can write, now! and read, too! and then to come out here evenings and read his lessons to us,?it?s mighty interestin?!? ?But, Aunt Chloe, I?m getting mighty hungry,? said George?Isn?t that cake in the skillet almost done?? ?Mose done, Mas?r George,? said Aunt Chloe, lifting the lid and peeping in,??browning beautiful?a real lovely brownAh! let me alone for datMissis let Sally try to make some cake, t? other day, jes to larn her, she said?O, go way, Missis,? said I; ?it really hurts my feelin?s, now, to see good vittles spilt dat ar way! Cake ris all to one side?no shape at all; no more than my shoe; go way!? And with this final expression of contempt for Sally?s greenness, Aunt Chloe whipped the cover off the bake-kettle, and disclosed to view a neatly-baked pound-cake, of which no city confectioner need to have been ashamedThis being evidently the central point of the entertainment, Aunt Chloe began now to bustle about earnestly in the supper department ?Here you, Mose and Pete! get out de way, you niggers! Get away, Mericky, honey,?mammy?ll give her baby some fin, by and byNow, Mas?r George, you jest take off dem books, and set down now with my old man, and I?ll take up de sausages, and have de first griddle full of cakes on your plates in less dan no time ?They wanted me to come to supper in the house,? said George; ?but I knew what was what too well for that, Aunt Chloe ?So you did?so you did, honey,? said Aunt Chloe, heaping the smoking batter-cakes on his plate; ?you know?d your old aunty?d keep the best for youO, let you alone for dat! Go way!? And, with that, aunty gave George a nudge with her finger, designed to be immensely facetious, and turned again to her griddle with great shop briskness