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Speaker 1: A Christmas fog by John's Strange Winter One, I may

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as well say at once that I, Miranda Cheap, am

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not a young girl. I have heard it said that

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when one sits down to tell a story, one ought

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to take the public completely into one's confidence, and put

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the reader in the same category as one's lawyer, one's doctor,

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and one's banker. Well, I have no doubt that the

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advice is excellently good, and therefore I will say at

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once that I am not a young girl. I belong

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as yet to the noble army of spinsters. And when

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my last parent died, leaving me a modest but sufficient

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competence upon which to support myself, I did not do

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what so many unmarried women seem to think the right thing,

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and go to live with one of my married sisters.

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But after leaving the large house in which my mother

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had lived and died, I took my share of the

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furniture and settled myself down in the smallest flat that

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I could find in all London. My sister Rose said

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that I was funny and independent. I agreed with her

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that I was independent, but I could not see anything

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particularly funny in my arrangements. My sister Maude, who had

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seven children under fourteen, said she thought I was horribly

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selfish because I did not happen to have got married

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as my sisters had done. I had collared, yes, that

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was the word she used. I had collared an extra

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three hundred pounds a year, and now I went and

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lived by myself and gave nobody else the benefit of it.

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Then Susie had her say. Now, Susie is a rich woman.

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Money is no object to her, but she is always

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in trouble with her servants. And Susie wanted my mother's

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useful maid to go into her household and help to

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look after the next generation. Now Barbara had been my

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nurse before she was my mother's maid, and it had

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always been an understood thing between my mother and Barbara

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and myself that I was never to turn my back

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upon her. And if I had told her that she

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would have to leave me and go to live with

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missus Sargeant, that was Susie's married name, I think poor

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Barbara would have broken her heart. But to tell you

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the truth, I never thought of such a thing. Susie

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had a husband who could protect her. I hadn't anybody

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I was not able to afford to keep more servants

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than Barbara and a young cook, and naturally Barbara was,

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under these circumstances, absolutely essential to my well being. My

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sister in law, missus Horace Cheap, also cast her eye

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upon Barbara, and another sister of hers, who was no

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earthly relation to us, even went so far as to

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offer her double the wages that I was able to

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give her, if only she would go in and take

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charge of her nursery. However, the family discussion came to

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an end at last, and Barbara and I took up

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our abode in our new home on the second floor

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of Rosemary Mansions. Well, dear reader, this has not very

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much to do with my story, and yet it is

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necessary that I should slightly sketch out the main lines

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of my previous life. Somehow, it had always been an

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uneventful existence. I think it is often so with the

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only one of a large family who remains to the

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end in the parent nest. My sisters had all pared

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off and had made new nests for themselves. I stayed

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behind to make my mother's last days happy, partly because

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I had no wish to desert her, and partly to

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be quite frank, because I had never had any temptation

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to do so. And yet I was quite as good

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looking as any of my sisters, and I was certainly

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quite as a grief in myself, if not more so.

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But from the days when I was just out of

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my teens, it always seemed to be an understood thing

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in the Cheap family that Miranda was an unromantic person

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who would never have a love story or get married

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as all the others had done. And so when the

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incident happened of which I am about to tell you,

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I had got to the mature age of thirty four,

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and I had never had a lover in my life.

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My eldest sister, Susie, had married very young and had

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three daughters who seemed all likely to follow in her footsteps.

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The eldest of the three, Dorian, was a tall, pretty

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lively girl of nearly eighteen. She was my godchild and

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my favorite among all my nieces, and right merrily did

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she take advantage of her position as such. Aunt Miranda.

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She would say to me, I want you to take

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me in for a few days. My people are going

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off to Bournemouth or some other place, and I have

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several engagements in town that I don't want to miss.

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She never said if you can do with me, and

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I never told her to wait until I invited her.

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And I generally found that the engagements consisted of some

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arrangement with a young man, and that I had to

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take her to a concert, or a theater, or a dance,

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as the case might be. When the third or fourth

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young man of the kind was introduced to me, I

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asked Dorian seriously when she was going to be married. Oh,

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I don't think, aunt Miranda, she replied promptly that I

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feel like marrying any of them. But my dear, you

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really ought not to encourage these young men unless you

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mean to marry one of them. It's not the proper

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thing to do at all. Does your mother know? Oh? Yes,

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mother knows, said Dorian cheerfully. Mother says, if I marry

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under two or three thousand a year, I shall be

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a fool, and so I should. But one can have

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little fun without thinking of marrying. I read her a

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little lecturette upon the mistaken policy of frittering away one's life. Well, Auntie,

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she said, quite cheerfully, by all accounts, you have not

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fritted your life away, and yet here you are left

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high and dry and as much alone in the world

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as if you had not a single relation on all

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the earth. For the first time in my life, I

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felt a hideous sense of loneliness creeping over me. And

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for an hour, after the child had gone gaily off

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to a tea party at some house near by, I

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sat wondering what I should feel like when another thirty

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four years had gone by and I should still be

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living in this flat or some other, quite by myself.

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It was just a week before Christmas. By some freaks,

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the Sergeant family had all gone out of town, excepting Dore,

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who had flatly refused to be taken away from several

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dances for which she had engaged herself from the first

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waltz to the very last. It is all the same

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to you, mother, was her argument, whether I go down

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to that dull old house in the country, or whether

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I stay up in town with Aunt Miranda. I hate

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the country, particularly in winter, and more particularly in a

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hired house in a neighborhood where you hardly know a soul.

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It's a ghastly i dear mother, of which I am

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sure you will all bitterly repent ere. The time is

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at an end, So dear darling mother, do leave me

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with Aunt Miranda, and we shall be two happy old

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maids eating our Christmas dinner together. My sister Susy was

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always inclined to shift her burdens on to other people's shoulders,

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and although I don't mean to imply that Doreen was

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a burden, still she was one of SUSY's responsibilities. So

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when the family took their departure for a rambling country

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house in one of the wildest parts of Yorkshire, Doreen,

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accompanied by several large dress baskets, came to me. I

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think it was the fact of its being Christmas, as

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well as Dorian's remark, that first made me realize how lonely,

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how very lonely, I had been. She was such a

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good child, She was so sweet tempered and cheerful, and

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so popular with other young people, that she soon turned

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my quiet flat into as bright a corner of the

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world as you could well find in any part of London.

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Miss Dorrean makes a good deal of traffic, said Barbara

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to me, when Dorian had been with us about three days. Yes, Barbara,

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I replied, but it is good for us. You and

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I are too old things who want stirring up and

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rousing out of our selfish old maidism. Now, miss Miranda,

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said Barbara, there is not much of the old maid

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about you. I sighed, I don't know, Barbara, I said,

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I begin to feel very old and very much of

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a maiden lady. It is not a pleasant feeling. I

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had then been living for several years at Rosemary Mansions.

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You know the particular block of flats, of course that

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I mean, But perhaps you don't know that they are

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built in a very unusual form. There are four separate

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sets of flats in the one great square building. Each

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of the four sides has its entrance, its large hall,

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its great door mats with salvae written upon them, its

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liveried porter, and its convenient lift. And each hall goes

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right through to the courtyard at the back, so that

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from each one could communicate with any one of the

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other three sets of flats. Well, it happened one day

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just before Christmas, the day before Christmas Eve, to be exact,

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that Dorian went to help some friends to deck a

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Christmas tree, which was to form one of the attractions

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at a party at which we were bidden for the

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following evening, the tree was to be followed by a

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dance with a cotillion, and I understood from Dorian that

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the favors for the cotillion were to be something very

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unusual and out of the common. As Dorian was fully

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occupied that afternoon, I took the opportunity of going out

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to buy a present for her. She had been with

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me to buy the various presents that were necessary for

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me to send to the other members of the family,

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but until that moment I had not had an opportunity

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of buying for Dorian a certain article of jewelry which

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I knew she was most anxious to possess. It was

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a horrid afternoon, stingingly cold, an inclination to fog. I

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took a cab as far as Oxford Street and there

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made my purchase. Then I passed Bouchards, and it occurred

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to me that I should be wise if I took

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home with me an extra cake or so, because although

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I had weeks before ordered my usual supply of Christmas dainties,

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the advent of Dorian had made it more than likely

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that we should find ourselves very badly off for nice

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things for afternoon tea. Not that Dorian ate so much.

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You know, I don't mean that. But Dorian had such

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a train of young men, and Dorian had so many girlfriends,

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and young men and young girls do get through a

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good deal of plum cake and such things when they

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congregate together, and so I thought it would be a

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good thing if I stepped into Bouchards and bought some

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extra things which I could carry home with me. I

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bought a three pound plum cake and a two pound

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cherry cake and put them into the first hansom that

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I saw. Rosemary Mansion's Westminster was the direction I gave

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the g Hu. I saw with dismay that the fog

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was thickening visibly, and as we descended towards the Houses

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of Parliament it had become almost impossible to distinguish the houses.

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As we passed, more than once we were blocked by

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the traffic, and my gi Hu made one or two

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horse remarks to me through the trap door that he

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was afraid he would find Rosemary Mansions very difficult to

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get at. I told him cheerfully to do his best,

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that I would give him something extra. But I cannot

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say that I felt very cheerful. Here was I a

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lone woman sitting in a cab in a neighborhood which

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I did not recognize, with a handsome piece of jewelry

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in my hand, a well filled purse in my pocket,

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and two heavy cakes on the seat beside me. My

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driver made one or two inquiries and took some obviously

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wrong turnings. But at last he drew up at the

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door of Rosemary Mansions, and I got out of the

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cab with a sigh of relief. I gave him double fare,

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and he told me that he would walk his horse

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right home and not attempt to earn another penny that night.

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You say, lardie, he said, it goes down your throat

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and down your horse's throat, so oh, my ghost straight.

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I bade him good night and a merry Christmas. As

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I went up the steps, I looked up in order

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to make sure that I had arrived at my own entrance.

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For as I said before, there were four entrances to

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Rosemary Mansions, each one with the name plainly written above

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the portals and below the name one of the first

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four letters of the alphabet. I lived in Rosemary Mansions A.

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The fog was, however, too thick for me to distinguish

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the letters. So I passed within, knowing that it would

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be perfectly easy to find my own staircase from the porter's.

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Oh yes, this was my own hall. I recognized the

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crimson carpets, the great door mats, the porter's bench, and

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the dog lying before the fire, which blazed in a

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semi open grate. But there was no porter about, which

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was very unusual at that hour. I supposed that dogg It,

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as our porter was called, had either gone upstairs with

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a message, or else down below to his own apartment

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to get his tea. I looked into the porter's lodge

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to see if there were any letters for me, but

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a glance told me that there was not a single

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letter in the rack. As I did not choose to

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disturb dogged at his tea, I quietly walked up the

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00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,279
staircase without troubling to wait for the lift. Oh how

241
00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:48,720
horrid the fog was. It made one think kindly even

242
00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,120
of the rambling country house in the wilds of distant Yorkshire. Indeed,

243
00:14:53,159 --> 00:14:55,799
it was so heavy and so thick that it had

244
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,120
worked its way within doors, and the electric lights at

245
00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,000
various points of the stairs shone with a curious yellow radiance,

246
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,120
and each had a sort of halo surrounding it. I

247
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,960
reached my own door and rang the bell. Nobody came.

248
00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:15,240
I rang again and again, but there was no response.

249
00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:18,559
How was it that everybody was out of the way

250
00:15:18,639 --> 00:15:23,440
this afternoon? I supposed Barbara had gone off buying Christmas things.

251
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,879
Then where was Jane? I felt impatiently in my pocket

252
00:15:27,919 --> 00:15:31,000
to see if I had my key? I had. I

253
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,000
opened the door with a sigh of relief. How very

254
00:15:35,039 --> 00:15:40,279
extraordinary all was in darkness. I drew the key out

255
00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,399
of the lock, shut the door behind me, and, passing

256
00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,720
on through the inner door, which was of heavy ground glass,

257
00:15:46,919 --> 00:15:50,679
closed it behind me. It shut with a little click.

258
00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:54,639
How odd I had never heard the door click like

259
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,879
that before. I groped my hand along the wall, feeling

260
00:15:58,919 --> 00:16:03,320
for the switches of the electric light. Why what had happened?

261
00:16:03,879 --> 00:16:07,559
There was no switch. I went back to the door,

262
00:16:07,639 --> 00:16:12,080
which now was closed quite tightly. I could find no handle.

263
00:16:12,399 --> 00:16:14,879
So I went back again to feel for the switches

264
00:16:14,919 --> 00:16:19,559
of the electric light, but could not discover them. How

265
00:16:19,679 --> 00:16:24,559
extraordinary and how curious the effect of this yellow fog was.

266
00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:28,159
It made not only the streets, but my own house

267
00:16:28,279 --> 00:16:32,440
feels strange. Never mind, I should find a light in

268
00:16:32,519 --> 00:16:36,080
the dining room, probably a fire. Certainly there would be

269
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,600
one in the kitchen. I turned towards the door of

270
00:16:39,639 --> 00:16:42,039
the dining room, which was the first on the left

271
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,000
after the second door of entrance, but I could not

272
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:50,320
find any sign of an electric switch. Then it dawned

273
00:16:50,399 --> 00:16:55,120
upon me that I had mistaken my block and my flat,

274
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,120
and here was I shut up in the dark in

275
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:03,200
a flat belonging to some known person. I groped my

276
00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,640
way back to the inner door of the entrance. No,

277
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,319
I could find no chase of a handle upon it.

278
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,279
I shook it, I knocked upon it, but with no

279
00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:18,200
result excepting that I hurt my knuckles even through my

280
00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:22,960
thick winter gloves. At this point I put my two

281
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,160
heavy cakes, which I had still been carrying, down upon

282
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,119
the floor, and set myself to make a tour of

283
00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:33,960
the apartments. The entrance was evidently precisely of the same

284
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,119
proportions as my own, and it was furnished. I came

285
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,519
in turn to an umbrella stand, one of those tall

286
00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:45,960
porcelain pipes which held several sticks and umbrellas, and to

287
00:17:46,039 --> 00:17:50,799
a carved hall bench, then to a table. I dropped

288
00:17:50,799 --> 00:17:53,440
over a door mat and felt the outlines of one

289
00:17:53,519 --> 00:17:58,039
or two pictures. Then I touched a brush and something

290
00:17:58,079 --> 00:18:00,880
that felt in the dark like a fox head. It

291
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,759
was certainly the staffed head of some small animal. At

292
00:18:04,839 --> 00:18:07,799
last I reached the kitchen door, hoping to find a

293
00:18:07,839 --> 00:18:13,440
fire there. No, all was dark. If only I had

294
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,680
had a light, the situation would not have been so bad.

295
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,359
But although I groped about for at least ten minutes,

296
00:18:20,599 --> 00:18:24,359
I could not find a single box of matches. At

297
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,720
last I came to what was evidently the kitchen easy chair,

298
00:18:28,319 --> 00:18:31,839
and in that I sat myself down, wondering what on

299
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,200
earth I should do next. I might try ringing the bells.

300
00:18:36,799 --> 00:18:39,880
So I started on a tour round the kitchen, shinning

301
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,839
myself violently several times. Ere I remembered that I should

302
00:18:43,839 --> 00:18:47,440
not find any bell pool there. Then I groped my

303
00:18:47,519 --> 00:18:50,200
way once more to the door which led to the corridor,

304
00:18:50,559 --> 00:18:52,759
and felt with my hand along the wall for the

305
00:18:52,799 --> 00:18:56,160
door of the dining room. I knocked down a chair

306
00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,440
and I think a small table. Then I ran against

307
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:06,000
the sideboard. Crash. There was a sound of falling glass. Oh, dear,

308
00:19:06,599 --> 00:19:09,680
I had smashed something belonging to someone I did not know,

309
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,319
and I had cut myself. At last, however, I did

310
00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:17,640
find the little knob of the electric bell, and had

311
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,759
the satisfaction of hearing it tinkling away in the kitchen,

312
00:19:20,839 --> 00:19:25,000
which I had just left. Ringing the bell was no good.

313
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:29,000
I went back to the door which led into the corridor.

314
00:19:29,519 --> 00:19:32,400
But mind you, when I say I went, I mean

315
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,720
that I arrived there after a progress involving much need

316
00:19:35,759 --> 00:19:40,680
of patience and the receipt of many hard knocks. Then

317
00:19:40,839 --> 00:19:46,559
I nerved myself to speak, Is there anybody there? I said.

318
00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,759
I have a refined and ladylike voice, which my dear

319
00:19:50,799 --> 00:19:53,960
mother always used to say was one of my greatest charms.

320
00:19:54,759 --> 00:19:58,359
It sounded so soft and inefficient as I sat there

321
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,400
in the darkness, and I to speak in a much

322
00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:07,440
louder and more determined tone. Is anybody there? My voice

323
00:20:07,559 --> 00:20:11,400
echoed down the corridor, but no answering voice came out

324
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,759
of the darkness in reply. I then determined to make

325
00:20:15,799 --> 00:20:20,240
a complete tour of the apartments. I explored the drawing room,

326
00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:24,519
the dining room, the little study, the large bedroom, the

327
00:20:24,559 --> 00:20:28,720
spare bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the servant's bedroom

328
00:20:28,839 --> 00:20:32,200
all in turn, and after the manner of the blind,

329
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,160
I examined with my hands each chimney shelf in case

330
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:40,039
I might come across one precious box of matches. But

331
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,119
although I resolutely carried this idea into effect, I did

332
00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:48,160
not light upon a single one. And at this point

333
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,640
I sat down and wept. It was the day before

334
00:20:52,759 --> 00:20:56,160
Christmas Eve. Perhaps the owner of the flat had gone

335
00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,000
away for the holidays. I could not get out of

336
00:20:59,039 --> 00:21:02,319
that front door. I had nothing to eat, and there

337
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,960
was nothing but water to drink. I had already touched

338
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,039
the tap in the kitchen, so that I knew I

339
00:21:08,039 --> 00:21:11,160
should not die of thirst. But I might be locked

340
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,039
up in that flat for ten days or more, and

341
00:21:14,079 --> 00:21:17,039
the only sustenance I knew of was tap water and

342
00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:23,680
two bushard cakes. So I sat down and wept, wept piteously,

343
00:21:24,319 --> 00:21:27,279
until I suddenly became aware that I was chilled to

344
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:31,319
the very marrow of my bones. I wondered what they

345
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:35,240
would do at home, What would Doren think? What would

346
00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:38,880
Barbara say? Would they go to the police, would they

347
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,960
go the round of the hospitals. Would the cabman to

348
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:45,160
whom I had given double fare come and give evidence

349
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,720
that he had driven such a lady as Dorean would

350
00:21:47,759 --> 00:21:52,880
describe to one of the entrances to Rosemary Mansions. I

351
00:21:53,079 --> 00:21:56,720
tried to console myself with the assurance that, after all,

352
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,599
Rosemary Mansions was a highly respectable bill where tenants were

353
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,720
not accepted unless they gave the very highest of references,

354
00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,319
that nobody who came and found me there eventually would

355
00:22:09,319 --> 00:22:12,400
believe that a woman of my position and means had

356
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:17,240
come with any felonious intent. In the meantime, I must

357
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,799
make the best of a bad situation. I must resign

358
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,799
myself to sitting there in the dark and in the cold,

359
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,000
and be thankful that I had bought those two cakes

360
00:22:27,039 --> 00:22:30,559
with a view of helping out Christmas. Little did I

361
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,319
think when I entered Bouchard's busy, attractive shop that they

362
00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:38,559
would probably prove themselves a barrier between me and starvation.

363
00:22:41,039 --> 00:22:44,799
By this time, I was yearning for my tea. If

364
00:22:44,839 --> 00:22:48,079
only I had been able to find a match, if

365
00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:50,160
I had been able to find a gas ring or

366
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,240
even some coals, I might have made myself a cup

367
00:22:53,279 --> 00:22:57,400
of tea French leave tea in this house in which

368
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:02,599
I had unwittingly invited myself. However, that was evidently out

369
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,039
of the question, so I at last groped my way

370
00:23:06,079 --> 00:23:09,039
back to where I had left my Bouchard cakes. And

371
00:23:09,079 --> 00:23:11,640
then I groped my way back to the kitchen again,

372
00:23:12,319 --> 00:23:15,240
and there I groped about until I found a knife,

373
00:23:15,559 --> 00:23:18,599
for they always keep such things in the kitchen drawer.

374
00:23:19,799 --> 00:23:22,400
Having smelt it to make sure that it had not

375
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,039
been used for onions or soap, I wiped it carefully

376
00:23:26,079 --> 00:23:28,960
on the inside of my skirt, and then ventured to

377
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,759
cut myself a large piece of cake. I had not

378
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,359
much difficulty in finding a cup, and after making sure

379
00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:39,000
that it was clean, I filled it from the tap.

380
00:23:39,519 --> 00:23:42,960
And there I sat in the dark, eating my rich

381
00:23:43,079 --> 00:23:47,279
cake and drinking my ice cold water, which seemed to

382
00:23:47,279 --> 00:23:52,680
go down my pour inside like a frozen waterfall. All

383
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,039
the same, I felt better when I had disposed of

384
00:23:55,079 --> 00:23:57,880
my wedge of cake, and I felt very grateful to

385
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,640
Bouchard for occupying the precise city in Oxford Street which

386
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:07,319
had attracted my attention. Ours went by, at all events,

387
00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,079
they seemed like ours to me, for I had sat

388
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,039
myself down to wait patiently till morning light should shed

389
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:19,359
some ray of hope upon my desperate situation. When morning came,

390
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,480
I would write a note and throw it down in

391
00:24:21,519 --> 00:24:24,960
the courtyard, or I would pick up a few inexpensive

392
00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:28,400
articles of crockery and send them down smash, and so

393
00:24:28,519 --> 00:24:32,440
attract attention that way. I felt that it would be

394
00:24:32,559 --> 00:24:35,960
useless to shout into this fog. It would be like

395
00:24:36,079 --> 00:24:39,440
calling down a coal mine. And to tell you the truth,

396
00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:42,480
I did not like, in the darkness to open any

397
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,960
of the windows. At last, I began to get desperately sleepy,

398
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,880
is he. I was not accustomed to sitting in out

399
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,240
of darkness, and as there is nothing so fatiguing to

400
00:24:54,319 --> 00:24:57,799
the eyes as staring into the night, I closed them

401
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,920
in order to prevent myself from getting a bad attack

402
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:06,079
of neuralgia. It was very uncomfortable in that hard, straight

403
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,799
up chair, which was evidently one of the windsor persuasion

404
00:25:10,079 --> 00:25:12,960
with a not very soft cushion tied onto the seat.

405
00:25:14,039 --> 00:25:18,240
Then an idea occurred to me. The flat was empty,

406
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,920
I mean that its occupants were evidently away. So I

407
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,200
came to the conclusion that I might as well go

408
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,400
and lie down upon one of the beds I knew,

409
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,000
which was the best bedroom. It was the same as

410
00:25:31,039 --> 00:25:33,880
my own, and I had good occasion to know that

411
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,039
there was a big bed in it, for I had

412
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:40,519
run against it with such force that I bruised myself severely.

413
00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:45,160
I therefore, after a last drink of cold water, got

414
00:25:45,279 --> 00:25:49,039
up and with care, found my way to the best bedroom.

415
00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:53,559
The bed was a large and luxurious one, spread with

416
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,240
a satin covered Ida dwann. I happened to be wearing

417
00:25:57,279 --> 00:26:00,640
a sealskin coat which came down to my knee. It

418
00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:04,000
was a coat with a storm collar. On my head.

419
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,119
I had a toque of mink fur garnished with pink

420
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,559
roses and some violets. I threw back the idodan quilt

421
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,720
and got on to the bed, tucking myself well round

422
00:26:14,799 --> 00:26:19,119
with the soft satin cover. It was a glorious bed,

423
00:26:19,319 --> 00:26:22,640
a delicious bed, a bed that must have been made

424
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:28,680
purposely for some poor wanderer like myself. The pillows were soft,

425
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,920
but not too soft, not pappy, you know. And they

426
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,000
were nice pillows, as I could tell by the linen

427
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:40,039
slips which covered them. There was embroidery at the corners

428
00:26:40,319 --> 00:26:43,000
and a small frill with a lace edge or round.

429
00:26:43,599 --> 00:26:47,319
There were much nicer pillows than my own, so I

430
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,519
drew up my storm collar yet a little higher, snuggled

431
00:26:51,559 --> 00:26:55,200
down under the coverlet, and in five minutes I was

432
00:26:55,359 --> 00:27:02,319
sound asleep. Two I do not know how long I

433
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,400
had slept. You see, I had no means of knowing

434
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,839
how the time had passed since I was entrapped, I

435
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,599
might almost say entombed in the strange dwelling of some

436
00:27:12,799 --> 00:27:16,519
person unknown to me. I seemed to have been asleep

437
00:27:16,559 --> 00:27:20,640
for many hours when I suddenly awoke. I came to

438
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,440
myself with a start, on realizing that I was not

439
00:27:23,599 --> 00:27:27,200
in my own bed. Just at first I thought I

440
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,119
had been awakened from my ordinary sleep, and that my

441
00:27:30,319 --> 00:27:34,440
bed was on fire. But no, it was an electric

442
00:27:34,559 --> 00:27:39,319
light just over my head. I was not dreaming. Another

443
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,480
light was shedding its brilliant rays over the dressing table,

444
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,519
just where my own light hung, and an asbestos fire

445
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,720
was burning cheerily in the grate. I had barely time

446
00:27:50,799 --> 00:27:53,160
to take all these things in and to locate the

447
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,400
circumstances of my incarceration when I heard a voice which said,

448
00:27:58,279 --> 00:28:03,200
good Heavens. It was a man's voice, and my first

449
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,279
instinct was to hold the satin covered idodown still more

450
00:28:06,319 --> 00:28:10,240
closely round me. Oh, the dickens. Are you, went on

451
00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:16,200
the voice, Sir, said I in quavering accents. Madam, what

452
00:28:16,279 --> 00:28:19,759
are you doing in my bed? Said the voice indignantly.

453
00:28:20,279 --> 00:28:25,519
I don't understand this. You must go away, please. I

454
00:28:25,599 --> 00:28:29,720
could not get out, I cried piteously. No poor woman

455
00:28:29,759 --> 00:28:32,400
on earth could be less anxious to inflict herself upon

456
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,640
you than I am. But I'm afraid I mistook your

457
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,720
flat for my own. I dare say I look very funny,

458
00:28:40,039 --> 00:28:42,279
for I still had my satin toke with the pink

459
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,880
roses and violets on my head, and my storm collar

460
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,359
was pulled well up above my ears. I live in

461
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,759
one of these flats, I went on. I took a

462
00:28:52,799 --> 00:28:56,960
cab home from Bouchard's. Oh that's where the Bouchard cakes

463
00:28:57,039 --> 00:28:59,720
came from, is it? He said? I went into the

464
00:28:59,799 --> 00:29:02,200
kin to make myself a cup of coffee, as I

465
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,319
always do, and found cakes there which I knew I

466
00:29:05,319 --> 00:29:09,839
had never supplied. Sir, what is the time, I asked?

467
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,200
It is about three o'clock in the morning, Rather more,

468
00:29:13,519 --> 00:29:16,279
he replied, at least it was three when I left

469
00:29:16,319 --> 00:29:20,039
the offices of the Daily Trumpeter. Is there a fog?

470
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,920
I demanded, Oh, nothing to speak of? Now, did you

471
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:27,319
say you lived in these flats? I do, Indeed I do.

472
00:29:27,799 --> 00:29:30,720
I live on the second floor of Block AD. When

473
00:29:30,759 --> 00:29:33,000
I came home, the fog was so bad that I

474
00:29:33,039 --> 00:29:37,359
could not see the letter. Oh, three o'clock in the morning.

475
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:43,359
What shall I do? What can I do? Well? The

476
00:29:43,359 --> 00:29:46,720
best thing you can do is to go home, he said. Sensibly,

477
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,519
you must really forgive me, madam, for speaking as I did,

478
00:29:51,079 --> 00:29:53,759
But you must recognize that it was rather a standing

479
00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,119
for a hard work journalist to come home and find

480
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,000
pink roses and violets rolled up in his idol down.

481
00:30:00,119 --> 00:30:03,559
I am sure. I offer you ten thousand apologies for

482
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,799
making so free with your belongings, I said, apologetically. But

483
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:11,240
it was so dark. Why didn't you turn up the lights?

484
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,440
I would have done so, but I could not find

485
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,680
the switches. I could not find any matches, and as

486
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,319
I am not a new woman and do not smoke,

487
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,079
I hadn't any with me. And I was so cold

488
00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:28,519
and so miserable, sitting in the darkness, wondering if my

489
00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:33,160
people had given orders to drag the river for me. Oh, yes,

490
00:30:33,319 --> 00:30:36,680
of course, there are your people to consider, he remarked.

491
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,839
Will you excuse my asking you a plain question. Are

492
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,799
you a married lady? No, I am not, I replied.

493
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,200
I live in these mansions, as I told you, in

494
00:30:48,359 --> 00:30:52,480
number eight block, on the second floor. My name is Cheap.

495
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:58,000
Oh didn't Herbert Sergeant marry a miss Cheap. Yes, yes,

496
00:30:58,119 --> 00:31:02,000
she's my sister, I said eager and Dorian, her eldest

497
00:31:02,119 --> 00:31:05,359
child is staying with me. Now she must be frightened

498
00:31:05,359 --> 00:31:10,119
out of her wits. Well between you and me, mischief,

499
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,359
I think it would take a good deal to frighten

500
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,200
miss Dorean. But that is neither here nor there. You

501
00:31:16,279 --> 00:31:18,279
must be got home, and you must be got out

502
00:31:18,319 --> 00:31:21,039
of this little affair with as little noise as possible.

503
00:31:21,759 --> 00:31:24,160
Look here, I'll leave you for a few minutes to

504
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,720
put your hat straight and so on, while I go

505
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:30,680
down and reconnoiter. Why didn't you think of the tradesman's entrance?

506
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:36,359
I did. It was locked. Everything's locked, I said, in

507
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,400
a tragic voice. That's because the old woman who looks

508
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,119
after me and gets my breakfast takes the keita let

509
00:31:43,119 --> 00:31:46,319
herself in with, and the handle is off the inner door.

510
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,000
That's why you could not get out there. I expect

511
00:31:50,039 --> 00:31:53,200
it rolled down when you let it slip too you

512
00:31:53,359 --> 00:31:56,519
had better leave your cakes behind you. You'll have to

513
00:31:56,559 --> 00:31:59,039
tell your people that you got lost in the fog,

514
00:31:59,319 --> 00:32:01,559
and nobody will believe that you hung on to those

515
00:32:01,599 --> 00:32:05,680
two heavy cakes all the time. Now look here, mischief,

516
00:32:06,119 --> 00:32:10,960
I'm Barkley of the Daily Trumpeter, Raymond Barkley. We've got

517
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,880
to tell the same story. You got lost in the fog,

518
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,920
and I picked you up and convoyed you home safe.

519
00:32:18,559 --> 00:32:23,799
Now I sat clear. Oh, yes, thank you, quite quite clear.

520
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,960
I won't be two minutes. Putting my hair straight, all right,

521
00:32:28,319 --> 00:32:31,119
he said, and picking up his fur lined coat, he

522
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,559
went out, shutting the door noiselessly after him. I put

523
00:32:35,599 --> 00:32:38,880
my hair straight with trembling fingers and pinned on my

524
00:32:39,039 --> 00:32:42,839
smart flower decked toke. I made myself look as decent

525
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,400
as I could. My handkerchief I had left on the bed.

526
00:32:46,839 --> 00:32:49,720
But what did I do with my gloves? I went

527
00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:53,279
to the door and opened it. Mister Barkley, I must

528
00:32:53,279 --> 00:32:56,279
have my gloves. What did I do with them? Can

529
00:32:56,319 --> 00:32:59,680
I have left them in the kitchen? Yes? I did

530
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,200
see a pair of ladies gloves in there, he said,

531
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,119
with a laugh. I thought my old woman had bloomed

532
00:33:05,119 --> 00:33:08,440
out that way. Now keep close behind me. When you

533
00:33:08,519 --> 00:33:11,759
go downstairs, I have been down once. All is as

534
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,559
quiet as the grave. And if we can get out

535
00:33:14,559 --> 00:33:17,519
of this building and round your own entrance without anyone

536
00:33:17,559 --> 00:33:19,599
seeing us, no one will know that you have been

537
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:23,240
here at all. If we should chance to meet anyone,

538
00:33:23,559 --> 00:33:27,160
shrink back, get out of sight. Don't let them see you.

539
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,200
We must dissemble. There was no more light on the

540
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,799
staircase than the gleam from the electric lamp which burned

541
00:33:35,839 --> 00:33:39,880
all night in the central hall. We descended the stairs

542
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,359
like a couple of thieves, he going first and I

543
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:48,480
following at a respectful distance. My heart beat furiously as

544
00:33:48,519 --> 00:33:52,000
I reached the lower flight. A few more steps and

545
00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:54,680
I should be safe. I should be out in the

546
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:58,759
protective night, and nobody but Raymond Berkeley would be any

547
00:33:58,839 --> 00:34:01,799
the wiser as to the exact locality in which I

548
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:07,279
had lost myself. Fortune favored me. Not a soul came

549
00:34:07,319 --> 00:34:12,000
on the scene, and we gained the outer door in safety.

550
00:34:12,079 --> 00:34:15,480
It's all right, he said, why you are trembling like

551
00:34:15,559 --> 00:34:20,000
a leaf? Here, take my arm. Remember your story, and

552
00:34:20,079 --> 00:34:24,880
I'll see you through it. I was hideously frightened. So

553
00:34:25,079 --> 00:34:27,800
frightened was I that I quite forgot to thank him,

554
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,679
but clung to his arm like grim death, and he

555
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,440
piloted me, without further loss of time, to my own entrance.

556
00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:39,119
Have you got your key, he asked? Oh, I have

557
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:44,280
left it in your flat, I replied, where, said he? Oh,

558
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:47,960
how stupid of me. I don't know. I let myself

559
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,079
in with it. I don't know what I did with

560
00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:53,679
it after that. It doesn't matter. I'll go back for it.

561
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,199
Even then, that angelic man didn't call me a fool,

562
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,480
and I think he really would have been perfectly justified

563
00:35:01,519 --> 00:35:05,280
if he had. You had better stand here in the shade,

564
00:35:05,559 --> 00:35:08,280
he said, and wait for me. I won't be two minutes,

565
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:13,960
all right, I returned. You are sure you'll not be frightened? No, no,

566
00:35:14,199 --> 00:35:17,320
I'm not a bit frightened. As a matter of fact,

567
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,800
my teeth were chattering, but not with that kind of fear,

568
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,360
as you can very well understand. In less than two

569
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:30,039
minutes he returned. Found it the very first thing, he said, triumphantly.

570
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,199
I trod on it just inside the front door. The

571
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,159
rule of our flats was that each occupant had a

572
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,239
ring given to him on taking possession of his apartment.

573
00:35:41,039 --> 00:35:44,119
Upon this ring were two keys. The past key of

574
00:35:44,199 --> 00:35:47,000
the outer entrance and the latch key of the flat.

575
00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:51,639
I don't know, said mister Berklay in an undertone, as

576
00:35:51,639 --> 00:35:55,000
we stole towards the stairs. How it comes that your

577
00:35:55,079 --> 00:35:59,079
key unlocks my door? There is something wrong about that.

578
00:35:59,559 --> 00:36:02,880
I shall make a fuss about it to morrow. Oh don't,

579
00:36:03,159 --> 00:36:06,760
it'll give me away if you do, I cried, Oh sir,

580
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:11,320
it would. Then I must be mum. Remember your story.

581
00:36:12,039 --> 00:36:14,199
I picked you up on my way home from the

582
00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,800
Daily Trumpeter. Yes, yes, I replied, I will not forget.

583
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,199
I knocked lightly at my own door. There was a

584
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:29,199
sound of voices within, and Dorring came rushing out. Oh, Auntie,

585
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,159
she cried. We've been nearly frantic about you, and you're

586
00:36:33,199 --> 00:36:37,559
with mister Berkley. How funny. I don't know about its

587
00:36:37,559 --> 00:36:41,039
being funny, said mister Berkeley. It might have been funny

588
00:36:41,079 --> 00:36:43,480
if she had not been with me. Owing to the

589
00:36:43,639 --> 00:36:47,440
terrible fog, I found your aunt hopelessly lost. She put

590
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,800
herself in my care, and I have convoyed her safely here.

591
00:36:51,599 --> 00:36:55,199
She is very cold and very tired, so don't ask

592
00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:58,039
her any questions, but give her something hot to drink

593
00:36:58,079 --> 00:37:01,719
and put her to bed. But you will come in,

594
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,519
won't you, I said faintly. I wanted to have a

595
00:37:05,559 --> 00:37:10,239
good cry, a real good cry. Not to night, Not

596
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,719
to night, he said cheerily. Bed is the best place

597
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,679
for wandering ladies and tired out journalists. I will come

598
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:21,760
in to morrow, fancy, if you're any the worse. He

599
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,400
did call the next day, and on Christmas Day he

600
00:37:25,519 --> 00:37:28,559
sent me the loveliest poesy that I ever saw in

601
00:37:28,599 --> 00:37:33,440
my life, France roses and double violets, done up in

602
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:37,239
a basket, lined with pink satin, edged with a border

603
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:43,159
of mink fur. Why, Auntie, said Doren, It's just like

604
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:48,519
your toke. It's the quaintest fancy I've ever seen. I

605
00:37:48,639 --> 00:37:52,320
felt myself blushing and found it very convenient to hide

606
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:56,239
my face in the flowers. But I didn't tell Dorin

607
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,800
the meaning of that quaint conceit. It was a little

608
00:38:00,039 --> 00:38:05,719
secret which I kept to myself. I cannot think, said

609
00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:08,760
Dorry that afternoon, when mister Berkeley had come in again,

610
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,719
just to see if I was any the worse. You know,

611
00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:15,280
I cannot think how Auntie managed to lose herself for

612
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:19,159
so long, because there was not much fog after about

613
00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:24,800
eight o'clock. Mister Berkeley avoided the question. I suppose you

614
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,639
were dreadfully frightened and upset and thought there had been

615
00:38:27,679 --> 00:38:31,960
an accident, said he. Oh, yes, we thought of all

616
00:38:32,119 --> 00:38:36,079
sorts of things. We thought of an accident first, so

617
00:38:36,159 --> 00:38:39,360
we took a cab and went to ether so many hospitals,

618
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,000
Barbara and I. Then the fog began to lift, and

619
00:38:43,039 --> 00:38:45,039
we wonted if we ought to go to the police,

620
00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:48,400
And yet seemed so funny to mix Aunty up with

621
00:38:48,519 --> 00:38:52,639
the police station. I put up my hand and laid

622
00:38:52,679 --> 00:38:55,599
it on hers. I am so glad you did not

623
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:59,519
go to the police, dear child, I said, because although

624
00:38:59,559 --> 00:39:02,679
I got lost, I got home safe after all, thanks

625
00:39:02,679 --> 00:39:05,800
to mister Berkeley. And I would rather you did not

626
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:09,119
tell any one about it, Dorin, because it sounds so

627
00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:11,480
odd for a woman of my age to own that

628
00:39:11,519 --> 00:39:17,440
she got lost in London, poor Auntie, said Dorin. Well,

629
00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:22,159
it might have been worse, said mister Berkeley. And as

630
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:25,039
I am going to be married to Raymond Berkeley in

631
00:39:25,119 --> 00:39:32,599
about six weeks time, I quite agree with him. End

632
00:39:32,679 --> 00:39:35,719
of a Christmas Fog by John's Strange Winter