Page:The Woman in White.djvu/322

 Nine o'clock. Was it nine struck, or eight? Nine, surely? I am shivering again&mdash;shivering, from head to foot, in the summer air. Have I been sitting here asleep? I don't know what I have been doing.

Oh, my God! am I going to be ill?

Ill, at such a time as this!

My head&mdash;I am sadly afraid of my head. I can write, but the lines all run together. I see the words. Laura&mdash;I can write Laura, and see I write it. Eight or nine&mdash;which was it?

So cold, so cold&mdash;oh, that rain last night!&mdash;and the strokes of the clock, the strokes I can't count, keep striking in my head&mdash;&mdash;

NOTE. [At this place the entry in the Diary ceases to be legible. The two or three lines which follow contain fragments of words only, mingled with blots and scratches of the pen. The last marks on the paper bear some resemblance to the first two letters (L and A) of the name of Lady Glyde.

On the next page of the Diary, another entry appears. It is in a man's handwriting, large, bold, and firmly regular; and the date is "June the 21st." It contains these lines:]

POSTSCRIPT BY A SINCERE FRIEND.

The illness of our excellent Miss Halcombe has afforded me the opportunity of enjoying an unexpected intellectual pleasure.

I refer to the perusal (which I have just completed) of this interesting Diary.

There are many hundred pages here. I can lay my hand on my heart, and declare that every page has charmed, refreshed, delighted me.

To a man of my sentiments, it is unspeakably gratifying to be able to say this.

Admirable woman!

I allude to Miss Halcombe.

Stupendous effort!

I refer to the Diary.

Yes! these pages are amazing. The tact which I find here, the discretion, the rare courage, the wonderful power of