AN UNWELCOME VISITANT. 425 



cavity. Its occupant was not dislodged, because probably it 

 was afraid to advance, and had no retreating passage in its 

 rear; so motionless it sat, staring at the light or its examiner, 

 who screamed with at least equal terror on discovery of what 

 it was. It was no cricket after all, but a dark brother of the 

 same order one of those broad flat-bodied, night-loving, all- 

 devouring, all-polluting, ill-scented creatures, the objects, as 

 we have seen, of Mrs. Dove's especial hate and horror. 



" It's only a cockroach," said I. " Only ! dear," returned 

 Dolly. " You may call it a cockroast ; but I knows it well ; 

 'tis a black beadle one of the very same I saw when I was a 

 girl at Mortiplume's, and never since. There they came by 

 hundreds, and that was bad enough ; but here, in this poor 

 old house, it has come by one, and that's worse, for it's sure for 

 certain to be the forerunner of a death, here, in the family, or 

 not far off." " Nonsense, Dolly," said I ; " it's not come to 

 foretell death, but to pick up its own living, the crumbs, 

 perhaps, at our tea-time ; for it's as fond, every bit, of bread 

 and butter as your own cricket ; but I'll read to you after 

 tea all about it, and show you it's picture, or Lucy shall, in 

 one of Uncle's books. I'll go and fetch it before it's quite 

 dark." "Not to the libery ! not to-night!" cried Dolly; 

 and she grasped me tightly by the arm. I wanted to go, but 

 did not like opposing the good creature, whose fears of the 

 haunted room were then, we knew, in the ascendant. 



While I hesitated, who should come to my relief but Caleb, 

 who, bearing, perhaps, in mind his awkward part once in the 

 drama of the cricket, had in this taken hitherto no part at all. 

 " I'll go," said he. " I can inform you, Mrs. Dove, that 

 Master Francis is perfectly correct ; that hanimal is a cock- 

 roach order Coloptery, genius Blatty I'll get the volume 

 'seeing is believing'" and he rose to put his purpose in 

 execution. "But won't it do in the morning?" said Dolly. 

 " You'd better take the candle, at any rate." "Candle!" 

 returned Mr. Caligraph, in his progress towards the door ; 



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