You well know her affection for you all, and let me therefore, as a very old friend of hers, entreat you to wear as cheerful an aspect as you can in her presence." "For once in my life," said George, sadly, "I will; to my dear mother, endeavour to play the hypocrite." "Do so," said Henry.

"The motive will sanction any such deceit as that, George, be assured." The day wore on, and Poor Flora remained in a very precarious situation.
It was not until mid-day that Henry made up his mind he would call in a medical gentleman to her, and then he rode to the neighbouring market-town, where he knew an extremely intelligent practitioner resided.

This gentleman Henry resolved upon, under a promise of secrecy, makings confidant of; but, long before he reached him, he found he might well dispense with the promise of secrecy.
He had never thought, so engaged had he been with other matters, that the servants were cognizant of the whole affair, and that from them he had no expectation of being able to keep the whole story in all its details.

Of course such an opportunity for tale-bearing and gossiping was not likely to be lost; and while Henry was thinking over how he had better act in the matter, the news that Flora Bannerworth had been visited in the night by a vampyre--for the servants named the visitation such at once--was spreading all over the county.
As he rode along, Henry met a gentleman on horseback who belonged to the county, and who, reining in his steed, said to him, "Good morning, Mr.Bannerworth." "Good morning," responded Henry, and he would have ridden on, but the gentleman added,-- "Excuse me for interrupting you, sir; but what is the strange story that is in everybody's mouth about a vampyre ?" Henry nearly fell off his horse, he was so much astonished, and, wheeling the animal around, he said,-- "In everybody's mouth!" "Yes; I have heard it from at least a dozen persons." "You surprise me." "It is untrue?
Of course I am not so absurd as really to believe about the vampyre; but is there no foundation at all for it?
We generally find that at the bottom of these common reports there is a something around which, as a nucleus, the whole has formed." "My sister is unwell." "Ah, and that's all.

It really is too bad, now." "We had a visitor last night." "A thief, I suppose ?" "Yes, yes--I believe a thief.