He did not come at once into the library, so I went cautiously to my own room and found him making the bedThis was odd, but only confirmed what I had all along thought, that there are no servants in the houseWhen later I saw him through the chink of the hinges of the door laying the table in the dining room, I was assured of itFor if he does himself all these menial offices, surely it is proof that there is no one else in the castle, it must have been the Count himself who was the driver of the coach that brought me hereThis is a terrible thought, for if so, what does it mean that he could control the wolves, as he did, by only holding up his hand for silence? How was it that all the people at Bistritz and on the coach had some terrible fear for me? What meant the giving of the crucifix, of the garlic, of the wild rose, of the mountain ash? Bless that good, good woman who hung the crucifix round my neck! For it is a comfort and a strength to me whenever I touch itIt is odd that a thing which I have been taught to regard with disfavour and as idolatrous should in a time of loneliness and trouble be of helpIs it that there is something in the essence of the thing itself, or that it is a medium, a tangible help, in conveying memories of sympathy and comfort? Some time, if it may be, I must examine this matter and try to make up my mind about itIn the meantime I must find out all I can about Count Dracula, as it may help me to understandTonight he may talk of himself, if I turn the conversation that wayI must be very careful, however, not to awake his suspicion-I have had a long talk with the CountI asked him a few questions on Transylvania history, and he warmed up to the subject wonderfullyIn his speaking of things and people, and especially of battles, he spoke as if he had been present at them allThis he afterwards explained by saying that to a Boyar the pride of his house and name is his own pride, that their glory is his glory, that their fate is his fateWhenever he spoke of his house he always said "we", and spoke almost in the plural, like a king speakingI wish I could put down all he said exactly as he said it, for to me it was most fascinatingIt seemed to have in it a whole history of the countryHe grew excited as he spoke, and walked about the room pulling his great white moustache and grasping anything on which he laid his hands as though he would crush it by main strengthOne thing he said which I shall put down as nearly as I can, for it tells in its way the story of his race "We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordshipHere, in the whirlpool of European races, the Ugric tribe bore down from Iceland the fighting spirit which Thor and Wodin gave them, which their Berserkers displayed to such fell intent on the seaboards of Europe, aye, and of Asia and Africa too, till the peoples thought that the werewolves themselves had comeHere, too, when they came, they found the Huns, whose warlike fury had swept the earth like a living flame, till the dying peoples held that in their veins ran the blood of those old witches, who, expelled from Scythia had mated with the devils in the desertFools, fools! What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose blood is in these veins?" He held up his arms"Is it a wonder that we were a conquering race, that we were proud, that when the Magyar, the Lombard, the Avar, the Bulgar, or the Turk poured his thousands on our frontiers, we drove them back? Is it strange that when Arpad and his legions swept through the Hungarian fatherland he found us here when he reached the frontier, that the Honfoglalas was completed there? And when the Hungarian flood swept eastward, the Szekelys were claimed as kindred by the victorious Magyars, and to us for centuries was trusted the guarding of the frontier of TurkeylandAye, and more than that, endless duty of the frontier guard, for as the Turks say, 'water sleeps, and the enemy is sleepless' Who more gladly than we throughout the Four Nations received the 'bloody sword,' or at its warlike call flocked quicker to the standard of the King? When was redeemed that great shame of my nation, the shame of Cassova, when the flags of the Wallach and the Magyar went down beneath the Crescent? Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground? This was a Dracula indeed! Woe was it that his own unworthy brother, when he had fallen, sold his people to the Turk and brought the shame of slavery on them! Was it not this Dracula, indeed, who inspired that other of his race who in a later age again and again brought his forces over the great river into Turkeyland, who, when he was beaten back, came again, and again, though he had to come alone from the bloody field where his troops were being slaughtered, since he knew that he alone could ultimately triumph! They said that he thought only of himselfBah! What good are peasants without a leader? Where ends the war without a brain and heart to conduct it? Again, when, after the battle of Mohacs, we threw off the Hungarian yoke, we of the Dracula blood were amongst their leaders, for our spirit would not brook that we were not freeAh, young sir, the Szekelys, and the Dracula as their heart's blood, their brains, and their swords, can boast a record that mushroom growths like the Hapsburgs and the Romanoffs can never reachThe warlike days are overBlood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonourable peace, and the glories of the great races are as a tale that is told It was by this time close on morning, and we went to bed this diary seems horribly like the beginning of the "Arabian Nights," for everything has to break off at cockcrow, or like the ghost of Hamlet's father-Let me begin with facts, bare, meager facts, verified by books and figures, and of which there can be no doubtI must not confuse them with experiences which will have to rest on my own observation, or my memory of themLast evening when the Count came from his room he began by asking me questions on legal matters and on the doing of certain kinds of businessI had spent the day wearily over books, and, simply to keep my mind occupied, went over some of the matters I had been examined in at Lincoln's InnThere was a certain method in the Count's inquiries, so I shall try to put them down in sequenceThe knowledge may somehow or some time be useful to me First, he asked if a man in England might have two solicitors or moreI told him he might have a dozen if he wished, but that it would not be wise to have more than one solicitor engaged in one transaction, as only one could act at a time, and that to change would be certain to militate against his shop interest

?Well, I won?t, for your sake,? said George, busily tying his dollar round Tom?s neck; ?but there, now, button your coat tight over it, and keep it, and remember, every time you see it, that I?ll come down after you, and bring you backAunt Chloe and I have been talking about itI told her not to fear; I?ll see to it, and I?ll tease father?s life out, if he don?t do it ?O! Mas?r George, ye mustn?t talk so ?bout yer father!? ?Lor, Uncle Tom, I don?t mean anything bad ?And now, Mas?r George,? said Tom, ?ye must be a good boy; ?member how many hearts is sot on yeAl?ays keep close to yer motherDon?t be gettin? into any of them foolish ways boys has of gettin? too big to mind their mothersTell ye what, Mas?r George, the Lord gives good many things twice over; but he don?t give ye a mother but onceYe?ll never see sich another woman, Mas?r George, if ye live to be a hundred years oldSo, now, you hold on to her, and grow up, and be a comfort to her, thar?s my own good boy,?you will now, won?t ye?? ?Yes, I will, Uncle Tom,? said George seriously ?And be careful of yer speaking, Mas?r GeorgeYoung boys, when they comes to your age, is wilful, sometimes?it is natur they should beBut real gentlemen, such as I hopes you?ll be, never lets fall on words that isn?t ?spectful to thar parentsYe an?t ?fended, Mas?r George?? ?No, indeed, Uncle Tom; you always did give me good advice ?I?s older, ye know,? said Tom, stroking the boy?s fine, curly head with his large, strong hand, but speaking in a voice as tender as a woman?s, ?and I sees all that?s bound up in youO, Mas?r George, you has everything,?l?arnin?, privileges, readin?, writin?,?and you?ll grow up to be a great, learned, good man and all the people on the place and your mother and father?ll be so proud on ye! Be a good Mas?r, like yer father; and be a Christian, like yer mother?Member yer Creator in the days o? yer youth, Mas?r George ?I?ll be real good, Uncle Tom, I tell you,? said George?I?m going to be a first-rater; and don?t you be discouragedI?ll have you back to the place, yetAs I told Aunt Chloe this morning, I?ll build our house all over, and you shall have a room for a parlor with a carpet on it, when I?m a manO, you?ll have good times yet!? Haley now came to the door, with the handcuffs in his hands ?Look here, now, Mister,? said George, with an air of great superiority, as he got out, ?I shall let father and mother know how you treat Uncle Tom!? ?You?re welcome,? said the trader ?I should think you?d be ashamed to spend all your life buying men and women, and chaining them, like cattle! I should think you?d feel mean!? said George ?So long as your grand folks wants to buy men and women, I?m as good as they is,? said Haley; ??tan?t any meaner sellin? on ?em, that ?t is buyin?!? ?I?ll never do either, when I?m a man,? said George; ?I?m ashamed, this day, that I?m a KentuckianI always was proud of it before;? and George sat very straight on his horse, and looked round with an air, as if he expected the state would be impressed with his opinion ?Well, good-by, Uncle Tom; keep a stiff upper lip,? said George ?Good-by, Mas?r George,? said Tom, looking fondly and admiringly at him?God Almighty bless you! Ah! Kentucky han?t got many like you!? he said, in the fulness of his heart, as the frank, boyish face was lost to his viewAway he went, and Tom looked, till the clatter of his horse?s heels died away, the last sound or sight of his homeBut over his heart there seemed to be a warm spot, where those young hands had placed that precious dollarTom put up his hand, and held it close to his heart ?Now, I tell ye what, Tom,? said Haley, as he came up to the wagon, and threw in the handcuffs, ?I mean to start fa?r with ye, as I gen?ally do with my niggers; and I?ll tell ye now, to begin with, you treat me fa?r, and I?ll treat you fa?r; I an?t never hard on my niggersCalculates to do the best for ?em I canNow, ye see, you?d better jest settle down comfortable, and not be tryin? no tricks; because nigger?s tricks of all sorts I?m up to, and it?s no useIf niggers is quiet, and don?t try to get off, they has good times with me; and if they don?t, why, it?s thar fault, and not mine Tom assured Haley that he had no present intentions of running offIn fact, the exhortation seemed rather a superfluous one to a man with a great pair of iron fetters on his feetHaley had got in the habit of commencing his relations with his stock with little exhortations of this nature, calculated, as he deemed, to inspire cheerfulness and confidence, and prevent the necessity of any unpleasant scenes And here, for the present, we take our leave of Tom, to pursue the fortunes of other characters in our shop story

And so for full half a minute, which seemed an eternity, she remained between the lifted crucifix and the sacred closing of her means of entry Van Helsing broke the silence by asking Arthur, "Answer me, oh my friend! Am I to proceed in my work?" "Do as you will, friendThere can be no horror like this ever any more And he groaned in spirit Quincey and I simultaneously moved towards him, and took his armsWe could hear the click of the closing lantern as Van Helsing held it downComing close to the tomb, he began to remove from the chinks some of the sacred emblem which he had placed thereWe all looked on with horrified amazement as we saw, when he stood back, the woman, with a corporeal body as real at that moment as our own, pass through the interstice where scarce a knife blade could have goneWe all felt a glad sense of relief when we saw the Professor calmly restoring the strings of putty to the edges of the door When this was done, he lifted the child and said, "Come now, my friendsWe can do no more till tomorrowThere is a funeral at noon, so here we shall all come before long after thatThe friends of the dead will all be gone by two, and when the sexton locks the gate we shall remainThen there is more to do, but not like this of tonightAs for this little one, he is not much harmed, and by tomorrow night he shall be wellWe shall leave him where the police will find him, as on the other night, and then to home Coming close to Arthur, he said, "My friend Arthur, you have had a sore trial, but after, when you look back, you will see how it was necessaryYou are now in the bitter waters, my childBy this time tomorrow you will, please God, have passed them, and have drunk of the sweet watersSo do not mourn over-muchTill then I shall not ask you to forgive me Arthur and Quincey came home with me, and we tried to cheer each other on the wayWe had left behind the child in safety, and were tiredSo we all slept with more or less reality of sleep 29 September, night-A little before twelve o'clock we three, Arthur, Quincey Morris, and myself, called for the ProfessorIt was odd to notice that by common consent we had all put on black clothesOf course, Arthur wore black, for he was in deep mourning, but the rest of us wore it by instinctWe got to the graveyard by half-past one, and strolled about, keeping out of official observation, so that when the gravediggers had completed their task and the sexton, under the belief that every one had gone, had locked the gate, we had the place all to ourselvesVan Helsing, instead of his little black bag, had with him a long leather one, something like a cricketing bagIt was manifestly of fair weight When we were alone and had heard the last of the footsteps die out up the road, we silently, and as if by ordered intention, followed the Professor to the tombHe unlocked the door, and we entered, closing it behind usThen he took from his bag the lantern, which he lit, and also two wax candles, which, when lighted, he stuck by melting their own ends, on other coffins, so that they might give light sufficient to work byWhen he again lifted the lid off Lucy's coffin we all looked, Arthur trembling like an aspen, and saw that the corpse lay there in all its death beautyBut there was no love in my own heart, nothing but loathing for the foul Thing which had taken Lucy's shape without her soulI could see even Arthur's face grow hard as he lookedPresently he said to Van Helsing, "Is this really Lucy's body, or only a demon in her shape?" "It is her body, and yet not itBut wait a while, and you shall see her as she was, and is She seemed like a nightmare of Lucy as she lay there, the pointed teeth, the blood stained, voluptuous mouth, which made one shudder to see, the whole carnal and unspirited appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy's sweet shop purity

His master is real hard to him, and won?t let him come to see me, hardly ever; and he?s grown harder and harder upon us, and he threatens to sell him down south;?it?s like I?ll never see him again!? The quiet tone in which the woman pronounced these words might have led a superficial observer to think that she was entirely apathetic; but there was a calm, settled depth of anguish in her large, dark eye, that spoke of something far otherwise ?And where do you mean to go, my poor woman?? said Mrs ?To Canada, if I only knew where that wasIs it very far off, is Canada?? said she, looking up, with a simple, confiding air, to Mrs ?Poor thing!? said Mrs ?Is ?t a very great way off, think?? said the woman, earnestly ?Much further than you think, poor child!? said MrsBird; ?but we will try to think what can be done for youHere, Dinah, make her up a bed in your own room, close by the kitchen, and I?ll think what to do for her in the morningMeanwhile, never fear, poor woman; put your trust in God; he will protect youBird and her husband reentered the parlorShe sat down in her little rocking-chair before the fire, swaying thoughtfully to and froBird strode up and down the room, grumbling to himself, ?Pish! pshaw! confounded awkward business!? At length, striding up to his wife, he said, ?I say, wife, she?ll have to get away from here, this very nightThat fellow will be down on the scent bright and early tomorrow morning: if ?t was only the woman, she could lie quiet till it was over; but that little chap can?t be kept still by a troop of horse and foot, I?ll warrant me; he?ll bring it all out, popping his head out of some window or doorA pretty kettle of fish it would be for me, too, to be caught with them both here, just now! No; they?ll have to be got off tonight ?Tonight! How is it possible??where to?? ?Well, I know pretty well where to,? said the senator, beginning to put on his boots, with a reflective air; and, stopping when his leg was half in, he embraced his knee with both hands, and seemed to go off in deep meditation ?It?s a confounded awkward, ugly business,? said he, at last, beginning to tug at his boot-straps again, ?and that?s a fact!? After one boot was fairly on, the senator sat with the other in his hand, profoundly studying the figure of the carpet?It will have to be done, though, for aught I see,?hang it all!? and he drew the other boot anxiously on, and looked out of the windowBird was a discreet woman,?a woman who never in her life said, ?I told you so!? and, on the present occasion, though pretty well aware of the shape her husband?s meditations were taking, she very prudently forbore to meddle with them, only sat very quietly in her chair, and looked quite ready to hear her liege lord?s intentions, when he should think proper to utter them ?You see,? he said, ?there?s my old client, Van Trompe, has come over from Kentucky, and set all his slaves free; and he has bought a place seven miles up the creek, here, back in the woods, where nobody goes, unless they go on purpose; and it?s a place that isn?t found in a hurryThere she?d be safe enough; but the plague of the thing is, nobody could drive a carriage there tonight, but me ?Why not? Cudjoe is an excellent driver ?Ay, ay, but here it isThe creek has to be crossed twice; and the second crossing is quite dangerous, unless one knows it as I doI have crossed it a hundred times on horseback, and know exactly the turns to takeAnd so, you see, there?s no help for itCudjoe must put in the horses, as quietly as may be, about twelve o?clock, and I?ll take her over; and then, to give color to the matter, he must carry me on to the next tavern to take the stage for Columbus, that comes by about three or four, and so it will look as if I had had the carriage only for thatI shall get into business bright and early in the morningBut I?m thinking I shall feel rather cheap there, after all that?s been said and done; but, hang it, I can?t help it!? ?Your heart is better than your head, in this case, John,? said the wife, laying her little white hand on his?Could I ever have loved you, had I not known you better than you know yourself?? And the little woman looked so handsome, with the tears sparkling in her eyes, that the senator thought he must be a decidedly clever fellow, to get such a pretty creature into such a passionate admiration of him; and so, what could he do but walk off soberly, to see about the carriageAt the door, however, he stopped a moment, and then coming back, he said, with some hesitation ?Mary, I don?t know how you?d feel about it, but there?s that drawer full of things?of?of?poor little Henry?s So saying, he turned quickly on his heel, and shut the door after him His wife opened the little bed-room door adjoining her room and, taking the candle, set it down on the top of a bureau there; then from a small recess she took a key, and put it thoughtfully in the lock of a drawer, and made a sudden pause, while two boys, who, boy like, had followed close on her heels, stood looking, with silent, significant glances, at their motherAnd oh! mother that reads this, has there never been in your house a drawer, or a closet, the opening of which has been to you like the opening again of a little grave? Ah! happy mother that you are, if it has not been soBird slowly opened the drawerThere were little coats of many a form and pattern, piles of aprons, and rows of small stockings; and even a pair of little shoes, worn and rubbed at the toes, were peeping from the folds of a paperThere was a toy horse and wagon, a top, a ball,?memorials gathered with many a tear and many a heart-break! She sat down by the drawer, and, leaning her head on her hands over it, wept till the tears fell through her fingers into the drawer; then suddenly raising her head, she began, with nervous haste, selecting the plainest and most substantial articles, and gathering them into a bundle ?Mamma,? said one of the boys, gently touching her arm, ?you going to give away those things?? ?My dear boys,? she said, softly and earnestly, ?if our dear, loving little Henry looks down from heaven, he would be glad to have us do thisI could not find it in my heart to give them away to any common person?to anybody that was happy; but I give them to a mother more heart-broken and sorrowful than I am; and I hope God will send his blessings with them!? There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the shop distressed

Fortunately, each time I awoke in time and managed to undress her without waking her, and got her back to bedIt is a very strange thing, this sleep-walking, for as soon as her will is thwarted in any physical way, her intention, if there be any, disappears, and she yields herself almost exactly to the routine of her life Early in the morning we both got up and went down to the harbour to see if anything had happened in the nightThere were very few people about, and though the sun was bright, and the air clear and fresh, the big, grim-looking waves, that seemed dark themselves because the foam that topped them was like snow, forced themselves in through the mouth of the harbour, like a bullying man going through a crowdSomehow I felt glad that Jonathan was not on the sea last night, but on landBut, oh, is he on land or sea? Where is he, and how? I am getting fearfully anxious about himIf I only knew what to do, and could do anything! 10 August-The funeral of the poor sea captain today was most touchingEvery boat in the harbour seemed to be there, and the coffin was carried by captains all the way from Tate Hill Pier up to the churchyardLucy came with me, and we went early to our old seat, whilst the cortege of boats went up the river to the Viaduct and came down againWe had a lovely view, and saw the procession nearly all the wayThe poor fellow was laid to rest near our seat so that we stood on it, when the time came and saw everything Poor Lucy seemed much upsetShe was restless and uneasy all the time, and I cannot but think that her dreaming at night is telling on herShe is quite odd in one thingShe will not admit to me that there is any cause for restlessness, or if there be, she does not understand it herself There is an additional cause in that poor MrSwales was found dead this morning on our seat, his neck being brokenHe had evidently, as the doctor said, fallen back in the seat in some sort of fright, for there was a look of fear and horror on his face that the men said made them shudderPoor dear old man! Lucy is so sweet and sensitive that she feels influences more acutely than other people doJust now she was quite upset by a little thing which I did not much heed, though I am myself very fond of animals One of the men who came up here often to look for the boats was followed by his dogThe dog is always with himThey are both quiet persons, and I never saw the man angry, nor heard the dog barkDuring the service the dog would not come to its master, who was on the seat with us, but kept a few yards off, barking and howlingIts master spoke to it gently, and then harshly, and then angrilyBut it would neither come nor cease to make a noiseIt was in a fury, with its eyes savage, and all its hair bristling out like a cat's tail when puss is on the war path Finally the man too got angry, and jumped down and kicked the dog, and then took it by the scruff of the neck and half dragged and half threw it on the tombstone on which the seat is fixedThe moment it touched the stone the poor thing began to trembleIt did not try to get away, but crouched down, quivering and cowering, and was in such a pitiable state of terror that I tried, though without effect, to comfort it Lucy was full of pity, too, but she did not attempt to touch the dog, but looked at it in an agonised sort of wayI greatly fear that she is of too super sensitive a nature to go through the world without troubleShe will be dreaming of this tonight, I am sureThe whole agglomeration of things, the ship steered into port by a dead man, his attitude, tied to the wheel with a crucifix and beads, the touching funeral, the dog, now furious and now in terror, will all afford material for her dreams I think it will be best for her to go to bed tired out physically, so I shall take her for a long walk by the cliffs to Robin Hood's Bay and backShe ought not to have much inclination for sleep-walking then CHAPTER 8 MINA MURRAY'S JOURNAL Same day, 11 o'clock P-Oh, but I am tired! If it were not that I had made my diary a duty I should not open it tonightLucy, after a while, was in gay spirits, owing, I think, to some dear cows who came nosing towards us in a field close to the lighthouse, and frightened the wits out of shop us