impression produced by the spectacle--such the alarm occasioned by the
crazy state of the building, and, above all, by the terror inspired by
strange and unearthly noises heard during the night, which were, of
course, attributed to the spirit of the suicide, that the place speedily
enjoyed the reputation of being haunted, and was, consequently, entirely
abandoned. In this state Mrs. Sheppard found it; and, as no one opposed
her, she at once took up her abode there; nor was she long in
discovering that the dreaded sounds proceeded from the nocturnal gambols
of a legion of rats.

A narrow entry, formed by two low walls, communicated with the main
thoroughfare; and in this passage, under the cover of a penthouse, stood
Wood, with his little burthen, to whom we shall now return.

As Mrs. Sheppard did not make her appearance quite so soon as he
expected, the carpenter became a little fidgetty, and, having succeeded
in tranquillizing the child, he thought proper to walk so far down the
entry as would enable him to reconnoitre the upper windows of the house.
A light was visible in the garret, feebly struggling through the damp
atmosphere, for the night was raw and overcast. This light did not
remain stationary, but could be seen at one moment glimmering through
the rents in the roof, and at another shining through the cracks in the
wall, or the broken panes of the casement. Wood was unable to discover
the figure of the widow, but he recognised her dry, hacking cough, and
was about to call her down, if she could not find the key, as he
imagined must be the case, when a loud noise was heard, as though a
chest, or some weighty substance, had fallen upon the floor.

Before Wood had time to inquire into the cause of this sound, his
attention was diverted by a man, who rushed past the entry with the