Dreadful though undefined suspicions crossed her mind, and she feared,
if discovered, she should be sacrificed to the fury of this strange and
terrible woman. Luckily, where she stood, though Mistress Nutter was
revealed to her, she herself was screened from view by the hangings of
the bed, and looking around for a hiding-place, she observed that the
mysterious wardrobe, close behind her, was open, and without a moment's
hesitation, she slipped into the covert and drew the door to,
noiselessly. But her curiosity overmastered her fear, and, firmly
believing some magical rite was about to be performed, she sought for
means of beholding it; nor was she long in discovering a small
eyelet-hole in the carving which commanded the room.
Unconscious of any other presence than that of Alizon, whose stupor
appeared to occasion her no uneasiness, Mistress Nutter, placed the lamp
upon the table, made fast the door, and, muttering some unintelligible
words, unlocked the box. It contained two singularly-shaped glass
vessels, the one filled with a bright sparkling liquid, and the other
with a greenish-coloured unguent. Pouring forth a few drops of the
liquid into a glass near her, Mistress Nutter swallowed them, and then
taking some of the unguent upon her hands, proceeded to anoint her face
and neck with it, exclaiming as she did so, "Emen hetan! Emen
hetan!"--words that fixed themselves upon the listener's memory.
Wondering what would follow, Dorothy gazed on, when she suddenly lost
sight of Mistress Nutter, and after looking for her as far as her range
of vision, limited by the aperture, would extend, she became convinced
that she had left the room. All remaining quiet, she ventured, after
awhile, to quit her hiding-place, and flying to Alizon, tried to waken
her, but in vain. The poor girl retained the same moveless attitude, and
appeared plunged in a deathly stupor.
Much frightened, Dorothy resolved to alarm the house, but some fears of
Mistress Nutter restrained her, and she crept towards the closet to see
whether that dread lady could be there. All was perfectly still; and
somewhat emboldened, she returned to the table, where the box, which was
left open and its contents unguarded, attracted her attention.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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