If the figure had , indeed , stepped forth , it had fled back , spirit-like , at the day-dawn , and hidden itself behind a century 's obscurity . The truth probably was that Alice Vane 's secret for restoring the hues of the picture had merely effected a temporary renovation . But those who in that brief interval had beheld the awful visage of Edward Randolph desired no second glance , and ever afterward trembled at the recollection of the scene , as if an evil spirit had appeared visibly among them . And , as for Hutchinson , when , far over the ocean , his dying-hour drew on , he gasped for breath and complained that he was choking with the blood of the Boston Massacre , and Francis Lincoln , the former captain of Castle William , who was standing at his bedside , perceived a likeness in his frenzied look to that of Edward Randolph . Did his broken spirit feel at that dread hour the tremendous burden of a people 's curse ? * * * * * At the conclusion of this miraculous legend I inquired of mine host whether the picture still remained in the chamber over our heads , but Mr. Tiffany informed me that it had long since been removed , and was supposed to be hidden in some out-of-the-way corner of the New England Museum . Perchance some curious antiquary may light upon it there , and , with the assistance of Mr. Howorth , the picture-cleaner , may supply a not unnecessary proof of the authenticity of the facts here set down . During the progress of the story a storm had been gathering abroad and raging and rattling so loudly in the upper regions of the Province House that it seemed as if all the old governors and great men were running riot above stairs while Mr. Bela Tiffany babbled of them below . In the course of generations , when many people have lived and died in an ancient house , the whistling of the wind through its crannies and the creaking of its beams and rafters become strangely like the tones of the human voice , or thundering laughter , or heavy footsteps treading the deserted chambers . It is as if the echoes of half a century were revived . Such were the ghostly sounds that roared and murmured in our ears when I took leave of the circle round the fireside of the Province House and , plunging down the doorsteps , fought my way homeward against a drifting snow-storm . III . LADY ELEANORE 'S MANTLE . Mine excellent friend the landlord of the Province House was pleased the other evening to invite Mr. Tiffany and myself to an oyster-supper . This slight mark of respect and gratitude , as he handsomely observed , was far less than the ingenious tale-teller , and I , the humble note-taker of his narratives , had fairly earned by the public notice which our joint lucubrations had attracted to his establishment . Many a cigar had been smoked within his premises , many a glass of wine or more potent aqua vitæ had been quaffed , many a dinner had been eaten , by curious strangers who , save for the fortunate conjunction of Mr. Tiffany and me , would never have ventured through that darksome avenue which gives access to the historic precincts of the Province House . In short , if any credit be due to the courteous assurances of Mr. Thomas Waite , we had brought his forgotten mansion almost as effectually into public view as if we had thrown down the vulgar range of shoe-shops and dry-good stores which hides its aristocratic front from Washington street . It may be unadvisable , however , to speak too loudly of the increased custom of the house , lest Mr. Waite should find it difficult to renew the lease on so favorable terms as heretofore . Being thus welcomed as benefactors , neither Mr. Tiffany nor myself felt any scruple in doing full justice to the good things that were set before us . If the feast were less magnificent than those same panelled walls had witnessed in a bygone century ; if mine host presided with somewhat less of state than might have befitted a successor of the royal governors ; if the guests made a less imposing show than the bewigged and powdered and embroidered dignitaries who erst banqueted at the gubernatorial table and now sleep within their armorial tombs on Copp 's Hill or round King 's Chapel , -- yet never , I may boldly say , did a more comfortable little party assemble in the province-house from Queen Anne 's days to the Revolution .
The occasion was rendered more interesting by the presence of a venerable personage whose own actual reminiscences went back to the epoch of Gage and Howe , and even supplied him XXXXX a doubtful anecdote or two of Hutchinson .
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