A Wonderful Likeness

           ThiseveningtherearrivedfromGratzthegrave,dark-facedsonofthepicturecleaner,withahorseandcartladenwithtwolargepackingcases,havingmanypicturesineach.Itwasajourneyoftenleagues,andwheneveramessengerarrivedattheschlossfromourlittlecapitalofGratz,weusedtocrowdabouthiminthehall,tohearthenews.

           Thisarrivalcreatedinoursecludedquartersquiteasensation.Thecasesremainedinthehall,andthemessengerwastakenchargeofbytheservantstillhehadeatenhissupper.Thenwithassistants,andarmedwithhammer,rippingchisel,andturnscrew,hemetusinthehall,wherewehadassembledtowitnesstheunpackingofthecases.

           Carmillasatlookinglistlesslyon,whileoneaftertheothertheoldpictures,nearlyallportraits,whichhadundergonetheprocessofrenovation,werebroughttolight.MymotherwasofanoldHungarianfamily,andmostofthesepictures,whichwereabouttoberestoredtotheirplaces,hadcometousthroughher.

           Myfatherhadalistinhishand,fromwhichheread,astheartistrummagedoutthecorrespondingnumbers.Idon’tknowthatthepictureswereverygood,buttheywere,undoubtedly,veryold,andsomeofthemverycuriousalso.Theyhad,forthemostpart,themeritofbeingnowseenbyme,Imaysay,forthefirsttime;forthesmokeanddustoftimehadallbutobliteratedthem.

           "ThereisapicturethatIhavenotseenyet,"saidmyfather.