Wragge were together under the same roof. She
resolved to be rid of it that evening, and boldly determined on sending
it back to Birmingham. Her bonnet-box fitted into her trunk. She took
the box out, thrust in the wig and cloak, and remorselessly flattened
down the bonnet at the top. The gown (which she had not yet taken off)
was her own; Mrs. Wragge had been accustomed to see her in it--there
was no need to send the gown back. Before closing the box, she hastily
traced these lines on a sheet of paper: "I took the inclosed things away
by mistake. Please keep them for me, with the rest of my luggage in your
possession, until you hear from me again." Putting the paper on the top
of the bonnet, she directed the box to Captain Wragge at Birmingham,
took it downstairs immediately, and sent the landlady's daughter away
with it to the nearest Receiving-house. "That difficulty is disposed
of," she thought, as she went back to her own room again.
Mrs. Wragge was still occupied in sorting her parcels on her narrow
little bed. She turned round with a faint scream when Magdalen looked
in at her. "I thought it was the ghost again," said Mrs. Wragge. "I'm
trying to take warning, my dear, by what's happened to me.
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