The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-11-22 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

A GHOST STORY.

The follnwing account of an apparition, out of the New
Monthly, Magazine, sounds genuine, and is new to us. It may
be so to our readers. It relates to the late John Palmer, the
actor. Acts of Parliament now speak of the late Charles the
Second ; but John Palmer,n although dead before most of our
readers were born, was a contemporary with many of them, and
of this statement many witnesses are now alive and ready to
vouch for the facts narrated :—" John Palmer was very intimate
with the family of Mrs. Vernon, the widow of Joseph (com-
monly called Captain) Vernon, the singer. That lady was the
sister of Mr. Richardson, of the firm of Richardson, Goodluck,
and Co., lottery contractors, Charing;cross. The house in
which Mrs. V. resided she rented from her brother; it was, and
is, in Spring-gardens, and forms part of the house in Charing-
cross, then occupied by Mr. R., being divided only by a door,
which was seldom, if ever closed, the two families living on
terms of great intimacy. Mr. It was very fond of the company
of theatrical and musical men, and John Palmer had what is
termed "the run of his house," dining and sometimes sleeping
there two or three times a week, and coming in and going out
at all hours. Mr. R. had an assistant, of the name of Tucker,
about eighteen years old, who has, since the period we allude to
becoas a scene-painter and machinist. , This person slept at
the' fOttoin of Mr. R.'s house, on a bedstead that, in the day-
ti t*, was concealed in a sort of closet. The street door opened
intlN. this room, and Tucker was placed there because his-bed
stretched over the strong box in which the money received in
the day was each evening deposited. The street-door was
secured by bolts, a bar, and. a strong lock and chain, none of
which, the lock excepted, were fastened until all the inmates
of the house had retired. It is well known, that, on the 2nd of
August, 1798, John Palmer played at Liverpool for the last
time; that he expired on the stage in the character of the
Stranger, repeating these lines—" You remember what the old
man said this morning—` There is another and-a better world.' "
The hour at which he died. was -between-half-past nine and a
quarter to ten.: On this.very day 'Dicker retired to bed between
feriogmh temployed
and he
o'clock
beenintitn
glo.ttesryh.odlatlyy,
he awoke, and sat up in bed. to listen to sotne sounds in the
aann and nine,
early e it
houriri havingthe
street, immediately opposite the door. The noise ceased; he
looked at the fastening of the door; 'it was as he left it, on the
lock only, as some, of the family were out, and they had latch-
keys to let themselves in. He returned to bed; but again heard
a noise, and footsteps coming from .Mrs. Vernon's house. The
liner which we have named, and which separated her dwelling
tram Mr. Richardson's, opened, and through thence he "dis-
tinctly saw John Palmer pass." This did not in the least
disturb Tucker, as Mr. P. did so pas very frequently. The
figure " passed by his bed, and opening the street-door, went
forth closing, as was Mr. P.'s wont. the door after him." He
observed nothing unusual in his appearance, save that he was
very pale, and did Hot return the "Good night" that T. bade
him. He then fell asleep, and was awakened by the return of
Mr. It. jun.. about oee. He (Tucker secured the door; and to
the question of " ho wans at bottle, 5, Ito. bed been ?"
replied-- Mr. Palmer, Sir, has been at Mrs.: Vertion's,,,and,

went away about ten." To this Mr. IL merely replied—" I
didn't know he was in town;" and all parties retired. In the
morning the subject was mentioned again, when Mrs. Vernon
declared Mr. P. had not been there; and Mr. R. seri.. told
Tucker he must have dreamt what he narrated, for Mr. Palmer
was in Liverpool. - The boy insisted so strongly, that Mrs.
Vernon wrote to Palmer jestingly on the subject. Ere her
letter reached Liverpool,' a letter from thence, apprised the
family that John Palmer had expired at the very time the lad
Tncker supposed he saw him. Mr. R. jun., perfectly and dis-
tinctly remembers Tucker's telling him as before narrated; and
on the news of poor Palmer's death, he (Tucker) was taken
very ill, and attended by Mr. Reynolds of Spring-gardens, and
Mr. Andrews, surgeon, Charing-cross. The impression was,
however, so strongly upon the lad's mind, and his nervous
system had received such a shock, that medicine could very
slightly alleviate his sufferings. Nothing could again induce
him to sleep in that room; and he soon after quitted Mr. R.'s
service..