The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-01-03 00:00:00

Yosrs

. J.:&

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A • GHOST.
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Tbecerivelteudfreatioe:tbe inhabitants of Moo. I
bowl Forfers co, were. soiaotirne age PowerfellYl
excited by.; rubtour that' a figure,. there than mans,
tal, had been seers to steal in the siletiee'OPtlie:ssighli„,
Moog the hill; find after takine. a station at the dial'
inthreatekingettitUde, to vanish in a blase of fire.
So accurately had this awful figure been observed- by
soase people in the..ticfaiteaaf the hilt, that they
were able to describe esi4earteetern of *wising, all
the eyoletions which it *al nightly accustensedtn go
through. At length, several ceurpgeens youths et the.
twin tamale the resolutionorwatching the apps ranee
Of the mysterious Manes, tuid,if possible, learn the
object olits mission. -The young awn, on Mon-
day the 4th inst. 'Went to the place of nendesvous, and
took their petition immediately behind the wooden.
raillag on the east side of the hill. In this situation,
and filled with the most anitieus expectaticiusi. they
Waited 'till the hour of midnight.' They were r.ssot
permitted to linger in suapence. When the churai'
clock
,sfruck..twelve, e • rustling noise assailed their
ears, and a giant-like form was observed to haver
round the hilt, till it' approfichedtbe.dial, 'when it
seemed to pause and that lesuriehast The•north-east
corner of the •pillir. Calling ap etterylatent spark
of courage, the chevalieri 'adivanCeil within a few
paces-et the spot, and &Wavered a figure wrapped
in an iinniense.draperY, •girded round with a belt of
extraordinary breadth, and fastened in front with a
buckle of suitable . diniensions—the hair • long and
shaggy, was joined by an enormous beard—while
bushy eye-brows nearly overspread the whole of the
countenance—its right hand grasped a naked rapier,
• apparently stained with. Mood. Having viewed -this
appalling tigure,..one of them demanded, in a tre-
mulous voice, what was the nature '.of • his business ?
In place of giving a satisfactory atiswerto this civil
Interrogatory, it only uttered some uncouth sounds,
and then holding up its. band, poitited to the north-
east corner. This Attitude of the spectre naturally
induced the young men-to cast their eyes in. the-same'
directien, when they discovered, leanhigagainst the
south-Nest side of the flag-staff, •another figure,
litose habiliments, as they reflected the-glimmering.
of the moon, appeared to the•aatimished-spectators
to be a; coat of mail! its visage .entirely concealed
metier a black mask !
Satieeiriug that the former, by the inclination of
its hand, referred to that quarter for the information
required, the same question was now repeated ; but
the figure under the coat of mail, stewing even more
taciturnity than its cempaeion, pointed to the dial ;
and when they again; with a politeness which was
not to be outdone, turned their eyes in that direc.
tion, lo the first speCtre had vanished ! The youths
now resolved to secure the other, but, what was
their astonishment, when they 'found it also had dis-
appeared in the same sudden mannerl The intelii-
genee of this night's reecounter tendered to raise the
curiosity of the whole neighbourhood. It was ad-
vised by some who conceived themselves deeply read I
In mystical lore, that one person only should watch,
and that the figure should be accented immediately on
it's appearance,: before colleaguing with Its iron-cased
compepioe. But where was the maw to be found
that would enter the lists with such an antagonist ?
However,, to the honaur. of the town, Mr. —, a
genlleman who had been a great traveller in his
youth, undertook this perilous enterpriae. At the
appointed time he took his pest, fully resolved to
hold cbnierie with theghost, awl te.seize it, stinted
it prove contumacious. In thii situation did he wait
—the silence of the night interrupted only by the
moaning of the wind, till the. hour of misinigh
was wawa/need frolwaier4ligste. —.Are tsMt' n, •
the.figure burst from-behead-Ike dial, and was insmei
-diately accosted by ;Mx/. or wit° asked in thei
name of GOD, for what parpose he haunted that spot 4
—The spectre made nor. laelorelli Wit' haek-i
Ward ; and, as it itill.deelined Waive tese.trishedefor
informatioti, the townsmaaimadeasseetemptabetwer•
pie with it, but at the elefeeieli-.11=04-1
leaden hand implanted each.a.Vose
as made him mid backwards, :and ,therilipeaere- lea
stautly vanished,-involved h Areal do ffatuie„-i4ke
Gentleman escaped fry 40 builAiegs **oat show-
iug anydispositionto felt spin ittitter the lased. Of
such an . In the elellsiee fie related his
disasters, and scarcely new istouldi man, wetattu,...or
child, pass the hill after twilight:--Tbeee two. Owl-
ble beings began at last to gettired of ismosilettbensi
settee at Om: piruce; pf the prep% and theught.pra-
per to 'amender,. taking .the
,peecatitiogi however,
of molemorphosing thernaelees into the shape of Ba-
ron 10(0.Wl'es and his black servant, who hell Iseenaet
On shore Ai captives biota the Tartar frigate•whersahe
strandedoff the harbour,--, and heed afterwards mad*
their escape; the'Spectres probably choir throve figures,
because they were somewhat tikottiose in which they
theasselvee had been accustomed to appear.• They
are sent off to give an accimut sof themselves at Edits-
laugh Castle.

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