The northern tribune. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1847-1855, 1848-03-11
From Holden's Dollar Magazine.
THE BROTHER'S REVENGE
A LEGEND OF FORT LEE.


the scathed and withered boughs, the scared
leaves seemed to take new life, and strange
and solemn whsperings came forth from their
leafy lungs. Now it died sadly away and
foated softly and sweetly on the still air, not
disturbing the silence of the night. Presently
it rose louder and louder. and the whole sky
was filed with chorus of voices, which
seemed to hold earth and heaven enchanted
with deathless song. An unearthly peal OF
music broke forth upon the air, and in the sky,
Tar. far above the earth, in the azure depths OF
space, the chaunt of a solitary voice alone was
heard, and wept its tears of melody for them,
the young and beautiful, wronged and betray-
ed by worthless wretches, who like huge
blotches tester on the bosom of society!
Within there were stern soldiers sleeping
on their arms, and women with their children
clasped to their bosoms. The camp fires are
lighted up, and "the shrill trump and the
spirit stirring drum" were for time forgotten.
Away from the hero band, on little knoll
some hundred yards distant, stood an old
houses built in the Dutch style, and from ap-
pearances without tenant. 1t had desolate
and time-worn look, the porch was fast crum-
bling away, and the roof seemed scarcely able
to support itself, and was then quite overrun
with moss. Dreary and desolate looked that
old house, and all around, the deserted gar
den, the tottering barn, and the scathed and
withered trees, helped to make up the glow
ing picture. Many were the stories old gos-
sips told about its strange visitors, OF ghosts
and COLLINS, who used to honor it with their
presence nightly, and of the dreadful fate
which awaited all those who had the temerity
to accept it as residence, or even dared to
lodge within its walls single night. The
children for miles around, who had heard of
the strange stories connected with it, were
never known to Ego to bed in the dark or
remain long in their rooms without covering
up their heads when the spectral visitants of
the haunted house at Fort Lee, would in all
their frightful habiliments appear before them.
One antiqnated lady in the neighborhood, who
was remarkable for ''telling fortunes" and al
so for being blessed with but one eye, Cher en-
deayors to look into futurity it is said blinded
the other) was the originator of all the strange
and marvellous stories connected with the
house, she having had the misfortune to be its
first occupant, and the first one who had the
pleasure of being introduced to those mystic
rious individuals, who delighted to perform
such fantastic tricks" to the terror of "every
body" and whose cognomens "nobody" could
ever find out. Mysterious voices, such as the
groans of dying men, the gingling of chains,
the chattering of skeletons, and chorus of
voices making might hideous" with their
melodies, was heard every night. A tailor
who was notorious for his Partially to "cab-
bage," one night very mysteriously disappear
ed, and it was for many years generally be-
lieved that he was carried off by the ''old
scratch" himself together with all his profess
sonal apparatus. The pretty daughter of an
old Dutch settler mysteriously disappeared at
the same time, and it was believed that some
one akin to his Satanic Majesty treated her in
the same inhuman manner. The story was
never contradicted, but we have it from one
who ought to know, that the name OF the tai
lor and also that of the old gentleman's
daughter, appeared in the census as taken in a
certain section of the country, together with
family of seventeen very small chlldren.-
The old house was indeed desolate enough to
look at and desolate enough to live in, but if
the reader has no particular objections, we
will describe one of the apartments, and in
troduce some characters who will act conspic-
uously in our little drama.
1t was a little room-dark and sombre.-
The walls were once white, but, for the want
of cleaning, were quite of an opposite color.
The huge rafters which ornamented the CELL
ing gave one an idea of the substantial manner
in which houses were erected in those days.
There was only one window in the room, and
from appearances it was very evident that its
former tenants had taken but very little pains
to render that attractive. The furniture was
scanty, and from its looks, appeared as if it
had been handed down by many generations.
No light was there in that lonely room, and,
before the broad hearth which contained a few
Pickering Goals, mother with her babe on her
bosom was sitting alone, her appraised eyes
dim with tears.
She was very young and very beautiful
her features were regular, her lips full, red,
and ripe, her chin round, and varied by be-
wtching dimple but there was mark on
that lovely face-a mark which time cannot
make-and which told of crushed and blight
ed hopes-of broken heart
Her eyes, now suffused with tears, were
brilliant black, with long and trembling lashes