Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1850-08-28

"Pny," resumed l. interupting his apologetc express
sions Of surprise has any person but myself compa"
ed of-of being disturbed in that room2"
"Never,' he assured me.
had suspected the ghasty old practical joke, so often
played off by landlords in stoybooks and fancied mgh'
have been deliberately exposed 10 the chances of haun
ed chamber But there acting in the frank look
and honest denial of mine host
at very strange thing" said hestatng "and DO
not see why should not tell you what has occurred AND
as could swear if necessary, to the perfect reality OF Tie
entire scene, it behooves you, think to slit the ma'e
carefully For myself can not entertain doubt as 10
the nature of the truly terrible visitation to which have
been subjected and, your position, should trans
fer nv establishment at once other house as wei
suited to the purpose and free from the dreadful Liabilities
of this"
proceeded to detail the particulars of the occurrence of
the past night, to which he listened with nearly much
horror as | recited them.
s'Mervyn's Tomb he repeated after me 'why that's
down there in Il; the church yard you can see from
the window Of the room you slept n."
"Let US 90 there instantly" | exclaimed, with an al
most fevesh anxiety ascertain whether we should dis
cover in the place indicated any thing corroborave oth
authenticity of my vision.
ssWell, shan't say no. said he obviously bracng him
self for an effort of courage but We'll take faukes, and
James the helper, with us and please sir you'll not men
ton the circumstance has occurred to either on EN-"
gave him the assurance he asked for, and in few min
ues our little party were full march upon The point Of
interest
There had been an intense black ost and the ground,
reverberating to our tread with hollow sound OF vault
emitted the only noise that accompanied our rapid advance
and my host much preoccuped for conversation
and our attendants maintained respectful silence few
minutes brought US to the low gray walls and bleak hedge
rows that surrounded the pretty old church, and all its
melancholy and picturesque memorials.
Mervyns tomb lies there, think, sir" he sald point
inc to corner of the churchyard in which piles OF rub
bish, whered weed and brambes.were thcky accumu-
lated under the solemn though imperfect shelter OF the
winlry trees.
He exchanged some sentences with our attendants in
Welsh.
"Yes, sir, that's the place." he added turning 10 me-
And as we all approached it, bethought me that the
direction in which, stood upon the stie had heard e
voice on the night preceding corresponded accurately with
that indicated by my guides The tomb IN question was
huge slab of black marble, supported as was made appa
rent when the surrounding brambes were removed, upon
six pillars little than two feet high EACH There was
ample room for human body to lie inside this funeral pent-
house and, on stopping to look beneath was unspeaka-
by shocked to see that something like human hgue was
actually exte nded there
1t was indeed corpse, and what is more corresponded
in every trait with the internal phantom which,on the pre-
ceding night had visited and appalled, me.
4 h,to 20
boned athletic man, of fully six feet four in heght a II
was therefore no easy task withdraw from the receptacle
where had been deposited and lay IT, as our assistant dd,
upon the tombstone which covered it, Strange say more
over the feet of the body, found it, had been placed
towards the west.
As looked upon this corpse and recognized but too sure
w. in its proportions and neamens every trait OF the ap
rton that had stood my bed side, with countenance
animated by the despair and nagny of the damned my
heart uttered and sank within me, and recoed from the
egy of the demon with terror, second only TO that which
ha thrilled me on the night preceding
Now. reader-honea reader-I appeal to your own ap'
pecaon of testimony and ask you, having these facts IN
evidence and upon the disposition ofan eyeand ear Witness
whose veracity, through long fe has never once been
the foregoing story Northumberland ghost story
Before you answer the above question, however, may
be convenient to know certain other facts when were clear
IL established upon the inquest that was very properly held
upon the BODY which in SO strange manner we mad dis
covered.
purposely avoid Details and without assigning the de :
positions respectively the witnesses who made them shall
restrict myself to naked outline Of the evidence as 1t ap
peared.
The bodv have described was identified as that of A
braham Smith, an unfortunate lunac, who had upon he
day but one precedg made his escape from the neghoo
np parish work house. where he had been Tor many years
confined His halucination was strange, but not by any
means an unprecedented one He fancied that ne had
died and was condemned and these ideas alternately
predomnaed sometimes spoke of himself as an 'eyl sp
it." and sometimes mporuned his keepers to "bury him."
using abtuay certain phrases which had no difficulty
in recorzing among those which ne had addressed 10
me- He had been traced TO the neghborhood where his
BODY was found and had been and relieved scarcely
hall mile from it, about two hours before my Visit to e
church ward There were further unmstakabe evidences
of some PERSONS having climbed up the trels-work to my
window on the previous night, the shutter OF which haa
bpen left upbared and as the window might have been
easily opened with push, the cold which eSpeenced as
m accompanmen ofthe nocturnal visit, was easily accou
pd Gr There was mark Of blood upon the windowstoo'
and scrape upon the knee Of the body corresponded Win "
multiplicity of other sght circumstances, and the posi-
tive assertion Of the chamber maid that the wlndow a'
been opened and was but imperecy closed again, came III
support of the conclusion, which was to my nina
orily settled by the concurrent evidence OF lhe
men, to the effect that the unhappy man could not Ha''
been many hours dead when the body was found
Taken in the mass, the evidence convinced mei anu
though might still have cung to the preernatura' ''e
ory which, in the opinion of some persons, the ac'S o
case might still have sustained canddy decided win e
weight of evidence 'gave up the ghost" and accepted ne
ainral hut still somewhat horrible explanation OF the oc