Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-01-22


having flung all his money into the sea, in orde
y 10 prevent those whom he considered not of hi:
oiood inherlting 1t, which they must have done
under our laws
am sorry that Alice did not become an
| hfiress both for your sake and hers. She Is q
Charming girl
Jasper, from whom concealed nothing. knew
of my love.
AS to that | answered, :" it is little matter
snail IN year or two be independent enough
to marry, and can afford to let Mr. Van Koeren' :
4 cherished gold sleep wherever he has concealed
it."
Well, IN off to bed" said Jasper, vawning.
"Ihis country air makes one sleepy early. Be
on the lookout for trap-doors and all that sort
OF thing old fellow. Who knows but the old
chaps dollars will turn up Good night p
Good night, Jasper p
+ So we parted for the night He to his room
I which lay the west side of the BUILDING. T
to mine On the east, Situated at the end of a
long corridor and exactly opposite to Jaspers.
Ihe night was very still and warm The clear
ness with which | heard the song of the katy
did, and the croak of the bulI-fr seemed To
make the silence more distinct The air was
dense and breathless, and although longing to
throw wide my windows, 1 dared not, for with
OUT the omInous trumpetings OF whole army
OF mosquitoes sounded threateningly.
! tossed on my bed oppressed with the heat
kicked the blankets into every spot where they
ought not to be gradually got the sheets twisted
INTO rope; turned my pillow every two min
utes in the hope of finding cool side in short.
/ did every thing that a man does when he lies
awake on a very hot night, ,-and cannct open his
/ window.
/ Suddenly, III the midst of my miseries, and
when had made mp my mind to fling open the
easement, In spite of the legion of mosquitoes
that L knew were hungrily waiting outside. sud
denly L felt continuous stream of cold air
blowing upon my face. Luxurious as the SEN
satlon was, could not he'll starting as ] felt it,
! " here could this draught come from The door
was closed-so were the windows 1t did not
come from the direction of the Fireplace and
even if it did, the air without was TOO still to
produce so strong current. / got up in nv
bed and gazed round the room. the whole of
which, though only lit by dim twilight, was
still sufficiently visible, / thought at first it
was trick of Jasper's. who might have pro-
vided himself with bellows or a long tube
but careful investigation of the apartment con-
vlnced me that one was there Besides !
had locked the door, and ii was not likely that
any one had been concealed in the room before
/ entered IT. 1t was exceedingly strange: but
still the draugLt Of cool wind blew on NV face
and chest, every now and then changing its
I dIrection-sometlmes on one side, sometimes on
the other. L am not constitutonally nervous
and had been too long accustomed to reflect on
philosophical subjects to become the prev of
fear in the presence of mysterious phenomena.
| had devoted much of my leisure time to the
investigation of what popularly called super
natural matters by those who have not reflected
or examined sufficiently to discover that none of
these apparent miracles are supernatural, but ALL
however singular, directly dependent on certain
natural laws. l became speedily convinced,
therefore, as sat up IN my bed peering into the
dim recesses of my chamber, that this r7vsferi-
wind was the effect or forerunner of a super
natural visitation. and mentally determined to
investigate it as it developed Itself with phi
losophical calmness.
4" Is any in this room ?" l asked, as dis
. tinctly as L could. No reply; while the cool
wind still swept over my cheek. ] knew, in
TIE case of Elizabeth EsIinger, who was visited
by apparition while in the Weinsberg Jail.
and whose singular and apparently authentic
experiences were made the subj ect of a book bv
DIR. kerner, that the IN m2nifestation Of the spirit
was invariably accompanied by such breezy
sensation I now experienced. I therefore
gathered my viii, as it were, into focus. and
endeavored, as much as lay in my power, to put
myself rapport with the disembodied spirit,
if such there was. knowing that on such condi-
tions alone would it be enabled to manifest it
self to
Presently it seemed to me as if luminous
cloud was gathering in ore corner of the room
a sort of phosphoric vapor, shadowy and ILL.,
defined. 1t changed It's position frequently,
sometimes coming nearer and at others retreat
ing to the farthest end of the room. As it grew
intenser and more radiant, / observed sicken-
ing and corpse-like odor diffuse itself through
the chamber, and despite my anxiety to witness
this phenomenon undisturbed, l could with diff
Guilty conquer the feeling of faintness which op-
pressed me.
The luminous cloud now began to grow
brighter and brighter as l gazed. The horrible
odor of which l have spoken did not cease to
oppress me, and gradually could discover GER
tain lines making themselves visible in the
midst of this lambent radiance. These lines
took the form of human igure-a tall man.
dressed IN a long dressiDg-robe, with a pale
countenance, burning eyes, and very bold and
prominent chin. AT a glance l recognized the
original of the picture of old Van Koeren that
! had seen with Alice. Ny interest was now
aroused to the highest point felt that l stood
face to face with spirit, and doubted not that
\ | should learn the fate of the old mans mystic
riouslv-coneealed wealth.
The spirit presented very strange appear
ance He himself was not luminous, except
some tongues OF fire that seemed to proceed from
the tips of his fingers, but was completely sur
rounded by a thin gauze of light, 50 to speak.
through which his outlines were visible. His
head was bare, and his white hair fell in huge
masses around his stern, saturnine face As he