Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1857-02-21
How John Lacy was saved by a Ghost.
BY c. G. DUNN.


in supernatural objects which stalk
about after night>fall, In lonely places,
to scare the timid and startle the brave
is extremely preposterous. At all
events, whether such belief be pre-
posterous or not, entertain Just such
an one. | believe In ghosts. Now
don't start at this announcement, for I
do believe in them, and furthermore, |
am glad that | do. l enjoy my belief
with all my heart. 1t does me infinite
good, body and soul and If [ were to
be hanged tomorrow for fostering it,
I'd lay ten TO one that my faith would
be strong enough to break fifty ropes,
If the hangman an should see fit to give
me the benefit of so many. | would
not say that ghosts are always visible !;
there are some that We feel and never
see ; but when hear man say that
his disbelief is total, l put him down
instanter as one possessed of very little
faith, Did not some Of the sages of
antiquity believe in them Did not
Hamlet, see his fathers ghost and ask,
What may this mean
That thou' dead corse, ngaiu in complete steel,
Revisit thus the glimpses of the moon.
Making night hideous, and we fools of nature
SO horrible. 10 shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond ths reaclies of Dur solls
There are thousands of testimonies
around us which prove, satisfactorily
to my mind, that there are ghosts; and
IF you should happen to meet one on
some moonless night, when the winds
voice Is scunditg SO mournfully amid
the leafess tfees-I say, if at such a
time you should meet a ghost, don't
FUN, but stand your ground in spite of
all the trembling and fear which may
then beset you. | never heard of a
ghost harming hair of anybody's
head.
There's my friend. job Lacy, who
would have died an old-a very old
bachelor, if it had not been for a ghtst.
1'll tell you how it scsfne about
Job Lacy vas then N his thit;ieth
year. A more Indifferent and cold
hearted man at that time did not breath.
He pronounced the women mere hum
bugs, and the institution of IN lrriage
ah abominatioh Poor Job there lie
lived in his own bschtlors's hall. And
such a hall /; Job was 'chief cook and
bottle washer of his own establish
ment. He was tailoress, too, and | used
to laugh TO see him undertake to sew
button on his shirt Of tc ttiend his
dickey
pitied Job, from the bottom Of Inv
heart, l pitied him How in the name
of conscience, be was content to live as
he lived, l can't say. He cccapied
parlor and an adjoining bedroom,
which he tried to keep in order, but
which were always up side down and
topsy-turvy. Boots, hats, hose, hand
kerchiefs, dickeys and all other 'ixins'
were distributed indiscrimina eIy
around. upon the principle-'Have 10
place for every thing, and everything
out of place.
Job was a great smoker. 1t used
to do me good to see him puff away at
his big Dutch pipe, just as if his life
was as light as the smoke which twist
ed and curled around his head. Alas,
that smoke was all mokery
One cold night, in the dead of win
ter, Job sat before the fire in his apart.
ment, with his slippered feet support
ed BY the fender, smoking briskly and
thinking about--he hardly knew what
(We have all thought so, more or less
The wind blew through the broken and
rag-sluffed panes in the window, whist
ling queer and dismal tune. The old
tree which stood in front of the door
croaked and groaned and rubbed its
limbs agai,st the building, and seemed
to say something-but there was no
ghost about that. That was fancy
nothing more and Job continued to
puff the smoke as complacently as if it
was as calm without as pleasant eve
in midsummer, while, with hali-open
eyes fixed on the live Goals which glar-
ed in the CRATE, he apparently forgot
that he was Job Lacy or any body else.
Just at that moment Job felt a hand
upon bis shoulder, and looking up,
what should he see but ghost real
ghost. He let fall his neerschaum in
stantly, and would have sprung from
his chair had not the mysterious visit
or held him fast
Sit still, Job Lacy, sit still y said
the ghost, and raising his hand, in
which was tightly grasped heavy and
knotted bludgeon, he fetched job a
blow upon the head which came near
being the death of him.
Job Lacy said the spectre, in a
tone of voice which sounded rcmarka-
by terrible to the ears of the suffering
victim, thou art most miserable
wretch--a most reckless sinner, and !
have come to punish thee for thy wick
edness, and thy sins
4 Iuever injured you,' responded Job,
'and if | ever did any other person an
injury | am sorry for it,.
job Lacy, l must punish thee,' and
so saying, he gave him another blow
upon the head with such force that
poor Job heard and felf the crushing
of his own ill-starre6 skull.
Job Lacy continued the ghost,
thou hast been fool all of H. H.,