The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-08-15


sacks and list-slippers, within, he added con
siderably to the tumult by ringing huge
hand alarm bell which he had placed in his
bedroom in case of such an emergency-and
all the inmates of the mansion flocked to the
summons as bees are gathered by the hives
men. We found the Captain in his dressing
gown, in the center of the dressing gallery,
standing by an ugly mark in the pannellingi
which he had made with the muzzle of his
pistol. .#.-
"Here he is,' cried he, the fellow went
through here, I'll take my oath heard him
listening at my door, and was ont in min
ute, taking a snapshot at him, but the thing
missed fire."
"Heard whom !-heard whomF" inquired
Sir Arthur.
al don't know, how should ] :" replied the
young man. perhaps ghost; or,if MOI, some
body who was never so near being ghost,
I'll warrant him. as he was five minutes back.
I'll have this panel broken in. No, father,
wen not leave it till tomorrow, if you please;
that's how these things 60 on-let's do it at
once. There's pickaxe in the stable-yard;
90 and fetch it, Thomas"
So the pick-axe was brought, and Sir Ar
thur unwillingly assenting-we broke up the
black oak paneling into hundred splinters,
and then through thick stone WALL without
a hinge or entrance, as it seemed, of any kind
in it, into chamber, of the existence of
which no person in the house had ever known.
A modern chamber-a small sitting-room,
barely furnished with chairs aud table of a
date of construction later of at least two hun
dred years than anything in the house, ex-
cept the patent safe; but there was no win
dows to the room, nor any means OF ingress
that could be discovered, save that very
rough one of our own. do not think that
either ghost or burglar could have affected
us all more strangely than the sight of that
untenanted and modern room. 1t is still to
be seen in the west gallery Of Burlby Hall,
the sole approach to it--for SO the Sctons
will have it--yet lying open between the
splintered plauks and broken stoncwork, as
when it was first found. The mystery con-
ccrning it and occupants-if any-is still un-
solved, and the rats make just as much noise
about the grand old place as ever.
Ny third remarkable adventure occurred to
me in broad daylight when it is especially
creditablo 10 a situation 10 be startling As
mine undoubtedly was. was in Chester,
residing with my family, consisting of my
wife and grown up son and daughter, in
temporary lodgings, three stories high, but
otherwise very convenient. 1t was ten o'clock
in the morning, but, | am ashamed to say,
we were still at breakfast, for we were away
from home on pleasure and had fallen into
all sorts of idle habits. Our conversation
happened TO be upon an ineiyility my wife
had met with in the town on the preceding
dav. Some coal-heavers were uncarting coal
upon the pavement, and the roadway being
very wet, she asked them to dcsist from their
occupation for moment, so that she might
pass. They did so, but not without one of
them observing, "And how do you think we
should get our work done, mssis, if we was
to wait for every fool as goes byT We were
our hope that this gentleman's
remark was not an exemplification of Chester
manners. when the third window of our room
the furtherest from the table-was violent
" thrown open, and the head and unclothed
shoulders Of man thrust themselves inward.
Nv son and were so overcome with aston
ishment, and the ladies with terror, that it
must have been nearly a full minute before |
stopped down for the poker during the whole
of this interval he made the most hideOus
crimaces it is possible to conceive. indie
pcndently of these, his natural ugliness was
excessive, he being perfectly bald, and Of
bright scarlet eolor-such a complexion as ]
had never before seen on any man. As |
ran at him, poker in hand, he slammed down
the window, and before could open it, was
out of sight Wonderful as had been his ap-
pearance, his disappearance was far more so,
and, indeed, inexplicable. The window which
had been thrown open was half-window-
that is to sav, it was common TO our room
and the next one to it, which also belonged
to the same house, but was at that time un- 1
and locked up. Having satisfied
ourselves by thorough search that the apa- I
rition was not in this apartment, there was
nothing left but the conclusion that he made /
his way along a narrow ledge Of not more
than four inches broad, to some other house
to the right of ours, and that with the most
excessive ouickness. The ledge was at least
forty feet pependicularabove a crowded street,
with no other resting-place between it and
the ground. aud in full view of all psssers-bv, /
some Of whom would have been surely at
tractcd by the spectacle Of scarlet man bal
ancing himself upon next TO nothing over
their heads The matter, indeed, seemed IN
explicable; but sliIl felt it my duty to per-
severe in my investigation, since the minds Of
18th NJ ,-;fs an1 dauubfnr had bean shaken f