The mountain Democrat., 1863-09-12

girlss" asked, forgetting, in my sterest
about them, the appearance Of q spirit
in the house l occupied.
"Ah poor things" said the old lady,
"they have been very badly of since,
fear. They were terribly shocked at their
fathers death, and much grieved, though
be had been such a crRel apd unkind pa
rent to them; but their minds were in
some degree tranquilized by his body be.
... -.,.,., - -. ....-.- ~...>-,, -,. - -.
coroner's inquest it was brought in In.
sanity So he lies in the churchyard
yonder, but not very quietly, if all tales
be true.
GAS soon as his relations got notice Of
his death, his nephew, q rich lawyer in
London, came down here and took pos.
session of all the papers and effects of the
deceased ; no will was found, SO this gen.
tleman and his family. being the legal
heirs, claimed and got all his property
No provision had been made for the poor
girls by their father, and the heir, who
was a hard-hearted. misery sort of man,
refused at first TO give them anything, say
ing they might go to be chambermaids ;
but he was at length shamed into giving
them q few hundred pounds, and with
these he turned them adrift.
"They went to London, where they
struggled with many difficulties, and the
last time heard of them they were keep
ing little day school in the village where
their mother had resided, and which af-
forded them but scanty pittance, hardly
sufficient to maintain them"
"Could nothing have been donesfor
them here ?" asked. "No subscription
entered into for them?"
81 dare say," replied the old lady,
had they staid among US, something
might have been done to assist them, but
their dispositions were very shy; they
left S. Immediately after their father
shocking death, and they took great pains
that every trace of them should be lost
The absent are apt to be forgotten, and to
be poor is far from claim of remem
brance."
"But," interrupted the lady with the
black eyes" the ghost-you have for.
gotten the ghost-I want to hear about
it. No doubt it is the cut throat gentle
man."
Yes" said the old lady, sinking her
voice to mysterious whisper, "they say
he walks. His heir endeavored to sell
the house, but no one would buy it he
then left instructions to have it let fur
nishcd, but the rent he asked was so high
that the house remained long unoccupied.
ut was about year after Mr.. Norton's
death that man, passing one clear, moon
light night, down the lane l mentioned
before, saw figure standing at the win
dow of the room in which Mr.. Norton had
committed suicide; it seemed covered
with blood, and its claSped hands were
apparently raised to heaven.
1.-The man was terrified out Of his wits,
and not venturing on q second look, he
never stopped running until he reached
his own door, where he fell in strong con-
vulsions. The old woman, too, who lived
in the house to take care of it, was one
night about the same time disturbed by
the distant Tapping of doors. She sup
posed that she had inadvertently left a
window open IN the old part Of the build
ing, and, on going to ascertain, she en-
countered at the head of the back stair
case some dreadful object, the sight Of
which frightened her almost cut Of her
senses. She could never exactly describe
what it was, but she thought itseemed a
figure covered with blood. She took
shelter that very night at the house oi
her nearest neighbor, and no entreaty
could prevail on her, or any NMe else, to
stay again in the haunted house. as il
has been called from that period"
"And So" interrupted the skeptical
dame, this poor house has been denoun-
ced as haunted upon the testimony of q
country BOBBY, who was probably drunk,
and that Of sleepy old woman whose
brains, ii she had any, were no doubt
stuffed with nonsensical stories about
witches, and charms, and hobgoblins."
"llave any other persons seen anything
in that house to frighten them ?" I asked,
in tone Of eager inquiry.
eyes" said the old lady. ~ was 60
ing to tell you that last summer gentle.
man took the house for six months. He
had large family, and brought his own
servants; therefore, as they had no intro
ductions or acquaintances here, it was moi
likely that they could have heard any ot
the stories relative to the spirit that
haunts it. When they had remained
there three months exactly they suddenly
took their departure without assigning
any reason for going, aud forfeiting the
rent for the other three months. They
did not complain of nocturnal visitor
but the washcrwoman, who was sent foI
to receive the amount Of her bill, said she
heard among the servants that some
members Of the family had been much
alarmed by something they had seen ir
the dead of night, and that was the cause
of their unexpected removal"
But" persisted the lady with the
black eyes, "the house is occupied al
present, and the family do not seem tc
be disturbed with ghosts; at least, they
take the visitations of the dead man very
quietly"
"Wait little, "replied the pertinacious
supporter of the ghost story "they have
not been there long yet, and if they re-
main, they will see him, depend on it,
By the by, this is the anniversary of tn,
night on which he committed suicide i
was on Christmas eve, like this.
should not wonder if he walks tonight
Supper was just then announced, ant
our conversation was broken off; but ur-
ged by painful curiosity, 1 seized an op'
portunity before leaving DR.. Graham's to
ask the communicative old lady what par
ticular apartments were said to be haunt
ed by the restless spirit Of the unhappy
suicide. AS had surmised, she desert
bed the very rooms which I myself occu.
pied. It was in one Of them that he had
died; to them his wandering ghost Vas
SAID thus frequently to return, and that
very night | might witness a spectacle
terrible to behold! My spirits sank with:
in me. and I returned home in no enviA.