Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1865-11-09
yond mere curiosity, in the following strange

Ihere IS not, perhaps, q country more rlIe
N legends Of haunted houses than Germany.
Noprovince but has is store Of them. Many,
drawn by tradition from the obscnrity Of the
past, have lost, If they ever possessed, any
claim to be regarded except as apocryphal.
But others, OF q recent date and better at
tested, cannot be disposed Of in 50 summary
manner
! In furnishing a specimen OF this latter
/ class, depart from q rule which / think il
/ well to observe in regard TO original nara
! lives Of character so marvellous: 10 record
+ such, namely, only when they can be pro-
/ cured direct from the lips Of the witnesses
! themselves. This came 70 ne second hand.
! had no opportunity Of oss-Questioning
+ the actors in the scenes narrated. Yet ! had
the story from gentleman Of high respec
liability: the principal Secretary Of the
- Legation at Naples: and his sources
/ Of information were direcI and authentic.
! Inthe southeastern portion Of Pomerania,
! at no great distance from the frontier of the
/ province Of West Prussia, and in the vicinity
| Of the small town Of Butow, there stood,
not many years since, an ancient chateau.
| It was the ancestral residence Ct an old
Pomeranian family Of baronial rank aud
! the narrative Of It's destruction, with the
.
markable.
! It's former owner, the Baron Won Putkam-
mer, after leading wild and dissolute life,
/ had expired within its walls. For years
| previously, many q mysterious story, fraught
with dark hints Of seduction and infanticide,
/ had been whispered over the surrounding
| country; and when at last death arrested
! the Baron's prohigate career, some reported
/ that he had been strangled IN requital Of
| outrage committed, others that the Devil
| had taken home his own, as they had long
| expected.
| His estate went TO q relative Of the same
name, who granted the enjoyment Of it to his
eldest son, heir to the title. This young
man, after a time, arrived to take possession.
/ He found in the chateau the administrator
| Of the deceased Baron's estate.
| It was late, the first night, before he went
to bed Yet he was scarcely undressed,
when he heard, through the stiffness Of the
night, the approach Of carriage, at first
rolling over the sharp gravel OF the avenue,
! then entering the paved courtyard. This
was succeeded by the noise Of the front door
! opening, and The distinct sound Of steps on
! the principal staircase.
/ Young Putkammer, surprised at this I'M
seasonable visit, yet supposing ii some friend
who had been benighted hastily donned his
dressing gown, and, with light N hand,
| stepped to the landing. Nothing could be
seen there But he heard behind him the
opening Of q door leading into the principal
| gallery Of the chateau--a long hall which
for some time had been out Of use. 1t had
| been employed by the former owner Of the
castle as banqueting ROOM was hung with
old family portraits, and, as the young man
had noticed during the day, was so complete
" incumbered with furniture, which had
been temporarily stored there, that 10 one
could pass through it.
He returned in great surprise, which was
much increased when he found the door Of
the gallery in question closed aud locked.
He listened, and heard quite distinctly.
within the room, the noise of plates and
dishes and the CHATTER OF knives and forks.
To this, after q time, succeeded the sound Of
shutting cards and the rattle Of money, as
as If thrown on the table in The course Of
the game.
More and more astonished, he awolIo his
servant, and babe hila listen at the door and
tell him what he heard. The terrified valet
reported the same sounds which had reached
| his masters ears. Thoreupon the latter
told him to arouse the administrator and
request his presence.
When this gentleman appeared, the young
nobleman eagerly asked if ne could furnish
any explanation CT this strange disturb
ance.
g was unwilling" said he, in reply, " to
anticipate what you now witness, lest you
might imagine had some Interested motive
to prevent your coming hithcr, We are all
familiar with these sounds. They occur
every night at about the same hour And
we have sought in vain any natural explana-
ton cf their constant recurrence"
:" Have you the key Of the gallery 7"
"Here il is"
The door was unlocked and thrown open.
Silence and darkness And when the lights
were introduced, not an object was TO be seen
through the gloom but the old furniture con
fusedly piled up over the floor.
They closed and locked the door. Again
the same sounds commenced: the clatter Of
dishes, the noise of reyelling, the clink of
gamblers gold. A. second time they opened
the door, and this time quickly and suddenly,
and second time the sounds Instantly
ceased, and the hall, untenanted except by
the silent portraits on its walls, appeared
before them, the same still and gloomy lum-
ber-room as before,
Rafied for the time young Putkammer
dismissed his attendants and retired to his
chamber. Ere long be heard the door of the
gallery open, the heavy footsteps sound on
the stairway, the front door creak on its
hinges, then the roll of the carriage
first over the stone pavement, then along the
gravelled avenue, till the sounds gradually
died away in the distance.
The next night he was ready dressed and
prepared with lights. When, Jout the same
hour, the noise Of the approaching carriage
was heard he had tue lights Immediately
carried to the top Of the stairway, and he
himself half descended the stairs. Up the
stairs and past his very side came the foot
steps; but neither living being nor spectral
form could he perceive
The same noises in the old banqueting hall
The same fruitless attempts to witness the
revel, or to get at the secret, if any, Of the
imposition.
The young man was brave and devoid Of
superstition. Yet, in snite of himself, these
mysterious sounds, renewed night after night,
irritatea his nerves, and preyed upon his
quiet. He thought TO break through the
spell by inviting q party OF living guests
They came, TO the number Of thirty or forty :;
but not for their pres did the invisible
jewellers intermit their nocturnal visit. All
heard the approach Of the carriage. the steps
ascending the staircase, the sounds Of revel-
ry in the hall. And all, when the opened
door disclosed as wont, but darkness and
silence, turned away with a Sunderland
to the subsequent invitation Of their host to
favor him again with their company replied
with some shallow apology, which he per-
fectly understood.
Thus deserted by his friends. and subject