Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-12-09
DAILY LEADER
THE STORY I HEARD IN THE
SMOKING ROOM.

N 1N00LAa
q fsrd -
6 Iron IOndon societS.l 3
d We were staying with a large party a
b Thornton Court at the beginning of tn
. pleasant shooting season, when / heard al
r account of an optical delusion, which is O
such a novel character that / can hardl,
? suppose it will not be interesting to iiah1
people. The ladies had gone, or at leas-
were supposed to have gone to bed for J
have often, on my way back to the smok.
ing-room, at an hour when all but a few
confirmed lovers Of the weed are believed
to be asleep in a country house, heard
though the doors, which e~ommuhicata be-
tween the young ladies rooms and the cor
rider, sounds of voices and laughter, which
l hardly can imagine proceeded from
sleeping occupants, and which have led
me to believe that the vague stories we
hear of little chats by members of the
fairer sex over their bed room fires are not
ALTOGETHER u~nfouhded.
AT any rate every ohe Had left the draw-
ing room; one by one, smokers in every
variety and every color of smoking-iacket
and of dressing7gown, bad dropped into
the before mentioned sanctuary OF tobacco,
where, upon sporting pictures, and one or
two foxes brushes, and shut of from the
rest Of the house by double baise doors, we
formed a party Of about half a dozen
round the cheerful fire which the chilly
days of October rendered quite acceptable.
After all the members of the social COM
munity were supplied with cigars and
large glasses, which contained various
compounds of efervescing waters, and had
settled into their chairs, we chartered over
the pheasants, the prospects of hunting,
the merits of some well-known race horses
and such other subjects as form the staple
of conversation on similar occasions.
Somehow or other the conversation trurned
upon ghosts and ~spiritualism. All dis
cussed the subject except the usually con-
vocational Colonel Houghton, who silent
ly pulled away at a large cigar and gazed
steadfastly into the fire.
"Come, Houghton," at last said Random
our host "what is your opinion on the
al certainly have not the least belief in
ghosts, but a more curious case occurred
to myself for which l have never been
able to account" was the reply.
"0h, let us hear it by all means cried
several, charmed with the idea of getting
Houghton, who was rather skeptical in
most matters, to a ghost story.
al have never told it, but 1 think that
now | can do SO, as, by giving other than
real names of the men l fancied 1 saw af-
ter their deaths, no n now will be able to
tell who they were,n was the reply.
Several new cigars were lighted, some
glasses were replenished, and we disposed
ourselves to listen, when Colonel Hough-
ton, looking very grave, and with an ex-
preston L have never before seen on his
face, began his tale.
II must tell you that my adventure oc-
CURED in q country, which l think is the
last place on earth where one would have
expected to encounter anything mysterious
or unnatural; for it was in China, the
country of ideal dizziness and practicality,
that L witnessed the phenomenon l have
hitherto been unable to account for salts
factorily. In order to understand TIE
whole case / must begin at a much earlier
period of my life than that at which the
circumstance l am about to relate oc-
Cured.
%WheR / was about sixteen years old,
and at school at Eaton, l was seized with
a most ardent desire to enter the army,
and In frequent letters implored my father
TO let me leave Eaton and go to a private
tutors, where I might undergo a special
preparation for the military profession.
My father for a long time opposed the !
idea, as he wished me to go to the bar;
and as l was not an over diligent boy, i'm
that in the army 1 should not do
anything except smoke and run into debt.
At last my opportunities led him to con- {
sent to a compromise, and l was removed {
from Eaton, but not to a military tutors; !
was sent to a clergyman in the west of I
who received a very limited q
of pupils, and who was to teach
ne thoroughly such subjects as would fit
ne for the army, in case l remained stead J
to my wishes, or which otherwise S
night be useful in a civil career. When 1
arrived at DR.. Warnborough's 1 found G
here only two pupils, one named Charles
and another who left soon after {
joined; Granger and l in a short time O
'ecame warm friends; we rode together,
)oated together, had no secrets from each a
inseparable. DR.. Marlborough and .
lis wife were a most kind, good-hearted a
and made us most comfortable in q
very way, an attention, l am afraid, we b
i'd not always reciprocate, for we were Fl
9th rather wild and foolish, although 1 il
do Charles the justice to say that D
n all scrapes / was the leader and cause. h
One incident which amused us much at |
he time 1 may mention en- PEASANT. The q
illage in which DR.. Warnborough's rec a
DRY was situated abounded with cats, il
gainst which we two boys declared a war v
f determination. Many fell before our a
boughtsurreptitiously at an IRON n
longer's in the neighboring town before a
he bright idea struck me of making a rug II
{ their skins; but the idea when it did fl
0me up in my not over-well stocked b
rain, was regarded, both by myself and q
harles, as quite equal to Watts concep- "
on Of the steam engine, or, what inter- u
'ted us more, the invention of air-guns. b.
my idea was soon acted upon ; b.
le next cat that we killed was skinned ia
18th u pocket-knives, the body buried, %
all seemed well, when a new difficulty st
rose. How were the skins to be dried? [
would not be safe to place them in any E
the Outhouses, for the doctor might find di
lem, and would lecture us on what would h,
1pear to him cruelty, although to us it W
emed on'y in obedience to the dictates tn
youthful nature that we should kill cats. al
" invention again came to the 'front.' the fiji
ning-rto ON table was turned upside down
i'd the skin nailed on its under surface; m
e table being restored to its proper posi- co
IN, and the cover put on, no trace of the er
establishment below was visible. vi
ut vision is not our only sense; next day va
breakfast Mrs. Marlborough began to en-
ink that some of the drains were out of wi
der; but as desiccation had only Just set hs
her idea wa pooh-poohed by the doc ne
and we boys had too strong stomachs MI
feel any Inconvenience from a smell of tn,
lich we so well knew the cause. BY si,
lner time, however, there was no doubt Sb
the subject, and the good Lady faltI4.
INK, almost a little triumph even on such bic
when the doctor was obliged to ey,
Mess she had been in the right in the fe,
Every search was made to dis Oh
yer the cause of the evil, which in ilv
,ased hourly the drains were examined, SD,
t all without avail, the room with the she
DE (which no one thought of examining)
nding in its centre was uninbabitable spt
d at last 1 felt l must tell the doctor so in
went to him, received a mild reproof, so
d the nuisance was repressed.n COT
At the first mention of the table with ing
= cat-skin stretched below it, several of pal