Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1871-09-15
AND, FRIDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER Is. 1871

ing the country around me. 1t was very
peculiar-such as 1 had never seen be-
fore There was no moon, and l had
nothing but the stars to guide me these,
however, shone very brilliantly.
l found was standing on kind of
heath or moor. | had wondered so far
that the lights of the city were entirely
invisible; and yet according to my
computation of time, it did not appear to
have been more than quarter of an
hour since | left the hotel.
A peculiar feeling gradually crept
over me it was not fear or terror, but a
kind of superstitious awe, with which
vainly endeavored to combat. seemed
to be under the influence of some invisi-
BILE power | felt inclined to return to
the city, but something superior to my
will made me advance. / continued to
press forward. For a short time there
was kind of struggle between my own
inclination and the unseen power; my
feet were pushed forward, not in walk,
but it appeared as if [ were Swimming
along the surface of the ground. soon
saw that it was useless to contend fur
Their, and resigned myself to my fate
Then my progress became more rapid,
and hedges and trees fitted by me as if
they were moving and were stationary,
do not know how long this continu-
ed, for my mind was so bowildered that
had no means of computing time
Suddenly l found myself in front of a
large white house. This mansion was
entirely isolated It was huge build
ing of peculiar kind of architecture,
such as | had never seen before. 1t
consisted of innumerable gables and many
pointed towers; the windows were very
small, and the upper ones appeared to be
securely barred.
While I was gazing on the dwelling, l
suddenly heard loud shrek. One of
the lower easements was quickly opened,
stream of light issued from it, and al
most Immediately afterwards the head of
beautiful girl appeared in the open
window. Her countenance expressed
the greatest alarm, and in a voice of al
most supernatural anguish, she cried out,
" Help! help! help p
In moment | had rushed to the win
fdow, and in another moment was in the
apartment by the side of the fair girl.
1t was magnifcently furnished room,
and large chandelier shed flood of
light through the whole apartment
With the exception of the beautiful crea-
$ ture before me, the room was unoccupied.
: | had just time to notice the extraordi-
> nary beauty of this lady. She could not
+; have seen more than twenty summers.
T Her hair was CLASSY auburn, and fell in
: natural ringlets on neck and shoulders as
white as the driven snow. Her form
o was modelled in the most graceful and
(, charming manner. Her eyes, which in
j repose / should imagine were a heavenly
G blue, were lighted up with intense fear.
The moment | entered the room she
: seized me by the hand, and pointing to
a corner of the room, exclaimed, in ac-
cents Of terror, 90, save me save me
Il from that monster p
| looked in the direction where she
pointed the space ,oas empty. thought
3 | was dreaming. rubbed my eyes, and
gazed first at the girl before me, and
: then at the empty corner. The young
lady's fear was too natural to be smulat-
GU - utH biiG bOi uCh Oildo thi'
unfortunate girl was a lnnatic; and |
proceeded to address some consoling
words to her.
She appeared to pay no heed to my
, words, but kept sinking further back,
dragging me with her.
"Save mer' she CALCULATED; che
comes he comes See he is creeping
along the floor Oh, heavens! he will
murder me, and you stand calmly by,
and will not help me He comes he
: comes p
; She now retreatcd to the furthest ex-
tremity ofthe chamber, and pointed with
: her finger to the floor. There was moth
ing to be seen and yet strange to say,
heard strange rustling, as if some one
we're dragging himself slowly along the
2 floor
IL see no one p I exclaimed, in
hoarse whisper.
" There-there he isl Do you not see
his large, bony hands? Look look
Protect me from him Save me-"
Her countenance now expressed such
mortal agony, that it presented horri-
bic spectacle. She continued to gaze on
the inVlslDle monster, as II lascludteu'-
Suddenly felt her SILVER in my grasp
her throat all at once appeared to be con-
stricted, her eyes protruded, and she ut
tered fearful groan. Iplaced my hand
on her neck and oh, horrors !! / could
feel long, bony hand encircling it;
and yet, when ! gazed there, could see
nothing. l could distinctly trace the
fingers of this hand, the knuckles and
even the nails.
felt that was losing my senses; the
poor girl before me was evidently expir-
ing. A sudden resolution seized me;
threw myself in the empty space where
l supposed the fearful thing might be,
and although nothing was visible to my
sight, my arms we're clasped around some
material body 1t was soft and yielding
to the touch, and struggled in my grasp.
To my joy, discovered that the attack
had caused the monster to release his
hold on the poor girls neck. She utter
ed a cry of joy and rushed out Of the
{ apartment.
A fearful struggle now ensued between
{ me and my invisible enemy; his long,
, bony arms encircled me and pressed me
with prodigious strength. But / also
f.,ro.rod ~ ho ando,rod NTH sunernatu-