The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1871-03-24

every time ! looked on him; 80 I sum-
moned up courage and said, some.
what sharply, II think you are very
rude to stare ut me so, sir; il you have
anything TO say TO me, be good enough
to speak" He smiled, and looked
out of the window for a. moment,
sighed, and changed his seat. must
have soon fallen into dozs, but how
long slept ! have little idea. When
/ awoke / found the carriage oscillat-
ing violently, aud to my horror and
surprise, my companion had gonei Yes,
was alone in the carriage! In an.
other moment the air was filled with
shrieks of agony and yells OF despair,
the escape Of steam and the crash OF
wood. My carriage shook and groaned,
and then tottered over on its side
down an embankment; but luckily for
inc, was, with the exception of few
bruisers, unhurt. Oh, what sight
was before mel The 5:55 from Lon
don had run into goods train, and
lay before me wreck. Women, chill
dren, and men were buried under the
debris; while some, like me, had es-
capped without a scratch. We rem
dered all the assistance that lay in
our power to the poor creatures; and
it was not until the sun had risen, on
Christmas morning, that we got suffi-
cient hands togather to clear the line.
Twenty-Five people were killed in
this awful accident, and over thirty
severely injured. .5.
The news OF the disaster had
reached Nettleton some hours previous
to my arrival; and when had briefly
narrated the painful facts of the case,
/ asked leave to go 10 my room, feel.
ing perfectly unable 10 take part in
the Christmas merry-makings. l was
glad enough to throw myself on the
bed; and although could not sleep,
the quietude OF the place, and the calm
rest which Il enjoyed, soothed my
nervous frame and cooled my burning
brain. / thought over the events oil
the short time which had elapsed
since l left London, and could no,
help connecting my mysterious fellow
traveller in some way with the acci.
dent. / was no believer in ghosts
and yet what was the meaning of that
mans mysterious entrance ut London
Bridge, and his still more mysterious
disappearance? Was it fancy? Ger
tainly not. Could it have been q
warning of the coming danger? ]
could not answer myself, but contin.
ued to ponder and argue until / could
not bear to be alone, 30 i got up and
went down into my uncle's library. ]
sent for Bessie by one of the servants,
and in few moments my dea- girl
and myself were together. / told her
all my adventure. Atiirst she laughed
at me and called me n superstitious
goose; bnt when she found me serious
she was annoyed. and gave me n good
lecture, which she finished up by tell
ing me that / had been working too
late and too hard at my chambers,
had overhcatcd my brain, aud there
fore imagined all sorts of stupid
things. l promised not to allude to
the "ghost," as she termed my railway
companion, during the holidays; and
/ kept my word.
The few days labor that I had al
lowed myself went quickly enough,
and my Nettleton visit was soon a
thing Of the past, and I was once
again hard at work in the Inn. A.
times my thoughts would turn to the
events of Christmas eve; and thorgh
I strove to erase the recollection from
my mind, could not forget my fel.
low traveller. l read books on spirit.
ualism; and in spite of arguments with
friends, and several serious conversa-
tons with my relatives, l became q
believer in ghosts. i kept the truth
from Bessie, for knew that she would
be broken-hearted il she knew that
had become disciple of the spiritual.
lists. was very unhappy and very
unsettled; my health was none Of the
best; my spirits were low; and my
energy tagged considerably. So the
long year passed away, and Christmas
came again. was, as usual, to spend
my few days holiday at Nettleton, and
l found myself once more in first
class carriage by myself at 5:55 on the
Oath day of December.
The whistle was sounded the engine
shrieked, the train moved, the dool
open, and he entered the carriage
smiled in the same deathlike manner
as he had smiled twelve months ago
took his seat, produced the black book
and read in silence. l do not think
was much surprised at seeing him, fol
he had been in my minds eye" al
the year, but cold perspiration came
over me; I felt sinking at my heart
and burning, throbbing pain flew te
my head. MAN, if man you be"
said, fixing my eyes on the figure, "i
you have come to warn me of my com
ing danger, speak to me. I am brave
enough to hear the worst" He lifted
his eyes from the book, yawned
closed the volume, and settled himsel
to sleep. "No," cried, "you shall
not evade my question; you must an
swer me. What will happen? VIII.
are you here p He reused himself
and looked at me with smile upol
his hard lips; he then took out small
pocket-book and wrote on q page
which he tore out and handed me
these words: We shall meet tonight.
/ read the five words over and owe
again, but could not fathom thei
meaning. / was painfully certain, il
my own mind, that some other terri
bla calamity OF some kind or othe
would happen before long, and that
read my warning on the piece OF pspe,
! held in, my hand. kept my eye