River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1872-10-11
An Imperial Apparition.


A correspondent of the Boston Adver
tiser, writing from Heidelburg, tells this
marrow freezing tale Of a ghost in the
Queens bed-chamber:
! lasely heard story, which is good
enough to repeat, if it has not cot 10
Anne RIGA already. The Emperor of Aus.
tria is ga man with whom one can talk -
so II was said to me; nos great Inan pro.
bably, but neither q fool nor fanatic
His neither, however, was Jesuit to the
core; she, while she lived, ruled tbe
Empire, in fact, though not in name. and
did SO with the strictest submission to her
holy" advisers. But while ago she
died, as even good people will do, and her
pious counsellors began to see clouds
rising in the, sky which had been fair for
them so long. They meditated upon the
matter, and this is what came of it: One
night the sentinel who was stationed Al
the door of the deceased lacy's apartments
had a surprise. just at midnight the door
opened, as if Of itself, and there appeared
veritable ghost-an imposing, majestic
terrible woman ghost Angels and min
listers Of grace defend us! The poor fell.
low was unequal to the occasion. He
flung his gun aside and fled for dear life
rushed to his immediate superior with
pale face staring eyes, shaking knees and
chattering teeth, and told his story. This
one the mex. morning repeated to the next
above him, and this to the next, and SO il
reached the chief officer of the court
The last PANIED called the sentinel before
him aud said: "Tell me now the exact
truth about that affair -
The other told his story as before.
"Tell me the truth y cried the officer.
with the sternest tone and look; "truth if
you love your life" ls ,s ,a.5
"Were you to cut my head off, l could
say nothing different answered the sol.
der. na ttaet
Another watch was placed before the
door, and gems d'armes stationed in the ad.
.jacent passages. On the third night fol.
lowing that supernatural appearance, the
fearful phenomenon required. Again the
door seemed to open of self; the sentinel
saw his appalling visitor issuing through
it and advancing slowly upon him, spectral,
stately, severe. Like true soldier he
kept his post; but the duty that command.
ed his will could not command the cur
rents of his blood, and he went off in
dead swoon. The ghost was a second
time left in possession of the field, but con.
siderately spared the gems darmes, and /
did not visit them. A few nights after.
ward her ghostship appeared quite unex.
pectedly liz quite different part of the
palace. A young sentinel, one or two
and twenty years OF age, saw her snper.
naturalness approach; he slipped quietly (
behind a pillar and waited when the
dread vision was within some ten PAGES,
out darted the young fellow from behind
the pillar, and made bayonet charge
full upon it Who could have anticipated
such heathenish procedure in a Chris.
tian land /? The imperial ghostess turned
and fed! Fidelity to truth compels one
to add that in flying the spectre struck the
floor with hard steps, and, moreover,
made a display Of leg not altogether
womanly. The young soldier pursued,
gained uponil, came up with it, thrust his
bayoaet straight through it without 50
much as saying, by your leave; when lo
cry in no feminine voice, fall upon the
ground, and the rush of red blood the
affair was hushed up and when next ith
desired to produce an impression on the
mind Of the Kaiser by evoking his mothers
ghost, that Jesuit father will not appear
as her proxy.