Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1872-09-07
WHOLE NO. 9 9gS.

tact with that which IL mysterious.
incomprehensible, or indefinahle the
nerves relsx, the will willis, and the
I face blanches-was il so with me at
the present time? l confess, candidly,
it was so to some extent. 1t was very
dark in the church, and no friendly
fash had lighted up its dismal corri-
dors or cheered its ilentaisles. King
Richard, in his fright, pledged n king.
dom for horse. / had, as yet,
horse, but / would have pledged a
like consideration, if | had been in
possession of it for lamp. stated
that | had a horse; time will demon
strate that in few moments, | would
be as destitute of this kind auxiliary,
as was King Richard. Saul had slain
his thousands, and David his tens of
thousands, but was not in a condition
to slay any, even if the test should
come. | suppose | had thus sat in
darkness and anxiety for about ten
minutes, when the long desired flash
of light lit mp the gloomy church, and
during its ftful glare, saw female
form glide from the front bench to the
far side of the pulpit. Was this inn
agination was it indeed the result of
fear2 Even if | had been incredu-
lous myself, the actions of Knight
would have convinced me of its passa-
bic truth; Immediately upon the fash
and the gliding of the phantom, he
suddenly broke from my grasp with a
frantic neigh and galloped off into the
darkness. As before stated, this con.
duct upon the part of my horse was
altogether mysterious to me, as he had
always manifested a great degree of
patience and quietude. / now resolved
in mind to follow him, but inasmuch
as the flesh was weak, | did not do 80.
| had nothing to do but remain and
see the finale of the strange situation.
| heard nothing save the crcakings of
the old church in her efforts to with
stand the violence of the storm, and
the thunders as they crashed in anger.
or rolled in volume answering in echo
to irresistible power. Twas now again
in darkness and in wonder. had not
however, long to wait, for in few
minutes, another bright lurid flash
revealed to me the entire interior of
the church, and | now beheld the same
apparition standing in front of the
pulpit, about ten feet from where |
was sitting, with one hand resting up
on the low boxing of the pulpit, and
the other resting upon the commun-
ion table, with glittering, cleaning
eyes glaring full upon me. Was it
true, that the Same scenes were about
to be re-enacted that transpired at the
resurrection of the Messiah, when
"A little e'er the mightiest julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless, and the sheet
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman
4 streets"
This certainly was no phantom, neith-
er was | prepared to say that it was
truly flesh and blood.
WAS It a spirit of health. or goblin
Did she bring airs from heaven, or blasts
Were her intents wicked, or charitable,
!, She came In such a Questionable shape,
thought I'd speak to her."
but weighing the situation fully.
thought discretion the better part of
vallor," and therefore l remained ST.
lent. During this luminous moment,
!, | had ample time TO sean her person,
in reference to dress, and to scrutinizc
her features rigidly, her dress consist
ed of a long flowing white robe, which
trailcd upon the floor, with short
sleeves and low neck, her hair was
, unbraided and fell in great profusion
over her shoulders, and far below her
waist, her eyes were bright and gilt
tering, and stared at me with an abb
horrent lustre. Her complexion was
pale and cadavcrous, wan aud ghastly,
and had it not bcon for the wild star
ing eye, and the perpendicular form, l
should have thought that some new
made grave stood yawning and ten
antless. | was now again enveloped
in utter darkness, with weird ghost.
like form for a companion. My mental
faculties were kecnly alive, but my
physical faculties portrayed imbecility
|, and prostration. would have availed
myself of speedy exit through the
window, but | had not the strength to
move. 1t was many minutes before
another fash of light, thereby giving
me ample time for reflection, and these
reflections were the most gloomy and
narrowing, Of somewhat eycntful
life.
Transfixcd in n desolate church, as
hopeless and a. weak as a convict in
a pillowy, and it may be with the devil,
clad in the garments of an angel OF
light for company. | had not long TO
wait before another sudden glare OF
lightning revealed my unknown COM
panion in ten fold sense of terror,
wonder and amazement. She was now
standing at the end Of the bench upon
which was sitting, with one hand on
each bench, with her body leaning
forward, and with the same fixedness
of gaze, glaring wildly upon me. Al
though as above stated, | had not the
power to move or to speak, l now
struggled with innate despair, and
vented forth no doubt wild cry of
anguish, that must have pierced far
above the struggles Of the storm, and
in this agonizing wall, felt suddenly
my nervous strength return, and
made a phrenzied leap for the window.
| hoped to be able 10 clear the window
at a single bound, but in this | was
feariully mistaken, / had eithor mis-
calculated its height. or | had ovcrcs-
timated my strength, for in the attempt,
my knee struck the sill, and thus my
momentum was suddenly checked, and
] laid for moment nearly poised
across the sill; finally, however, my
head and shoulders proved the heav-
ier, and my body carcened with a
downwatd tendency, and | happily
thought !nysolf comparatively safe /;
but my perplexities were not yet TO
terminate. Before reaching the ground
| found TO my inconceivable horror,
that my coat had caught in the fast
enings of the window, or my tormen-