American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-06-29

and ease And, with regard to this reap
pearance, a striking modern instanc,
, seemed pertinent to the question at issue
The Marquis de Rambouillet and the Sieul
de Precy, aged respectively twenty five
. and thirty, were intimate friends. Speak
ing one day of the prospect of future
state of being, their conversation ended
with mutual compact that the first who
died should reveal himself to the survi
vOr. Three months afterward the Mar
quis went to the war in Flanders, while
De Precy, sick with the fever, remained
in Paris. One night, the latter, while
in bed, heard the curtains move, and,
turning, recognized his friend, in buff
coat and riding boots, standing by the
bed. Starting up, he attempted to en-
brace the visitor, but the latter evading
him, drew apart, and, in solemn tone,
informed him that such greetings were no
longer fitting that he had been slain the
previous night in skirmish, that he had
come to redeem his promise, and to an
nounce to his friend that all that had been
spoken of a world to come was most GER
tainly true, and that it behooved him Ode
Precy) to amend his life without delay, as
he himself would be slain within a very
brief period. Finding his nearer still in
credulous, the Marquis exhibited dead
ly wound below the breast, and imme-
diately disappeared. The arrival of a
| L
The Marquis had been slain in the man
ner mentioned. De Precy himself fell in
| the civil war, then impending.
| The speaker here cited a number of kin
dred examples belonging to the period,
such as, in latter days, have found paral-
lels in the well Unknown stories of Lord Ty-
rome and Lady Betty Cobb, Lord Lyttle-
ton and M. P. Andrews, Prince Dol
gorouki and ApraXin, the ex-Queen of
| Etruria and Chipanti, with a long list of
| similar cases, and then addressed himself
| to the terrestrial facts.
1t was proved by Magdalene Paret that
the treasure was actually found. By the
witness Deleuil, it was traced into the
possession of Auguier. By other wit
nesses, it was shown that Auguier had
made use of many articles to obtain the
custody of the gold, cultivating a roman
tic attachment for this humble laborer,
and seeking to inspire him with fears for
his personal safety, SO long as he retained
possession of so large sum. Upon the
whole, unless it had been practicable to
secure the attendance and oral testimony
of the very phantom itself, the claim of
Mirabel could hardly address itself more
fOrcibly to the favorable judgment of
the court.
1t may be that this little deficiency in
the chain of evidence weighed more than
was expected with the Parliament of AK.
At all events, they demanded further
proof, and the peasant, Bernard, was
brought forward, and underwent very
rigid examination.
He stated that, on certain day in May,
Mirabel informed him that ghost had re-
vealed to him the existence of some Sc
GREETED treasure. That, on the following
morning, they proceeded together to the
spot indicated by the apparition, but
found no money. That he laughed at
Mirabel, snapped his fingers at the story,
and went away. That he neverthe-
less agreed to further search-the
witness, Magdalene Paret, being present
but again found nothing. That, subse-
quently, NIirabel declared that he had dis
covered eighteen pieces of gold then
twelve, finally, thirty five, but displayed
none of them. That Mirabel had, how
ever, sent by him twenty soils to priest,
to say masses for the soul of the depart
ed, to whom he owed so much and that
he had spoken of handing over the treas
ure to Auguier, and taking the latter's re-
celpt, which certainly seemed to be the
same now produced, signed "Louis Au-
guier."
The matter was obscure and puZZling. |
There was, by this time, no question that |
this large sum of money had, somehow,
come into the possession of Mirabel He |
could not, by skill or labor, have realized |
been robbed, for the nOtoriety of the case |
would at once have produced the loser
If Mirabel had found it land there were |
the witnesses who proved the discovery
many feet below the surface, in an undis- |
turbed corner of the terrace), who re-
vealed the precious deposit to this poor
simple clown? The scale was inclining,
slowly and steadily, to the spectral side,
when some new and startling evidence
Angler proved that subsequently to the
alleged delivery of the treasure into his
hands, Mirabel had declared that it was
still concealed in the ground, and had in
vited his two brOthers-in-law from Pertuis
to see it. Placing them at a little distance
from the haunted spot, he made pretence
of digging, but suddenly raising white
shirt, which he had attached to sticks
placed crosswise, he rushed toward them,
crying out, 1.-THE ghost. the ghost" One
of these unlucky persons died from the
engendered by this piece of
pleasantly. The survivor delivered this
testimony.
The case now began to look less favor
able for the specter. 1t was hardly prob
able that Mirabel should take SO unwar-
rantable liberty with an apparition in
which he believed, as to represent him,
and that for no eXplanable purpose, by
an old white shirt, Was it barely possible
that Mirabel was after all humbug, and
that the whole story was pure fabrica
ton, for the purpose of obtaining dam
ages from the well o-do Auguier?
1t does not appear to what astute judi
cial intellect this not wholly impossible
idea presented itself At all events, a
new process decreed, the great OBJ
ject of which was to discover in the first
instance how and whence came the money
into Mirabel's possession.
Under the pressure of this inquiry, the
witness Paret was at length brought to
that she had never actually
beheld one coin belonging to the suppos-
ed treasure; secondly, that she did not
credit one word of Mirabers story; third
ly, that if she had already deposed ether
wise, it was at the earnest entreaty of
Mirabel himself.
Two experts were then examined as to
the alleged receipt. These differed in
opinion as to its being in the handwriting
of Auguier; but third being added to
the consultation, all three finally agreed
that it was a well-executed forgery
This, after twenty months, three pro-
cesses, and the examination of fifty-two
was fatal to the ghost. He
was put out of court.
The final decree acquitted Auguier, and
Mirabel to the galleys for
life, he having previously been submitted
to the question. Under the torture, Mira
bel confessed that one Etienne Berthelemy
a declared enemy of Auguier had de-
vised the spectral fable, as II ground for
the intended accusation, and, to substan-
tate the latter had lent him (for exhibi-
tom the sum of twenty thousand livres |