American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-03-30
This was all that Mr.. Grover

instinctively formed in my mind an eX
PLANTATION, if such it can be called, of the
mysterious circumstances which had SC
puzzled and disturbed US. This Doctor
| Mather-this morose and unsocial man
and unkind husband and father, as he was
described to be-this solitary collector OF
herbs-of what deeds might he not have
been guilty here in the seclusion of this
lonely old country-house "They had all
three died :" and my memory reverted
with a shudder to the word 90 Poison ~
which had heard uttered by that mysteri
Gus voice. Perhaps murder had been
committed in this house-even in that
very office room which had appropriated;
and this impression was deepened
upon being informed by Mr.. Grover
in answer to my inquiries, that
that room had in reality been
Doctor Mather's study or library, into
which no one was ever admitted; and that
he would sometimes remain in it whole
days and nights together without being
interrupted-ha his meals brought
and deposited outside the door, in the
adjoining gallery.
| The office and gallery were now care
fully Stunned by us all, with the excep-
ton of Mr.. Walton, who haunted it with
a persistency doubtless equal to that of
the ghost itself He was determined, he
said, to learn all that could be learned of
this mystery, and, if possible, to thor
oughly unravel it.
| One evening, after a rain, heavy sea-
| fog set in upon the coast, and the atmos-
| phere became all at once SO damp and
| chilly as to render fire indispensable to
comfort. As have said, the rooms were
| large and airy, and were, moreover car
petless and sparingly furnished. This
was pleasant enough in warm weather, but
inexpressibly dreary in this chill and
| damp spell. The two most comfortable
| apartment of the house for cool weather
were undoubtedly the nursery and the
| off1ce-room, which were situated at
| opposite extremities of the long building
So, leaving the former to the nurses and
children, MIR. Walton proposed that he
and Emma and l should make ourselves
comfortable for the evening in the haunt
ed room, as he now called it, mauger the
ghosts; and, as an inducement, promised
to be had fresh out of the water, almost
at our very door, just for the trouble of
picking them up.
Certainly the room, as Emma and l
rather hesitatingly entered it, looked
pleasant and cheerful enough, with its
pine-wOod fire and the tea-kettle steaming
on the hearth. No one made any allusion
to the ghost Mr.. Walton, indeed, seemed
to have forgotten the subject in the inter
est Oh the supper L, anu 1ancleU
also Emma, felt a little nervous as we oc-
casionally glanced furtively around the
room. Once or twice, also, l caught my
self instinctively looking over my Shout
der toward the corner cupboard behind
me.
Supper over, Mr.. Walton, who was a
fine reader, entertained us with some
chapters from Dickens latest work, and
we were soon so much interested as to
forget everything else. In the very midst
of this, however, was startled by feel
ing faint breath of cold air upon my
neck, and at the same instant saw my
sisters eyes lifted with frightened
glance toward the corner closet behind
me.
instinctively started up and crossed
over to the other side of the fireplace
"What is it, Louisa ;" said Emma,
nervously 81 saw the door of the closet
OPEN"
Mr.. Walton closed his book and sat
looking attentively at the cupboard. And
it was whilst we were all thus, perfectly
silent and motionless, that sound broke
the stillness-at first what seemed the lin
Cling of phials and rafting of chains
and then the faint, uncertain sound of
muffled voices which had heard more
than once before, all coming unmistaka-
bly, from the little triangular closet in
the corner.
Oh, Richard, do you hear ?" gasped
Emma, Selling fast hold of her husbands
arm. For myself, l came very near
screaming outright.
"Hush-be quiet ~ said Mr.. Walton.
And taking the lamp, he advanced to the
cupboard, threw wide open the door, and
surveyed it infinitely.
1t was simply a closet built of deal
IN cd wi nod
walls of the room. Three rickety
shelves unoccupied and much stained
with ink and other liquids, were
all it contained. Between the lower
and middle shelves was strip of wood
nailed against the wall, as if to cover a
place where, as we could see the plaster
had fallen away; and beneath this strip
could be discerned part of what seemed
to be rat-hole. Besides these, not a
thing was visible in the closet.
And yet, as 1 live, while we three stood
there gazing into the empty closet, from
its recesses came'a hollow laugh, and a
low, childish voice said, plaintively:
"Inree-dH dead-1,oisonedi"
Emma sank down, half swooning Even
Mr. Walton's face, as l fancied, became
a shade paler and then we heard the
voice again:
BURY them-grave under the magno-
liza"
looked again at my ther-in-law,
and saw his lips compress and kind of
desperation appear in his face. He adj
vanced close to the closet, put his head
almost within and shouted, loudly and
distinctly:
''Who are you? Who is it that speaks?"
In answer came a shrek, loud and ap-
palling, ringing in our very ears. Then
the same breath of cold air swept past,
followed by the violent shutting of a
door and grating of key in a lock. We
looked at each other aghast but before
we had time to utter a word, we were
again startled by different sound-that
of children's cries, and footsteps hurry
ing along the gallery to the room in which
we were. The next moment the door burst
open, and in rushed Momma Abbey,
the colored nurse, bearing badly in her
arms, and followed by her assistant,
Chloe, dragging the three elder children
after her-all the latter pale and terri
fled, and, Freddy in particular, shrieking
shrilly.
What is the matter? What has hap
pcned?" screamed Emma, forgetting her
own recent terror in alarm for her chill
dren.
"Oh, marsterl oh, MISUSE gasped
Momma Abbey, piteously, her eyes rolling
white in their sockets, "a ghos', A ghos'
in the nurseryr'
"a ghost %
in the corner-closet in the nursery.
heerd 1t, We all heerd it. Marster Fred
dy was lookin' in dat closet to see if dar
was any mice in de trap what he'd set, and
sure's Use alive dis minute, marster, some
body in dat are closet hollered out Who