Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-02-10
MEMPHIS TENN: SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10, 1872


Whew-w went the whistle Of the en-
CINE, shrieking. as it seemed, close into
my ear. turned my head for a mo-
ment; the moon had just passed into
cloud; the figure had vaniehed; the
coffin still stood in the corner, dark and
grim. The train jslackened, stopped. %
4 ~ Jem, said avoice-that of the guard
-" there's body in that middle FIRST
class coach; there some parties coming
to meet it with an earse. "ms.ssa q j
"All right, Jack, said another voice;
i" they've come to fetch him. Bear
hand here, will you? Oh, Lord r. shouted
the man, as he saw me sitting in the
corner. -"0h, / beg your pardon, sir.
/ hope you arn't been annoyed, sir2
Jack, what did you mean by putting the
gent into this compartment 'a teiAt
i didn't growled Jack; :" he must
got in by hisself.i,aid Z 1d q t
An right ! said, getting out and
stretching myself on the platform. I'll
get into the next carriage. Ne bodies
there, are thereT s stQ
""D'ye call me nobody?' said Pat
Reilly, looking out Of the window.
Jump in, Billy, me b'hoyl I've cleared
out the rest of the company; yell intro
duce little fresh capital into the con-.
cern. "iVY HsAr
What contrast to the scene | had
quilted was the cheerful lighted carriage,
with its occupants all brother officers Of
mine smoking, chatting, and playing loo
on rug stretched over the knees
Surely the whole of the previous scene
had been dream, or could it have been
an incipient attack Of ID. I. PINOT brought
on by drink, indeed, for was not given
to that, but by irregular habits and stress
of mind. m1a7 a'Hte rDas
1t wasn't till had reached my own
hut at Aldershott that l thought of the
paper which the ghost had given me,
and which, in my delirium, / had imag
ined / had thrust into my waistcoat
pocket Here was test, at all events;
If there was real paper, bearing signs
of its ghostly origin, then | was still
sane, and the apparition had witness
ed was not delusion ofthe brain.
In the corner of nay waistcoat pocket
was a crumpled piece of fimsy paper;
unfolded it, and found it bank of Eng
land note for hundred pounds. t4n
From that hour was an altered man.
i paid my gambling debts; confessed all
my embarrassments to my friends, who
lifted me out of the mirei never touched
a card or DIE; studied for the staff col
lege passed good examination; went
to Sandhurst, came out with high hon
ors, and, having a little influence at
headquarters, got an appointment as
commissioner, to watch the operations
OF the American war of secession, on
General IS staff.
It was at the close of q bloody but de-
cisive battle, or series OF battles, which
resulted in the retreat of the army of
the South, that | visited the field hos
pitfalls at the rear of the Federal army
in search of friend who had been
wounded during the day. The doctors
and attendants were all too busy to pay
any attention to wants, and i walked
down the long rows of hastily-improyised
couches, trying to recognize my friend.
Scraps of paper, on which the names
of the patients had been hastily scrawled,
were pinned to the coverings, and 4
started as | read on one William Heath
cote my own name. The man ap-
pearea to be sinking from exhaustion,
but ne frightened up when he heard the
tones Of a friendly voice. $50 a' te1s
knelt down beside him, and asked if
/ could do anything for him.
He nodded his head. You're En-
glish? y he whispered. alaa 10 .a ~
Yes, am" rei aff lat''
so am /. If you should be in the
10 Af nd oh hz
able to hear of an cid man of the name
of Heathcote, a retired draper, win you
tell him his son died in a creditable
way2 was disgrace tohim, sir, when
/ was alive; but when l am dead per-
haps he will think kindly of me again.
III tell you my story, sir. Twas rogue
Il was sir. was an undertaken, but
was a collector Of taxes, tool and | en-
tered into a conspiracy to defraud the
government. 1t came out; but | had
warning In time. i slammed dead, and
got away in one of my own cofiins with
all the swag. They WASH I very keen af
ter me; / don't know why; but just at
the last moment | thought they'd have
me. A detective followed me right to Wo-
king; but / squared him with hundred |
pound note, and got clear away to Amer
lea by the Southampton packet. II new
er prospered me, that money; and / got |
lower and lower, till listed as sol
der; and here am I'm getting tired,
sir Don't forget Bedford-Heathcote,
retired draper. %
passed on in wonder and astonish-
ment, and, if i must confess, little dis
appointment and disenchanted. was
40 special care, then, of an overruhng
as had fondly deemed my
,elf. Ny wonderful warning and deliv-
was a,mere affair ofchance and ac-
,ident. As l passed the mans couch
again he lay on it stiff, and stark, and
lead. -'..''- ..-- l.r.gs
On my return to England, made in
luiry of the officials of the revenue de-
Dartment, and fo1nd that there really
lad been fraud of the kind in ques-
ion; that the collector implicated in it
lad died suddenly--by suicide, it was
thought. AS to the defalcations, the
lefaulter's sureties had paid part-one
)f them, his father, having been sold up
n consequence-and the rest had been
oaid over again by the parishionors he
lad defrauded.
So | found out the old man at Bed
ord. He was living with daughter, in
I6ect poverty, and repaid to him the
hundred pounds with compound inte-
est. To him l seemed celestial visit
int.
The cold meat train is now a thing of
he past, l believe. A luggage train
arries belated officers back TO campf |
ut to this day, / confess that always
refer to pass Woking in broad daylight,
md that carefully look inside the car
iage before I enter 1t, for desire no
,ora 1o,ns fror, fba dad