The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-05-09


could ue concealed. Not 4 Iiyins
e. thing was to bs seen, and I was about
closing the closet ti@oT when 7 heard
= distinctly low, fs,.lt laugh, close in
my ear, and then q moaning sigh o.
Z grOan, which seemes! to die away IN
10 infinite distance.
confess that at this instant nv
nerves did fail me, and q cold shiyer
II ran cUrdling through my veins. Z
hastily closed the closet-iOor, and
- without waiting even TO snatch uu
my book, ran along the gallery u the
Othe part OF the hoEse.
Should ] tell my sister and brother
in-law? No; / still shranl from the
7, thought of their laughter. Should
return tD the room which appeared
haunted by some invisible presence,
- ana sleep there again alone I must
confess / did not like the idea, vet
what good reason could ! give for so
z suddenly changing my apartment 3:
Z Finally, and the reader will credit m
with the possession Of almost more
than feminine courage i'm SO doing i
: resolved to keep silence for the pres
! ent, and spend the night, ~ usual, IA
= my little Office room
The first few hours passed away
iQuictiy, and I was falling into a dOZ.,
when / was aroused by the corner
closet slowly creaking. y faint moon
70 light illumincd the room sufficiently
10 enable me 10 perceive that this door
stood ajar, though | distinctly recOi-
lected having closed 10 before retiring
= had neither lock nor bolt by which 10
could he secured.
sat up in bed watching the closet
and looking half feaFfully around the
room, and Is ! looked, with my eyes
upon the half-Open door, / heard with
in Jingle of glasse3 aud phials IL
was . sound not to be- mistaken, and
almost at the same instant voice
said TO me, in hoarsc whisper,
"Bring a light"
Istarted up, trembling, and with a
| cold perspiratiOn breaking out on my
forehead, reached for 4 match and "a
lamp and tried to strike q light, but
i'm vain. had but one or two match
es left, and Is ! dropped the last in
despair ! heard the voice which had |
before spoken say, slowly and dis /
tinctly:
"POisOn ~
My first impulse was to flee from /
this haunted room, bat; rs / arose for 4
that purpose, n feeling such as l had |
never be.ore known "A feeling of sup
erstitiOus hOrror-overcame me, and,
| had my life depende! upon it, l could
not have passed that closet and sped
through that long deserted gallery
alone. l sank back upon my pillow
and drew the sheets about my head,
and remained thus until daybreak.
! 1t was no longer 4 question with me
as to whether l should or should not
/ inform my relatives Of what had Oc-
I Cured. told them The whole, and as
| expected, WAS met with laughter and
/ badinage.
''Try it yourselfri was all I could 4
say IN answer; and Oh that night my A.:
brother-in-law, Mr.. Walton, agreed
to occupy the Oilice-Toom, ] remaining
with my sister.
DWELL, Richard, did you see or hear
anything of IIouisa's ghost ," inquir-
ed my sister, playfully, on our meet ,
Jug at the breakfast table the next /,
morning.
"I saw nothing" nc answered rath- ,
er thOughtfully. "But really, Emma, {
it did appear as though, more than t
once during the night, | heard some &
unaccOuntable sounds-the turning Of :
a key in the lock; Il sort of moaning ,
and sObbing child's voice; and very /
distinctly the shutting of a small door !
And this last sound" he added de Z
cidedly, certainly came from the clos I
ct or cupboard in the corner Of the 9
roOm.n [
Emma opened her eyes AMI looked ,
frightened.
"Good gracious, I5ichard, you don't L
really think thai you heard these t
sounds in that room, with no one f
there but yOursef?"
otis very unaccOuntable at present, J
I admit; but you know do not be- +
lieve in the supernatural. We must &
examine more fully into this matter"
For some days he kept sole possrs-
sion of the room, reporting once or 1
twice that he had again heard the +
mysterious noises, and especially the s
grating Of 4 rusty key as in the lock '
of the cupboard, was very distinctly q
audible Three times, he said, he had :;
heard this sound, and yet as we all Y
knew, there was neither lock nor key Il
to the closet door, only traces OF one
that had been there. He hal exam Il
ined all the doors and windows, had L
the whole room infinitely, II
but without discovering the slightest v
clew TO the mystery. As there was no q
room adjoining, no cellar below or p
garret above whence The sounds could 81
have proceeded, the whole thing was
most singular and unaccOUntl5ie. /;
And once he even hesitatingIy sug- 81
gestcd, could it be possible, afler all, 81
that there were in reality sIah things J
rs spiritual manifestations My own &
mind echoed the inquiry.
Our nearest neighblr was farmer U
who had lived about = mile distant, >
and of himself and his wife We made =
injuries in regard ID the f0rmer uccu- Ii
pants Of the house.
II hal for twenty Years within his q.
memory, Mr.. Grover said, belonged | q.
TO 4 small planter, an illiterlte but =
good sort of = man, who had finally =,
sold out in lots and purchased better -
place further south. Then the House, ~
with 2. part Of the land adjoining, had
been owned by an Englishman, who i
was known rs DE- Mather and was !"
understood to be a very learned man -
and writer. Mr.. Grover and the rest o'
Df the neighbOrs believed him 10 be 'il %
little cracked" " He used to go about =;
the country gathering sea weeds, u
plants, and insects, but would repel ~
all approach to acquaintance, and re- ~
ply very rudeiy to any inquiry of the VI
people as to theuse or purpose ~
Of his collections. lie had q wife. az
with whom it was said he lived on q
bad terms, and three sjckly children, Il,
whose presence he would scarcely toll Cl
crate. The wife and two Of the child ~
rem died, and then Doctor Mather went 50
away with the remaining child, leav- !"
ING the place 20 an agent for sale. It "a
was then rented for q time by some -,
people, who, for reasons known only 81
% themseves, would not remain their
term out; and finally, we had taken 50
It, furnished as it was, for the sum 10 10
mer. This was all that Mr.. Grover ~
knew. -
Upon bearing this simple account, IN
here ilstiuctively formed in my ~
mind sn explanation, if such it can ~
be called, of the mysterious circum. %
stances which had so puzzled and dis ~
,urted Us. This Doctor Mather-this !, "a
n0rose and uns0cial man, and unkind u1l
husband and father, as he was describ- u
d to Ee-this solitary collect0r-of Gu
what deeds might he not have been -
y1ilty of here in the saclusiOn of this 10
Onely old country home? "They ~
lad all three died :" and my memory =.
everted with a shudder to the word ~
POiSOHr' which I had heard uttered u
~ the mysterious, voice. Perhaps II
murder had been committed in this u
in that very Office room "
which I had appropriated; aud this n
Impression was decpened upon being II
by AIr. Grover, in answer to rs
ny inquiries. that that room had in N
eaIity been Doctor Mathe.'s study or IE,1
library, into which no one was ever Iii
and that he would some. Pc
INES remain in it Whole days and pe
lights together without being inter- q,
his meals brought ~
nd deposited outside tie door, in the ~
diOining gallery. 90
The Office and gallery were u.w
arefully Stunned by us all, with tha7
RECEPTION of Mr.. Walton, who haunj- ca
d it with a peTsistrucy dGubt!--s cg
qual to chat Of lag ghost Itself lie de
7as determined, he SAID, 10 learn all IN
hat could be learned 81 this mystery, liz
4 Z ]