The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-08-23
SELECTED STORY.
From The Springfield Union.
The Ghost Of Clancy Villa.

ClauC6N UccI UQflt W GIL oiu lSdob
India officer. General Clancy was English
by birth, American by adoption, and had
married the daughter of an eminent Philadel-
phia iurist. This lady, who was greatly the
Junior of her husband, had died early, and
the general, like that illustrious countryman
of his, "Tred to live without her, liked it
not. and d.ed,' Not far from the time of his
decease, rumors of the ghost became rife.
Not very definite, but charming and terrible
rUmors they were, l never saw any person
who had been privileged to meet the spectre,
face to face, but | have seen plenty OF Indivld-
uals who knew the man whose cousin had
encounter, it, which suppose must be good
testimony. OF course everybody hoped IL
was all true about the ghost, and in the Town
of Auburn, to this day, large ana Dy no
means vulgar fraction of the citizens DeileVe
that something was seen, that something was
heard. There were suggestive rumoIs OF
sheeted presence, of voice, pest OIL all, OF a
wait of cold wind that followed In Its wake, a
wind so cold that those who heard about it
sshuddered and as for those who felt it, they
had cause from that day onwMd, to remem-
Der "Goody Blake and Harry Gill.
This Auburn was not the Auburn known
to YOU not the English Auburn known to
fame and to Goldsmith. 1t was mo village
of the plain" but village built up among
the mountains of R-shire. Peer OF the
uplands and queen of the wales, this Auburn
sat upon her throne. Its green steps led
downward into the wales rich with the droop-
ing glory of elms, and the majesty of streams
that flowed silently seaward. Beyond, the
land rose by succession of soft undulations,
terrace above terrace, to where, in the remot-
est distance, blue mountains reared an ever
lasting wall against the sky, mountains on
whose heads, during nearly all the year, the
snow showed pink in the sunset.
Such was Auburn, and never town blessed
of heaven reposed in purer air, or lifted her
spires and roofs into a light more golden. Its
citizens were what the people Of town like
this should be. Many beautiful home was
sequestered there, but of them all, Clancy
villa was the most delightful. For two years,
however this place had been without ten
ant, and much curiosity was felt as to the
proprietor. ''Some New York family, Prob
ably" people said; ''they will take it and he
absent more than half the year. They will
not count in society,"" Imagine the sensa-
ton, therefore, when one May morning it was
announced that Clancy Villa had been sold.
IAN not lucky fellow, to be the bearer
of such an item of newsw
IL was Fred Cannot, whose stalwart young
arms folded themselves in the most natural
way in the world, upon the top bar of Mrs.
Blair's little front gate. Fred's brown eyes
retinas two miniature pictures, microscopic
pictures of young girl in mourning dress,
and large straw hat. 1t was sweet, sad
face which the broad brim shaded, and Fred
had walked a long way round this morning,
to earn glimpse of it. This was Kitty BAR
who stood with her little rake in her gloved
hand. She had been drawing the damp leaves
away from off her crocuses, and her mother 6
eyes had watched her from the window.
eyes," Fred went on 'Clancey Villa is sold
at asst. Guess who owns it, this morning,
Kitty2"
so, I'm dull at guessing. hope, however,
it is some one who has pleasant wife, seeing
we are to be neighbors. Poor mamma has
never gotten over Mrs. Clancey's death.'
''There'll be no mistress at the villa now,
for the buyer is bachelor; unless, indeed, he
marries one to order. Some persons hint al
that. Come, you don't try. give you three
guesses."
''Mr Ames, the new rector? DIR. Rankin
told you was dull. Yourself possibly"
81, indeed! / might buy a pl ice, and pay
years hence. No, you're as far as possible
from the right. All, well, what do you say
to the squire for neighbor, Squire Gam
well?'
ION, Fred, not that man! o, any one but
himp' and white terror was seen to creep
over the sweet face.
II am surprised. You do not return the
squire's appreciation then. You know he
makes no secret of his admiration of your
self. In fact, it is thought he has bought
Clancy with the idea of placing young
mistress at the head of afairs.''
Erred, will you please not to joke about
that dreadful man? Pr
''Jokep On my honor 1 was never fur
Their from joking in my life. Joke about
Stephen Gamwell? The very thought of
him makes my blood boil. Tha. villain has
made his money out of widows and orphans,
out Of poor families, and out of credulous
friends"
80, know" Kitty almost groaned. ~
think l understand his devices perfectly
but" Kity's voice dropped into half wills
per. sit is hard to say even this, but pool
mamma trusts him. He is smooth and plau
sible you know"
''The old pussy-catI Indeed, do know.
He can whistle a bird off bush. 1 met him
an hour ago just opening Ruth Wilder's gate.
What was that old fox calling there for, dc
you suppose?"
go, hope Ruth has no money TO lose."
Kitty spoke fervently, for Ruth was sew
ing woman and a worthy creature.
SITS just that; Gamwell has got his thou
sands together in just that way o, know
his tricks and his m anners'-going round to
houses where there is a hundred or two Of
dollars to lend, and it's Now Mrs. Brown
don't you want to put your funds into my
hanos and have them doubled?'
"Of course every one does"
Certainly. And that old wretch has ru-
ined more poor, respectable people than
could tell. There was Jane Vaille. Gam
well contrived to get mortgage on her little
place, and then he cheated her out of every
thing, turned her into the street; and she
would have died there if it hadn't been fol
my mother. That lame boy of hers is sup.
ported by charity to-day, and when his father
died there was a good thousand dollars left
him beside the place. The case is one of a
hundred. How can the old Jew sleep?"
go Fred, perhaps the Ghost will haunt
him, the Clancy ghost" said Kitty with a
smile
Gifts half ghost it will. declare, I'll
never believe in ghosts if it doesn't. l say,
Kitty" and Fred drew himself up and looked
off at the far-away sky line, sit seems to me
that things get dreadfully mixed in this
world. There's that cid villain of Gam
well going to live at Clancy Villa, and here
are you aud /, poor but-respectabes, cam
even buy house or get married because
os our poverty" Kitty looked demure. g
think see myself bargaining for the villa
and-well-" hesitating, 'Pll tell you what
If went into it a bachelor it wouldn't be my
fault. That's all I've got to say about it."
SIS it?" said Kitty soberly, and then FREQ
trsed to get glimpse of the face under the
wide hat brim. Miss Blair had bent owe
her crocuses though, and looked down Al
persistently as Bunyan's man with the muck
rake, Presently there came a strange sound
high overhead in the morning air, and, shad
ing their eyes, they saw the wild geese, il
their V shaped phalanx, flying northward
Kitty grew animated watching them. ''Thinl
how much they can see," she said. "Tht
p aims, and the mountains, and the cite
lying away down below them"
Then Fred, who did not greatly care abou
geese, wild or tame, save that he felt very
much like goose himself, walked away down
the wide street where the morning shadows
lay at right angles with the path. Kitty
kept on raking the leaves from her crocuses
smiling now and then to the pale face which
with its silver-gray curls, appeared at the
window, and at the same time Stephen Gam
well was seated beside Ruth Wlde.'s SEWN,
chair talking. He was an affable man wa
the squire, with shining coat and polished
manners. His nose was of Roman order, his
teeth were exquisite, and they went out O
sight. ''Subridens ct infrendens dentibus,
Fred Cannot, said once when he saw Stepher
smile; and all my readers who remembe
their Latin lessons will recall the fable of thu
wolf and the crane, and will translate tn,
quotation, "1he wolf smiled very grea
deal ans .howad bia tooth ,, Ruth Wilda