The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-01-01
A Ghost Story.

! At town in the west of Scotland
twenty four persons were accustomed to
meet once week to drink, smoke tobac
co, and talk politics. Like the academy
OF Reubens, ut Antwerp, each member had
| his peculiar chair, and the Presidents
was more elevated than the rest. AS one
OF the members had been in a dying con
dition for some time, his chair, while he
was absent, remained vacant. When the
club net, on the usual night, inquiries
| were naturally made after their associate
AS he lived in the adjoining house, par.
ticular friend went to inquire after him
anu returned with the melancholy intelli.
gence that he could not survive the night
This threw gloom on the company, and
all efforts to turn the conversation from
the one sad subject before them were in.
| etfectual. About midnight the door open.
| ed, and the form, in white, of the dying
| or dead man, walked into the room and
took his seat in his accustomed chair.
There he remained in silence, and in 81.
lence was gazed at. The apparition con.
| tinued for sufficient time in the chair to
| assure all who were present of the vision.
At length he arose and walked toward the
dOor-which he opened as if living-went
out and shut the door after him. After a
| long pause, some one at last had the resO-
luton to say: elf any one of us had
seen this h. would not have been be.
lieved; but it is impossible that so many
of US could have been deceived" The
company, by degrees, recovered their
speech, and the whole conversation, as
may be imagined, was upon the dreadful
object which had engaged their attention.
| They broke up and went home.
In the morning inquiry was made after
| the sick friend. 1t was answered BY an
account of his death, which happened
nearly about the time of his appearance in
| the club-room. There could be little
| doubt before, but now nothing could be
more certain than the reality Of the ap.
partition, which had been simultaneously
seen by so many persons.
1t is unnecessary to say that such a
story spread over the country, and found
| credit even from infidels, for in this case
all reasoning became superfluous when
opposed to plain fact attested by three.
| and-twenty witnesses. To assert the doc.
trine of the fixed laws of nature was ri.
diculOus, when there were so many people
of credit to prove that they might be un.
fixed. Years rolled on, and the story was
almost forgotten.
One of the club was an apothecary. In
the course Of his practice he was called
to an old woman whose business it was to
attend sick persons. She told him she
could leave the world with a quiet con.
science but for one thing which lay upon
her mind.
"Do you not remember Mr.. -, whose
ghost has been so much talked of? was
his nurse. On the night of his death
left his room for something he wanted.
l am sure had not been absent long, but
on my return found the bed without my
patient. He was delirious, and feared he
had thrown himself out of the window.
l was so frightened that had no power
to stir; but after some time, to my great
establishment, he entered the room SILVER.
ing, and his teeth chattering, and laid
himself down on the bed, and died. Con.
sidering my negligence as the cause of his
death, kept this secret for fear of what
might be done to me. Though l could
have contradicted all the story of the
ghost, dare not. knew, by what had
happened, that it was he himself who had
been in the club room (perhaps recollect-
ing it was the night of the meeting), but
l hope God and the poor gentleman's
friends will forgive me, and / shall die
knI -