Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1874-10-24

After a short silence the young mar
. said gaily:
fsFifty guineas, my worthy sorcerer
ere more than poor college sizer eve
Possessed, but here are five, which, i
you are satisfied, / shall be most VIII
ng to wager"
The other took up his purse, say.
: ing, in a contemptuous tone:
81 Young gentleman, you wish tc
j draw back?''
81 draw back!' exclaimed the stu
7 dent. 'sWelll if I had the fifty guin,
eas, you should see whether wish tc
draw backr'
"Here, SAID I, ''are four guineas,
which viii stake on your wager"
: No sooner had l made this PROPOSE
a ton than the rest of the company, at
B tracted by the siDguIarity Of the af-
D fair, came forward to lay down their
Q money; and in a minute or two the
fifty guineas were subscribed. The
. merchant appeared so sure of win
Ring, that he placed all the stakes IN
I; the Students hands, and prepared for
his experiment. We selected for the
purpose a small summer house IN the
, garden, perfectly isolated, and having
no means of exit but a window and 8
door, which we carefully fastened, af-
ter placing the young man within.
We put writing materials on a small
table in the summer-house and took
away the candles. We remained out
side, with the pedler among us. In a
low solemn voice he began to chant
the following lines:
'sSyhat riseth slow from the ocean caves
| And the stormy surf
Ga the fresh green turf"
Then, raising his voice soIemnly. he
said;
"You asked to see your friend,
Francis Villeres, who was drowned
three years ago. off the coast of South
Americo-what do You see?"
II see," replied the student, ''a
white light arising near the window;
but it has no form. it is like an uncer-
tain cloud"
We-the spectators-remained pro-
| fOundly silent
"Are you afraid" asked the mer-
chant, in a loud voice.
81 am not" replied the student,
firmly.
After a moments silence, the ped
dler stamped three times on the
ground, and sang:
"Andthe phantom white, whose elag-eold
face
Was once so fair,
Dries with his shroud his clinging vest
And his sea-tossed hair"
Once more the solemn question:
'G ou, who would see revealed the
mysteries of the tomb-what do you
see now2"
The student answered, in a calm
voice, but like that of a man describ-
ing things as they pass before him:
Il see the cloud taking the form of
phantom; its head is covered with a
long vail-it stands STILL"
Are you afraid?"
81 am not"
We looked at each other in horror
stricken silence, while the merchant,
raising his arms above his head,
ehanted, in a sepulchral voice:
"And the phantom said, as he rose from the !
He shall know me in soothl
viii 60 to my friend, gay. smiling and
AS in our first youthe"
"What do you see?'' said he.
'I see the phantom advance; he |
lifts his vail-'tis Francis Villeresi- |
he approaches the table-he writesl-
tbs his signaturei"
'tAre you afraid?"
A fearful moment of silence ensued;
then the student replied, but in an al |
tered voice:
al am not"
With strange and frantic gestures,
the merchant then sang: "a
'sAnd the phantom said to the mocking seer
I come from the South;
Put thy hand on my hand; thy heart on my
Thy mouth on my mouth"
'fWhat do you see?''
"He comes he eapproaches-hep pur- !
sues me-he is stretching out his arms
he will hayel Helpl help! Save
meI''
"Are you afraid now!" asked the
merchant, in a mocking voice.
A piercing cry, and thsn a stified
grOsII5 lv7ez-e tha-n only replY to this ter
Tible question
"Help that rash youthf' said the
merchant, bitterly. 'I have, Think,
won the wager; but it is sufficient for
me to have given him q lesson. Let
him keep his money, and be wiser for
the future"
He walked rapidly away. We
opened the door of the summer-house,
and found the student in commissions.
A paper signed with the name of
'tFrancis Villeres," was on the table.
As soon as the students senses were
restored, he asked vehemently where
was the vile sorcerer who had sub
iected him to such horrible ordeal
he would kill himl He sought him
throughout the inn in vain; then, with
the speed of madman, he dashed off
across the fields in pursuit of him
and we never saw either of them
again. That, children, is my ghost
story!
"And how is it uncle. that after
that, you don't believe in ghosts?"
said /, the first time | heard it.
Because, my boy" replied my un-
Gle, neither the student nor the mer-
chant ever returned; and the forty-fve
guineas, belonging to me and the 9TH
er travellers, continued equally invisi-
BILE. These two .swindlers carried
them off, after having acted farce
which we like ninnies, believed to be
real"
/