Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1874-01-09
Selefted Mlistellauv.
A MYSTERIOUS HOUSE.

1t is possible that some of the readers
of London Society may be fond of ghost
stories. and therefore relate for their
benefit the following legend about a GER
tain London house. For obvious rea-
sons, | suppress the names of persons,
and exact localities, and further desire
it to be understood that do not hold
myself responsible for accurate truth of
all the details of the story; / need only
add that the events are to be taken as
having occurred some years ago.
Some years ago, then, gentleman,
whom we will call Col Somerville, was
dcsirous of buying house in the west
end Of town, and passing one day through
well-known square, he observed house
to be sold, which seemed to him, as far
as outside appearances and situation were
concerned. to be the very thing he want
ed The printed bill referred him to q
firm of estate agents in the city, and to
them he at once went; though he could
not help entertaining misgiving that
the price would be extraordinarily high,
and beyond his means No harm, how
ever, could be done by simple inquiry.
He was agreeably astonished to find that
the sum demanded was only four thous-
and pounds. Not being a commercial
man, he could not help expressing his
astonishment at the small sum demanded
and naively inquired if the mansion was
very much out of repair. The represen-
tative of the firm replied unhcsitatingly
that the house was in good repair and
would not require moro than the usual
outlay upon decoration. The Colonel
pressed his inquiries, and, as he seemed
to be likely and desirable purchaser,
he was soon informed of tho circumstances
under which the house in question was
to be sold. 1t had belonged to n queer
old gentleman who lived in Clerkenwcll,
and who had died intestate, and the sale
was ordered by bis next of kin, who had
been found with some difficulty This old
gentleman had died, strangely enough, in
the very act of drawing up his will. He
had just penncd the words: "And | de-
sire that my house in-square should
be-" when some kind of fit seized him,
and he was discovered the next morning
by his housekccper, dead in his chair
Now, the next of kin was found in Aus
tralia, or some remote colony, and was
anxious to realize the property as quickly
as possible. The house in--square
had been uninhabited for years. There
was not n scrap of furniture in it; but it
had been scrupulously cared for and kept
clean by an elderly, deaf woman, who
did not live in it, but used to go to il
every morning and spend almost all day
there, and preserved it in such a condi-
ton that the owner might have furnished
itat any time and come to live there
without experiencing any sense of dis
comfort which would ordinarily arise
from residing in house which had moi
been inhabited for long time. 1t wal
well known, may add. that the elderly
care-taker never slept there. The Col
went to view the house. He found thai
he had not been deceived by external ap.
pearanccs, or by the description of the
accommodation detailed by tho agent; i
was, in short, just such house as he anc
his wife wanted for q town residence, and
in due course the purchase was completed
AS he was in no particular hurry TO enter,
and as Mrs. Somervillc happened to be
unwell at this particular time, and un.
able to come to London to superintend the
furnishing, he contented himself with
preparing bedroom for his own use, on
the first floor, and another for his valet
on the floor above. He retained the SER
vices of the elderly deaf woman, who ap
peared to be grateful for his considera
ton, as she alleged that the pay she re-
ceiyed for her trouble was almost all that
she had to live on The house became the
property of the Colonel at Midsummer,
1856. Toward the end Of July the
rooms mentioned were furnished in a
temporary manner for the accommodation
Of the. Colonel, who, at that time, was