The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-11-28
A PHANTOM FEAST.

A PHANTOM FEAST.
propos Of the stories Of haunted houses and
gLosty doings to which the prevailing Spiritual
istlc mania has given rise, correspondent sends
the following, vouching for its truth: There is .
| gentleman who visits our city once every three
years, who exctes great de al Of interest on &C
| count OF some peculiar circumstances that always
| attend him. His personal appearance il striking
rather tall, with head firmly set on broad shout
dere iron gray hair, brushed off from full, white
forehead, well cut features, and eyes dark with
| strange inward expression. Ee takes rooms At
one Of our frst-class b, tets, and remains three
! days.
The first is spent in giving directions for ban.
quet 10 be served in his private apartments, and
| he Is particular to ,he minutest detail The sec
| ond day he superintends everything, and his face
| wears an anxious look. At about O'Clock he re-
tires to his dressing-room, after giving last In.
| Junction to the servants TO be IN attendance ~
| the appointed time.
The hour approaches; the table is Respondent
with silver, crystal and flowers; the servants
stand expeciantly waiting, yet no guests have ar
rived. At length the doors OF the inner room
| OPEN and the strange gentleman enters his face
flushed and head bent, as if listening to some re-
mark addressed to him. With polite gesture ne
indicates seats to numerous invisible guests, and
q. last seats himself at the head OF the table.
With motion to the astonished servants he
signifies his wish to have the covers removed aud
the different courses served.
All ID profound silence, and yet the host ap-
pears to he engaged in earnest conversation,
frequently bowng and smiling towards different
parts OF the table. At length the wine is poured
every glass is nled; and as this il done the host
rises, holding his glass high over his head. In
stantly eve chair Is filled with lovely women
and courtly men, sparkling eyes lock love to eyes
that speak again. and rosy lips seem ready to
part with ripping laughter. Soon the ladies dis
appear through the doOr-foat, as it were, out
of sight-and the gentlemen remain. Conver-
! to he SudGeniy
gaze of all is rvited upon two young men who
appear to be very angry.
| they both rise excltedly, one draws dagger,
uplfts his arm, and with quick, descending mo-
ton buries it III the bosom Of a beautiful girl,
who has rushed in and thrown herself in front OF
the intended victim. Joweis CLEAN on her pol
ished throat and amid the shining gold OF her
hair, while her life blood. like a crimson thread,
slowly trickle5 over the snowy whlteness OF her
dress.
Every face is filed with horror, and with cry
of agony the host fails back i'll his chair insensi
bic, and as he falls the guests fade away and
Nearly al! of the servants have long since fed
with fright, but few, allowing their curiosity to
overcome their fear, have remained 70 the end.
They now summon assistance, and the strange
, gentleman is carried to his bed. For long time
all means OF resuscltating HIM fail, but at length,
with deep sigh, he opens his eyes and mo:,ils,
'Oh, is 1t all over?" Then he falls into d deep
sumbcr, AID so remains until the afternoon OF
! ".
ia office, calm and collected, calls TOR his Dill,
, p.ys it without the least delnur, orders II car
ri ge, and Is driven to the Grand Central Depot,
and there lose sight of him until three years
rli over our heads, when we feel sure that he Will
visit us again.
there are many stranger things happen than
5 ever appear III pint, aud this probably would
, nave been Of them had not the public be-
. come excited over the Edoy mys ercs and falI ly
reused scientific men TO investigate the III
detinable something that steals up stairs after us
every day people, and lays its cod naEd upon us
: in our sleep.
Grated by number Of people, if necessary. DR.
- who has been a witness OF them, has .
theory which may be the right one after ALL Chi
merlcai as it may seem at first. In this case ne
thinks the gentleman has in reality gone through
lust such scene as has been described, and that
probably the young lady was his daughter. The
dreadful shock her loss produced acted IN pecu
liar way upon his brain. 1t must take
y work within him to the point when he
e feels compelled perhaps, as sLrt OF relief, tt
: repeat as far as possible the event: When the
wine appears this inner force must be reaching
to elimination, and the vision, SO intensely viv,t
> in the mind, is projected into or upon the atmos
phere like reflection in the glass, SO that i
!, becomes visible to all who may be present
: When he falls the force is expended. and tn
j. sensibiity followed by deep sleep is an effort
nature to repair exhaustion and restore equ1lb
y rium.-N. Y. World.
q Among the Congl essmen elect is Ex-Gov. Gil
bert C. Walker, from the Richmond (Va.) Dis
. trict His election demands more than pa slnI
. | notice. Gov. Walker was Union so der IN tn
y late war from New York. After the war b
II located in business in Norfolk, Va. He wa
l. made Governor OF the State in the DAYS OF tn
n "reconstruction,' and as such acted for the III
% terests of the whole people. He endeared him
# self to the State of Virginia by his admlnlsratlv
policy. There were no outrages. There wer
= no frauds or populations upon the Stste treas
7, and tribulations which were visited upo
sister States while she in the painful process
h Of reconstruction. The people remembered Coy
IS Walker for that They remembered hum wit
Is gratitude, and they have now sent him to Cor
II gress The lesson of his election which we &c
II Sire to nculcate is this that there is no desr
Is on the part Of the people OF the South to pre-
< scribe any man because he was not born there
s. or that he was in the North aud served III Tn
y war in behalf Of the United States Government
If these objections existed Governor Walker wa
4 open to all of them. The Richmond district
- fill of able gentlemen, many of whom are nativ
, residents, and who served in The Confederat
3 army nevertheless Gov. Walker was preferred
e and by the votes mainly OF acknowledgements
st He was elected to Congress from district here
r tofore in opposition. Such practical exempln
- cation of what We have pointed ought to be SUI
4 ticient to show that the term carpet-bagger
a the South has widely different meaning 4 OF
that which is prevalent in the North. Go'
4 Walker is man Of fine persona. bearing OF rar
good sense, and is an excellent parliamentarial
"a as we'll fine orator. He Will take front p
q sition in Congress. and whether in committee 9
J. on the floor viii make an Industrious and usef'
" member-Olnc,nadti Enquirer.
IL Lexington's Old Age.
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