The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-09-18
THE HAUNTED MAN.
Cincinnati Commercial.

or Inc 5OrTOWB Or the Idlc Ol dHOtu
er who is nothing to him, whom b
= does not know, and never saw II
e his life, and never will see? Ever
q the Lord Christ on the cross doe
not touch our living sympathies Il
the quick, as the death of our owl
u brother would.
= Your pardon, then, good friends
i. that / ask you to read the strangu
story of Oscar Gereau. He is moth
ing to you, and never can be,
u know. Yet it might interest you
= as partakers of a common humani
= ty, to hear the singular fate of ont
q whose first youth was undimmed by
even q summer cloud.
Throughout his boyhood and ear
= ly manhood there was no trace o.
I the sorroWful hallucinatiOn which
finally pursued him and at last over.
/, whelmed him. He graduated will
honor at Camford College just as hC
: attained his majority. His father
had been for some years dead at this
time-his mother died in his child.
hood-and Oscar Gereau, on com.
ing of age, stepped into the fine for.
tune he had inherited. Beside that
he was betrothed TO a good and
lovely young lady, of whose deVot-
ed attachment there could be no
question, since it was only equaled
by his affection for her. So you see
he had all that can make man happy
health, wealth and love. His own
nature was singularly sweet and
steady, not at all q nature to torment
itself with unhealthy fancies.
His faithful friend and best-belov-
ed classmatc was Charles Warren,
the brother of his betrothed. The
college commencement came one
week before his twenty-first birth
day. His betrothed came to wit
ness the college exercises, and to
glance with beating heart and shy,
proud eyes, at the manly lover who,
either on account of his good looks
or eloquent words (and couldn't
for my life say which it was) was
applauded more than most of the
others. After commencement Os-
car Gereau went homo with the
| Warrens to celebrate his birthday.
There was not household of mer-
rier hearts in all Yankeedom than
the hearts in the pleasant, old-fash-
Toned Warren homestead on the
twenty-first birthday of Oscar Ger
eau. In the afternoon they played
croquet a while, then went for
row on the river, and in the even
ing they had music and dancing till
ii, and then the whole simple, peace
full household went to rest. Oscar
declared to sweet, blushing Mary
Warren that it was the happiest day
he ever spent in his life.
Next morning at breakfast Oscar
Gereau said to Charles and Mary
Warren:
81 can't make it out at all, but 1 |
had the queerest dream last night. |
And it doesn't seem to be dream,
either, because, under any other cir |
cumstances, l would have sworn |
that l was broad awake. Maybe, |
now, come to think, you two have
been playing trick on me. Tell |
ME, honestly, did you arrange for |
an apparition to present itself in my
room last night and brighten me out
of my senses? Or did anybody else
that you know of"
"Upon my honor, 1 did not" said
Charles Warren, in surprise. 81 new
CT heard of such a thing"
"And Pm sure didn't" said Ma
ry. 81 wouldn't do it for the world.
1t couldn't have been anybody else,
either. Father and mother are too
dignified to scare anybody, and there
was nobody else near the house ex-
cept the coachman and the cook,
both of them as old as father and
mother, and as solemn as grim death
himself No, nobody in the house
disturbed your rest, Oscar and it
wasn't any of our guests, that /
know, because we saw them every
one off to the city on the IL o'clock
train. What was it you dreamed,
Oscar?"
81 wonder if people over dream
things when they arc wide awake 2"
said Oscar, very thoughtfully. "Our
books on mental philosophy never
mentioned that, did they? Profess
sOr Blabious was awfully learned,
too, about psychological sensations
and the intnitions of the relations
between ideas, and remember he
remarked once, with an air of su-
preme wisdom, that Sir William
Hamilton once said that Sensation
and perception were in inverse ra-
to- or some high-sounding bosh like
that; but he never once, that rec
Ollect, told us whether it was likely
fellow in his sound senses could
have such q state of mind como over
him that he could have a real dream
VIXEN he was wide awake"
81 don't appreciate metaphysics"
said Mary. "Tell us what you
dreamed, Oscar?"
"But that's the question, Mary,
whether it was dream or not. AS
far as can judge 1 was as wide
awake as l am now. was lying on
my bed, looking at the moonlight
on the floor, when, without a sign
of warning, there suddenly appear
ed in the middle of the room the
form of what seemed to he q lovely
woman, with long, golden hair
not dark, like yours, Mary, but
waYy, and like pale gold. 1t was
singularly beautiful hair, with a
kind of brightness which was not
like moonlight, shining all over 1t.
One hand was stretched out toward
me-a fair, delicate, beautiful hand.
l looked, naturally, to see if my
fair visitant's face was equally love-
ly, but strange to say, her face was
covered by a mask. couldn't see
even her fair forehead. l call it
downright shabby for a lovely ghost
to treat fellow in that manner
Just whetting his curiosity like, you
know. My ghostly caller was love-
ly as an angel, all but just her face,
and couldn't see the hundredIh of
an inch of that. Pm not troubled |
with superstitious fears, SO / called /
out to the beautiful ghost, after the
first moment of stunning astonish-
ment was over,
"'Who's therc?'
"But my beautiful ghost made me |
no answer. A most unsatisfactory |
ghost she was. She stood perfectly |
still for as much as three minutes,
and then just disappeared. She |
didn't go cut the door, or gradually |
fade away thinner and thinner, but
disappeared all in flash. One mo-
ment she was there, and the next |
moment she wasn't, and didn't see |
anything but the moonlight on the
floor. Now the question is, What
was it?"
"Humph! ate too much supper, 1
should say" replied Charles War
rem.
"Oh no I" said Mary, very quick
ly. oscar never does that, you
know, Charley" she added, with
some reproach in her tones. al
should saw it was just the moonlight
on the floor, and you were begin
ming TO nod, Oscar"
"Maybe il was" answered Oscar,
'bnt don't think 1t was"
The day after that Oscar Gereau
went home. He was to take the
management of his estate into his
own hands at once, and after set
ting everything In order among his
possessions, was to come and see
Mary again. He babe them good