Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-03-15
GIimpses OF the Supernatural.

A brother of mine, man who is the
last person in the world to believe over
much, or TO be in the least degree SUPER
stitious, wishing to be near a particular
town, and vet within easy reach of the
permanent county residence OF his
greatest friend, was induced "a. ID. 1882
to take over the remainder of the lease
of an old-fashioned furnished mansion
i'm Cheshire, where he, with his wife.
children. and servants, in due course
went TO reside. He was advised to take
the place as well because of the reason
ableness of the rent, Tor 1t was spacious
and comfortably furnished, as by the
recommendation of the London house
agents. a well-known firm in the West
End, whith whom the letting of it
rested.
Soon after the arrival of the family
and servants, the latter protested again
and again that they were disturbed
almost every night by continual
''tramp, tramp, tramp" of heavy foot
steps up the stairs and along the narrow
passage, out of which were two doors
which led to their bedrooms. They
would have it that the house was
haunted. The sounds were sometimes
30 loud and alarming that, as one of the
servants remarked. at seemed like a
regiment of foot soldiers marching over
creaking boards" Complaints were
made to my brother, who merely said
that the noises must be the result of
wind under the joists or of rats, and he
laughed at the whole affair. Some of
the servants gave warning and left.
Still the sounds went on, not always
every night, but, with certain cessa-
tions, from time to time.
In the autumn of the year 1868, a lady,
her daughter of fourteen, and maid,
came to stay in the house; and as the
former was somewhat of an invalid, a
suite of rooms in the west wing, each
communicating with the other, was ap-
portioned to them. The second night
after their arrival, the lady in question,
suddenly awakening, saw i'm her bed
room a luminous cloud, which gradu-
ally appeared to be formed into the
shape of an old man, with most pain
fully depressing countenance, full of
the deepest sorrow, and wearing large
full bottomed wig. She tried to raise
herself in bed, to see if it were not the
effect of her half-waking fancy, and the
result of disturbed dream, but could
not. The room. in which there was no
natural light, seemed to be partially
but quite sufficiently illuminated; and
she felt confident that spectre was be-
fore her. She gazed at it for some min
utes, three at least, hearing the ticking
of her watch, and counting the seconds.
There the apparition stoed, and seemed
to be making an effort to speak, while a
strange, dull inar.iculate groan seemed
to come up as from the floor. Upon
this, seeing the bell rope hanging within
the folds of the curtain at her right
hand, she braced herself up to seize il
and give it most violent pull. Imme-
diately she did this the face of the figure
bore an expression Of anger, and by
degrees it faded away. The bell, which
hung some distance away, was heard by
no one, and she was compelled to lie
alone, for she feared to rise (though the
apparition did not reappear) until the
church clock near struck four, when,