, 1877-05-11

from cheeks which, few weeks before,
had glowed with radiant health the
sparkling eye grew dim but, as the
lamp of reason all but fickered out, the
surging sorrow in her breast grew calm
er, and the throbbing heart did not burst.
A change of scene was suggested; visits
to well-known places which, in happier
days, she had admired and loved to re-
call to memory; but all was in vain; no
sympathetic chord was touched, and the
vacant eye showed no sign of returning
intellect. At last, her sorrowing friends
took her to Ashley, and, with a feeble
half consciousness, she seemed to cling
to the place. The kind, motherly tones
of her lovers old nurse appeared to
soothe her she was calmer in her pres
ence, and her friends soon deemed it ad-
visable to leave her in charge of the old
lady. There she had remained for years,
knowing no one, caring for no one-ex-
istence a weary blank.
1 had often thought should like to
end my days in some such place as Ash
ley, far away from " the toll and moil !"
of the struggling, restless, working city,
for had made good bit of money, and
always meant to wind up life of hard
work in quiet country village, and to
possess a house of some pretensions of
my own; for, although was in the
cheese and bacon line, come of good
family, the branch of the Browns to
which 1 belong being of an old aristo-
era. But am afraid family particu-
lars, which might be endurable at my
own table after the second bottle, will
scarcely be suitable for cosmopolitan
readers.
Well, I know you want to hear about
the ghost and if you will allow me to
tell my story after my own fashion, 1
will soon fish it up from the bottom of
nv inkstand. n
One cold, freezing, snowy December
evening 1 was sitting in my snug little
parlor in front of a CHEEKY fire. I had
had my second tumbler of whisky punch,
and finished reading the Times. After
gazing at my drawing of the manor, or
haunted house, whichever you please,
and thinking how I should like to own
such place, and that if it were mine 1
would soon send the ghost to the right
about, on taking up the Supplement to
the Times, with the intention, for lack of
better employment, of running my eye
over some of the mysterious announce
ments which figure in the second col
umn, my eye fell upon the following ad-
vertisement:
''To be Sold by Auction unless pre-
viously disposed of by private contract)
at the Three Trouts, Ashley, on the
oath of December inst, at the hour of
noon, all that capital mansion, messuage,
or dwelling house, commonly called or
known by the name of Ashley Manor"
The Havana was smoking dropped
from my lips. The sale would take place
in a weeks time. I took a few hasty
turns up and down the room, another
glass of punch, an extra cigar, and finally
q look at my banking account. threw
myself into my easy char, and, to speak
metaphorically, put on my thinking
cap !" the result Of my cogitations was,
determined 1 to run down to the sale,
and if the figure was not too high, to
become the purchaser of the Haunted
House, and alanded proprietor like my
ancestors-but a-hem that is neither
here nor there, though family matters
will creep out.
The sale was poorly attended it was
a dull, fat, dreary piece of business
from beginning to end and even the
landlord of the "Three Trouts" said he
did not care for landed j, BIS as sconsumed
no wine not but that q few red-nosed
men Of the genus who, arrayed in shabby
suits Of black, always hang about sales,
and occasionally give a ridiculous bid,
and who had put in an appearance,
would have drunk every drop in his cell
lar but the company looking anything
but " warm" from pecuniary point of
view) and the supply Of wine was linn
tied.
1.-THE reserved bid, gemmen," said the
auctioneer, burly man, with a blatant
voice, " is two thousand pound And
that's dirt cheap The property includes
the manor-hOuse, demesne, aud pleasure
grounds, and fifty acres Of as good land
as ever grew blade O. grass-as fine
land, / may say, as any in the county |!
Now, who will oblige us with bid ?
Who will make a venture for this desir-
able property? Come, gemmen, Look
alive All the bids as yet has been
ridiculous-nOw I've named the reserved
bid, let's come to business r.
But no one would look alive. The red
nosed men looked mournfully at the
empty decantsrs, and silently shook their
shabby respectable heads. p s- ~
Come, gemmen," continued the auc-
tioneer, . this is a rare opportunity
capital shooting and fishing in the neigh
borhood-good society-and all gong
for an oil songp
The red-nosed men again shook their
heads, and looked as if they did not
care for fishing. aud were equally proof
against the charms of good society"