The Morning herald., 1877-07-24
Every one knew him.

w
said "Iibelieve, Mo Undortaier,si' lowe
you a small bill. You are prompt it,
calling for it; but never mind, never
mind. lEet me seq the amount, and I'll
settle it; if not to. day, some other day."
The two men drew back.
81 have no bill, SIR" said the under
taker; .'but hearing 9 report that
that" - aa1",@.eg 2.t W .Atg. "a.u.T :.
'sThat Peggy had seen my ghost, J
suppose" said Choker. "Very we'll
sir, draw your own conclusions; but you
deserve to be paid. You buried me very
respectfully, very respectfully, indeed;
and your jury gave me a correct verdict,
Mr.. Coroner. 1t was apoplexy. All,
well, don't 60; don't bc iu a hurry y
But his visitors had retreated. aa + 7
sItis Choker, said the undertaken
to the coroner; "yet I buried him, and
: he was dead man then" " .' 80 q
"lt's Choker, but he was dead when
held anfinquest over him." said the
coroner.
They hurried away, and the crowd
hurried away too.
That day the grave was examined.
1t was empty; even Choker's eoilil' !
was gone.
After that every one believed the
story but the clergyman aud scientific
gentleman. u.N.u I,, 1.@. .... r.,g ,1'
The former. declared that it was
wicked to believe in ghosts; the latter
that there were no such things as
ghosts. t't >al.., .s..
"Choker is not at the house at all" he
said, "and his body is in the grave, but
your imaginations have been so worked
upon that you fancied you saw him In
the house, aud you believed you did
not see him in the grave. Whom aman
is dead and buried there's an end of
him."
"But 60 to the house and see for your
SELF" said some one. "Alive or dead,
Choker is there" 4 T~FEffE- a.ge..
''"Sir,'v iard the scientific gentleman,
"neither alive or.dead, can he be there.
A body cannot burst its coffin lid, arise
through the turf, and walk about the
town as before. Nor can spirit exist
without body. If I should see Mr..
Choker 1 should not believe | saw him.
Nv common sense tells me that cannot
see him, and 1 never. allow my senses to
| contradict my common sense. The house
is empty. There is no one there. 1t is
all Imagination" jfGelt
However that may have been, every
one else in Grabtown saw him sooner
or later. .D s..r n,--... -
The lamp burned bright in his window
at night. The garden prospcred under
his ghostly tillage. He drew the money
at the bank as usual. ..,..
| As a ghost, his silent, reserved con-
duct seemed very suitable to his condi'
ton.
| AS ghost, it seemed very proper thai
he should have no friends and no kin
dred. -..-...-.,
People avoided his house Of nights
and boys ran scampering away whc'
they saw him plodding along lonely
roads by moonlight, aud old folks shooS
their heads and said it was curious; bu
there was Choker, a fact to every one
but the scientific gentleman, who, whc'
he passed him, muttered to himself
"Optical Illusion, )" and whether he wa
ghost or a man endowed with tn
power of dcfying death and the under
taker, no one felt taprepared to answer
He was known sometimes as "Cho
ker's ghost" and sometimes as "Choke
I that came to-" but no one doubted for
moment that somehow he was Choker
and the very Choker that had sbee'
dead, subjected to an inquest, am
| ! buried and all this went on for tel
good years, and people had grown use'
/ to it. when one cold winter morning
small note was brought to the doctor
/ bearing these words:
L "Come to me. Pm i'll.
"Chcker."
"Don't 20, DEAR" said the doctor
wife.
II must" said the doctor; and wen
/ accordingly. ..s-
, He found the door of Choker's hous
open and the popular ghost himsel
!, wrapped in a blanket by the tireside.
, "Come in,'" he said, gasping 70
breath ;"I wasn'tsri: you'd come. Nv
4 heen feeling the in convenience of bein