The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-04-10
blow, severed the unfortunate mans
head from his body. I.
- k1,sp foo~ f,,1

head from his body.
Conscience.stricke at this fearfu
crime, and terrified by the dread of it,
consequences, he gazed upon the head
less body for few moments, and then
being seized with a fit of apoplexy
was carried into the house by his ser
wants, where he died in few hours"
Well" said Joe, although tht
story is horrible enough, it has nothing
of the supernatural in it. 1t is quite
possible that an angry old man may
commit a murder and die of fright"
eyes, you are right if the tale ended
there, there would be nothing to doubt
but what I am going to tell you, I an
afraid, will be scoffed at by my skepti
cal young friends, who disbelieve every
thing they do not see or hear
"That's meant for me, said Joe, with
laugh. "Never mind, uncle go or
with your story"
"Yes, my boy, now I come to the
marvellous part. Every year, as the
hands of the clock point to the hour Of
midnight, a travelling carriage, with
four horses, driven by headless coach
man, leaves that village, and passes
down the London road"
"He must be clever if he can see tc
drive without his head" interrupted
the still skeptical Joe.
) "That I cannot explain !; some ghost
seers say that it is possible for people
in clairvoyant state to read from the
pit of the stomach at all events, q
dead man may be possessed of faculties
that we do not understand ; for man
becomes considerably altered when he
is dead"
"He does, admit"
"And if you allow that dead man
! can drive at all, the small matter of q
head more or less is of very little i'm
portance."
"Just So"
"You know that when man dies he
becomes spirit.
"That's rum" said Joe.
"No, sir, it's not rum, nor whisky
either and, if you cannot listen to my
story without endeavoring to turn it
into ridicule, T had better leave off,
replied Uncle Ben, who was as peppery
ashis ancestor.
ooh pray go on, uncle" exclaimed
all the listeners. "We'u try to keep
Joe in order"
"WeI, as I was saying, this appari-
ton made its appearance once year,
as the clock was striking twelve. Many
of the villagers had heard the tramp Of
horses and the rafting of wheels as the
ghostly cortege went by. Now and
then some favored individual witnessed
the headless driver, as he whipped his
horses on toward London. But, in all
cases, the coach passed too quickly for
any one to see whether the old gentle
man was really inside or not"
"And did no one ever see him p
asked one .'of the party.
"You shall hear. will confess that,
until the night when the incident which
I am about to relate took place, I was as
great an unbeliever as any of you, and
always treated the whole account as an
old woman's tale, only fit to frighten
children. But, one evening, as I sat
smoking with some old friends, one OF
them, devout believer in everything
supernatural began to talk about the
family legend, I, as usual, threw ridi-
cule upon the affair. 7 horrified some
Of the company by stating my intention
of venturing out to wander down the
road, and see if. could meet the phan-
tom cayalcade. I swore that if I did, !
would ask the old gentleman to give me
Lift, and offered to bet s100 that the
whole legend was q pack Of lies"
"And did you go?"
. eyes; although some of the more
superstitious of the party tried to pre-
vent me, I persevered, and wandered
out into the night ready to meet with
ghost or goblin"
"And did you meet them9"
-"Just as I emerged from the lane the
village clock chimed the three-quarters,
and&I sat down upon a moss-covered
milestone to wait and watch for the
phantoms that come like shadows-so
depart The night was chilly, and, as
7 wrapped my cloak around me, I began
to shudder, as I wondered if, by any
possibility, there could have been any
truth in the strange story that I had
heard. gradually felt, like the man in
the play, that all my courage was oozine
out at my fngers's ends.'
"Oh, uncle, afraid p cried one OF the
boys. @s r g.:
eyes, my boy, must confess it, for
the moment I began to wish I was back
in the comfortable dining-room.
"Suddenly the clock struck the hour
of midnight -5ar,e.. -... e.
cas- the last echoes died away, ]
heard in the distance sound like the
noise of carriage and horses rapidly
approaching. My blood began to curdle
in my veins it came nearer and nearer
and, at last, I saw curious, old-fash
ioned vehicle coming toward me at 6
furious pace.
"For moment was speechless, but
mastering all my courage, I cried out tc
the coachman to stop. He did 80, an6
then, to my intense surprise, I saw that
his head had been severed from the
trunk. The ghastly head lay by his side
on the coach-bex, which perhaps &C
counted for his being able to hear my
cries.
GAS the carriage stopped he sprane
to the ground, flung open the door, LEI
down the steps and signed for me tx
enter. By this time my nerves were
well braced up, and I jumped in withou
any fear.
"Upon entering the coach and taking
my seat found myself opposite an ole
gentleman who was dressed in the cos
tune of the commencement of the reigr
of George III. Upon his head was al
old-fashioned tie-wig, and in his hant
was naked sword which was still GOV
cred with blood. His face was of an un
earthly pallor, and had upon it soured
scared look, which did not make him {
very pleasant-looking travelling com
panion.
"For some time'we sat face to face
and when I found that he did not appea
to take the slightest notice of me, I be
gan to be more at ease. At last I though
It would be very uncivil to ride in the oil
gentleman's coach without speaking Il
hum, and T also felt inclined, as I hat
never before met with o real ghost, t.
make his acquaintance. So I, by way o
opening the conversation, said:
"A splendid night, sir
"The elderly party in the tie-wi
madeno reply.
"sIn q hurry to get to town, pre-
sumo? am very much obliged to 20
for the lift.