The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-03-01

II FNes, my boy, must confess it, 70
the moment l began to wish i wa
back in the comfortable dining-room
but as the brandy warmed me up
laughed at my fears, and determines
to stay it out, careless of man or dev
il.
Suddenly the clock struck tn
hour of midnight.
"As the last echoes died away,
heard in the distance a sound like tn,
noise of a carriage and horses rapid,
approaching. My blood began to cur
die in nay veins; it came nearer anC
old-fashiored vehicle coming toward
| "FOr a moment wasspeechless, bu
mastering all my courage, cried ou
to the coachman to stop. He did so
and then, to my intense surprise,
saw that his head had been severed
from the trunk. The CHASTITY heaC
lay by his side on the coach-boX
which perhaps accounted for his be
ing able to hear myeries.
"As the carriage stopped he spranl
to the ground, flung open the door
let down the steps, and signed for me
to enter. By this time my nerve:
were well brased up, and l jumped in
| without any fear.
s'Upou entering the coach and tax
ing my seat, found myself opposite
an old gentleman who was dressed III
the costume of the commencement oi
the reign of George III. Upon his
head was an old-fashioned tie-wig
and in his hand was a naked sword
which was still covered with blood
| His face was of an unearthly pallOr
1 ON COR nH
which did not make him very pleas
ant looking travelling companion.
"EOr some time we sat face to face;
and when found that he did not take
the slightest notice of me, / began to
be more at my ease. At last 1 thought
| that it would be very uncivil to ride in
| the old gentleman's coach without
| speaking to him, and j also felt in
| clined, as / never before met with a
real ghost, to make his acquaintance.
So l, by way of opening the converse
ton, said:
q iA'splendid night, SIR
"The elderly party in the tie-wig
made no reply.
a. in a hurry to get to town, 1 pre-
sumo? am very much obliged to
you for the lift
"Still no answer. After this we
both sat for some time in silence; the
ghost seemed buried in thought, and ]
| watching him with great interest. Al
last, the night being chilly for the
time of year, and the coach having
about it a peculiar atmosphere like
that of a vault, began to feel ex-
| tremely cold, and / drew out once
more my flask of brandy.
''The eyes of the old fellow lit up
and twinkled, as he saw me drink.
offered him the bottle; he accepted it
with low bow, and followed my eX-
ample.
4" Thank you,' said he: Il have not
tasted such good brandy for many a
day. He then drew out his snuff box
and offered me pinch. Not daring
| to offend him, took one but careful
ly let il drop on the floor of the car
riage when his eyes were turned
| away.
"After a second nip the old gentle
man grew quite sociable, and began to
talk; he onmplimented me upon my
bravery in trying to stop the carriage.
For just one century he had, once a
year, driven along this road without
meeting any one who had the courage
to ride with him. and, through me,
| he would be released from all further
some brave fellow accompanied him
in his drive and converscd with
him.
''For this release he heartily thank
ed me, and said that, for my courage,
| should be lucky in all my business
| speeulatiOns; and, as you are aware,
| he turned out true prophet"
"Did you talk about anything else?"
asked Joe.
ooh, Yes. My old friend had as
much curiosity as an old woman"
said Uncle Ben, who, 1 need not say,
was an old bachelor, eve had con-
versation about London. 1t appears
that he was a great beau in his time,
and he considered himself an enor-
nous favorite with the ladies. He
wished to know who was the reigning
toast, and was much disgusted when /
told him the toasts had gone out of
| fashion,"
"Was that all?n
"Oh, no. He told me where the
best oivet and pOTtmatum was to be
bought and who was the best perul<e-
maker; and was still more surprised
when | said no one wore wigs now,
except lawyers and coachmen. He
asked if travelling was as dangerous as
eVeri though he confessed that he had
not been troubled much lately by the
| knights of the road. He said that one
rode up to stop him twenty-five years
before, but the sight of his headless
| driver had so frightened him that he
put spurs to his horse and disappeared
as if he had had twenty Bow-street
runners at his heels"
ibid YOU not ask him what became
of him on the other nights of the year,
when he was not out for his drive"
HHe said that, in company with the
| innumerable shades who were cOndem-
ned to occasionally revisit the earth
for crimes committed during their past
lives, he passed his time lowering
round his old haunts, longing to be-
come visible to his descendants, and to
assist them in times of trouble, but un-
able to do so. AS we cOnversed, the
and at length the lamps of London
| thanking the old man for his courte-
sy, L suggested that L might now
! alight, as had q great many friends
| III town that j should like to visit; but
he shook his head.
"No, no. said he: we are at the
| mercy of my cOachman; he has the
| entire command during our drive, and
he will only stop at the place where
we picked you up. See, he is turning
the horses round; We are about to re-
| turn
'If the journey to town seemed
short, the journey back was still short
er. The old man told me a hundred
anecdotes of the people Of his time,
| He had been stauneh 1acohite, and
he told me all about the young cava-
lier, and painted the March TO Finch
| ley in words that did full justice to
| HOgarth's picture. The statesmen,
| wits, and soldiers of the last century
appeared to stand before me in the
flesh, and never enjoyed a drive bet
| ter than the one / had with my ghost
| ly ancestor.
GAS the clock struck one, we pulled
| up at the old moss-covered milestone
| where | first stopped the coach. Once
more thanking me for the inestima-
| bic favor had done him, the old gen.
tleman signed to the driver to open
the carriage door. ] got out, and, as
turned round 10 bid him goodbye,
found that the whole caValcaae-
icoach, horses, driver, and old gentle
man-had vanished into thin air, and
was alone.n
/ "Alone?'' exclaimed his hearers.
'Yes," said Uncle Ben; 'but the
st.anae thing was that L became in
| Sausfiila anff khaW nothing more an