Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-06-05
N. O. WALLACE.
Established December 18th. 1850,

dlld leiL lot Europe Wnefc ne fla'
been travelling ever since. Blu
here we are at the Elms. How
do you like the looks of thc
place, sir?:0
The small stone house, sur
rounded by a grove of eIm-trees
presented a wonderfully pictu
sresque appearance, and / did mo-
hesitate to inform the agent thai
| was much. pleased with the ap.
ipearance of the estate. ~
| The favorable impression witt
which / at first regarded it wa.
deepened by a critical examina.
ton, and ! determined upon pur
chasing the property.
just one week from that day
| and my household, consisting
of a houssKeeper, one seryan1
and my favorite dog took posses
sion OF the Elms.
~ shall not be greatly troub.
lied by the spirits who are sup.
posed to inhabit the dwelling,"
remarked, to myself, as / pre-
pared to retire on the night of
my arrival. "The presence of a
confirmed skeptic like myself
should be sufficient to exercise
Them"
/ jumped into bed and fell a.
sleep as soon as my head touch
ed the pillow. i was awakened
by the striking of a clock, which
told the hour of midnight.
AS the sound died away Iheard
the sound of footsteps-slow,
measured footsteps-at the other
end of the long hallway, at one
extremity of which my room was
situated. They grew louder and
louder as they neared my door.
A strange, indefinable feeling
of terror, such as / had never
before experienced, crept over
me. To save my life | could
not have moved.
The footsteps came nearer and
nearer; they paused at my door.
Then the door swung slowly O.
pen and there entered a being, a
thing wearing the form of a man
and surrounded by a strange,
.phosphorescent light.
Its face was that of a young
man; it was attired in a sailors
costume. Upon its forehead
was a frightful wound, from
which the blood slowly oozed.
1t raised its.right arm and beck
.oned me to follow. Unable to
resist the dread fascination, l
arose and approached myvisitant.
The spirit-for that. it was a
spirit of the other world | could
not doubt, skeptic though / had
ever been-led me through the
long hallway to an outer door,
through which it passed, / fol-
lowing. 1t conducted me across
the grass, wetwitll the midnight
.dews, toTtlle foot of "a majestic
elm, which stood in a retired,
lonely part of the grove.
Here it stopped, and slowly
pointed to the ground at its feet.
In this position it stood for per-
haps a minute and then suddenly
vanished.
/ staggered forward a pace or
two, then my over-taxed ener-
gies gave way and i fell insensi-
bic to the ground. An hour la
ter | recovered my conscious
ness, and returned to the house,
uncertain whether my terrible
experience had been a dream.
Reflection fastened and strength
ened the conviction in my mind
that | had been visited by an in
lhabitant of another world.
Why had the spirit conducted
me to the spot? Why had it
pointed to the ground at the foot
of the giant elm? ! interpreted
the act as a command to dig at
the spot, and | determined to
obey.
The next morning, assisted by
a neighbor to whom i had told
my experience and surrounded
by a group of wondering villa
gers, dug at the root of an old
elm-tree, and found the ghastly
evidence of terrible crime.
Scarcely four feet from the
surface we found the body of a
young man. The qualities of
the soil were such that it was in
an excellent state of preservation.
The features, though much dis
colored, were easily recognizable
and they were the features of my
ghostly visitant. In the forehead
of the corpse was a terrible
wound, which had evidently been
inflicted by some sharp-pointed
instrument.
The murdered mans pockets
had been emptied of their con-
tents, but sewed in the lining of
his coarse cotton shirt we found
papers that proved that he was
Henry Ashton, the son of the
late George Ashton, and his in
tended heir.