Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-01-16

From liarpels Week.
A few years ago removed into a new
and larger house with young family
Some nights after my removal wa
awakened in the middle of the night by {
distinct knocking twice or thrice repeated
ut my bedroom door Icallcd ont, "Who',
there?' There was no reply; but after an
interval of few minutes the knocking
was repeated as distinctly us before, and
just as If Il person outside in the lobby had
struck sharply aud repeatedly with hi.
knuckles on the door. sprang rapidly
from bed on ITS being repeated and rushed
to the bedroom door and opened It, deter.
mined to catch the knocker. But there
was no one outside, and no one could have
escaped down the staircase, brilliantly
lighted with Il food of moonlight, which
strcamed through the skylight window.
am not, anil never was, splrlt-strlckcn OF
>upcrstitious, but will confess my senSa-
tion now became trying; my heart began
to thrOb, and returned to bed with ears
painfully awake. Again came the knock
ing, clear and distinct, and methodical as
before. Although feeling very uneasy
crept silently ont of bed and stretched my
self on the floor, with my head on the
boards and II few feet from the bedroom
room door, to lind out, if possible, from
what part of the door the Knocking pro.
cecdcd. Again it came as before, and |
could distinctly refer 1t to the lowest part
or panel of the door. suddenly opened
the door, but with the same result as be-
fore; and again lay in my former posi-
tion. Again came the knocking, three or
four distinct taps; and now, fixing my
eyes steadily on the spot from which the
tapping proceeded, ! saw the knuckle-
bone of a leg of lamb about the size of a
very small walnut, .ierked repeatedly
against the railing that lay alongside the
door. The skirting was thinner than the
sounding board of Il piano; and it was the
sudden tapping of the little bone against
the sounding board that produced the re.
p"ated knocking. But how was this tap
ping produced? By Il mouse that had
found its way along the hollow space be-
hind the wrincoat. 1t had bored hole in
the very lowest part of the waincOat, very
nearly on Il level with the floor, had found
its little bone left after the chlldren's din
uer and had dragged it to the entrance of
its hole, but could not get it through. 1t
had dragged through the tough bit of sin.
ew which is attached to the end of the
bOnc-pOpularly known in mutton as the
gentleman bonc-and was trying, by
jerking it backward, to get the bone itself
through and each jerk gave a blow
against the thin sounding board, and
each blow gave out the sound or mysteri-
Gus knock.
My next experience was, if possible,
more puzzing. In the neighborhood of
Dublin, on the rocky sea coast of Dalkey,
there are several castles supposed to have
been erected by the Danes for the protec-
tiOn of their traders. They are still in
fair preservation, and have dwelling hous-
es Of modern construction built against
them. One oftheSe old castles stands on
the very verge of the sea, over what was
once a rocky inlet, but is now u harbor,
along the opposite side of which is row
OF tisherman's cottages. The dwelling
house attached to this old castle with
my family occupied in the summer for
health's sake and to enjoy boating, of
which was fond. ] observed, some time
after taking up my residence in it, that
no matter at what time | retired to bed
and generally sat up one or two hours
after the other members of my family had
retired-the servants from the kitchen
story selected the same moment for their
departure.
This increasing regularity became at
last annoying, and insisted on knowing
the cause. The information given to me
was that the old castle and house were
and that for no inducements
would the servants remain after had as
cended from the parlor. | had now
reasons for thinking there was some
ground for the fears, The pantry partic-
ularly, and the rest of the mouse with it,
were walked over by footsteps at night.
These were plainly heard, and there was
added an additional aggravation; for,
not content with this, the supernatural"
visitor began to do mischief and, general
" in the gray of Ithe morning, made
free with eatables and pots of jam on the
shelves, occasionally breaking glass or
plate. To add to the mystery,
though the pantry was carefully
locked every night. the depredations still
continued, and at length the terror of each
nights visitation became greater and
greater, and various stories began to be
circulated, one beng that the visitant was
the spirit of nun condemned to suffer
the pangs of hunger for some transgres-
sion. This was supported by the circum-
stance of the castle and grounds having
been occupied rs a convent. The only
opening in the pantry was through a ven
tilator in the roof, very high up, and ad-