Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-10-22
THE WHISPERING GHOST.

THE WHISPERING GHOST.
Tell you about the whispering ghost? Yes,
and the first time we go to town Ill show you,
if you put me in mind of it, the old house
where it all happened. The first floor is
made over into shops and the upper rooms
are used for storage; but twenty years ago it
was boarding house, and Jane Duncan and
her two daughters kept it. Your mother re-
members Jane Duncan. She was at school
with us at the Pratt street seminary when
Catherine Beecher taught there 1t was
pity about Jane too for she was a likely girl
and belonged to good family, but she threw
herself away on a worthless fellow and had
20 support him for the rest Of her natural
life
Girls, take one piece Of advice from your
old maid aunt Don't marry for the sake of
being married. That's what Jane Duncan
did. She got TO be twenty -four or Eve years
old and began to feel afraid she should be an
old maid, so the silly thing took up with her
first offer II wasn't that she loved Jim Cur
It's, or thought he would make her good
husband. So she married him, and poor
stick he proved 10 be, spending half his time
walking Main street in his fine clothes, and
Jane and her two girls shaving at home TO
keep him in bread and butter.
Well when she moved into this house on
Asylum street she found a room in the attic
locked, the key-hole stuffed with cotton and
no key to be found. The landlord said the
last tenants hadn't made much use of the
room, but Jane Curtis with all her boarders
needed IT, so she got key to fit the lock and
furnished the chamber for Molly Morgan, her
servant, to sleep in. Molly was girl Jane
had taken for charity from the town house,
where she had been abused and put upon be-
cause she was unidentified but in James
hands she made good servant strong, will
ing and obedient.
She took possession of her new room one
night, but about eleven o'clock came down to
her mistress. She couldn't sleep, she said,
there were noises in her room. What kind
of noises, Jane asked like rats D.? NO, not
rats" the girl said, she shouldn't mind them,
there were thousands of them at the stone
house, ,-Molly's name for the town house,
it was worse than rats. ''What then 2" Oh,
something whispered and kept whispering
she was afraid, she couldn't stay there, might
she sleep that night on the floor at the foot of
Miss Curtis's bed NO indeed" Jane told
her, she must have had bad dream. No,
Molly declared she had not closed her eyes,
il wouldn't let her. 1T :" Jane repeated.
The ghost, marin. Oh! I'm sure it's a
ghost, and | can't stay there"
But Jane had no patience with such fan
cies and Molly was sent back to her room in
curled up in corner of the kitchen. Miss
Curtis, you can send me back TO the stone
house for not minding," she said, for can't
never, never stop in that room another night.
I'd rather be beat to death by live folks, than
scared to death by ghostesses.
Another room was found Molly, and Kate
and Nell James two daughters, took the attic
chamber the next night. They thought it
would be fun to watch for the ghost They
Il IL Fl 1 =. l. Il
girls will, then said good night, and Kate was
just dropping of to sleep when Nell asked if
the window was open.
NO why?" said Kate.
because l feel such cold wind"
In q moment she reused her sister again.
''Now stop, Kate. you've kept that noise 60
ing long enough. I'm trying to get to sleep"
what noise ?" said Kate. I'm not max
ing any noise"
''How dare you tell such a story? You
know you've been whispering in my ear for
the last five minutes
Indeed she had not, Kate declared
"Wel something whispered"
Then the girls listened, and this time Kate
cried out that cold wind was blowing in her
face, and something was whispering in her
ear "And OH Nell let's run down to moth
er's room"
Jane charged the girls to say nothing of
what had happened, and determined to watch
the next night in the attic chamber. Now
Jane Curtis isn't the least bit superstitious
and has plenty of nerve and courage, and she
wouldn't tell lie to save her life so what
she says happened in that room / know
happened as well as If had been there my
self
She put her lamp on the table, she said,
and sat knitting for half an hour. 1t was
near midnight and the house was still. All
at once, around and above her she felt rush
of cold air, so cold it made her shiver. There
was not bit of wind outside and the door
and window were shut, but this wind stirred
the lace strings of her cap and lifted a bit of
muslin lying on the table Twice this breeze
as cold as ice swept past her, and then close
to her ear there was o loud earnest whisper.
| She couldn't catch word. 1t was inarticu-
late but quick and anxious, just as If some
one who had lost the power of speech was
struggling to make himself understood. This
went on for while, and then ended in long
| sigh.
She took the lamp and walked slowly round
| the ROOM the voice following her all the way.
| II seemed so close that if what was speaking
had lips they must touch her cheek, but
| when she looked there was nothing. The
whispering at times got angry and impatient,
and then would sink low down and end in a
uhll bOD anu WutlutT huG bdt VI hlOOu VI
walked about it was always the same, there
was the cold wind, the whisper without words
and the sigh.
Jane as have told you, is brave woman,
| but she said she had no words to describe her
feelings because of this unseen presence. She
could have borne it better had it taken visi-
BILE shape or spoken in language to be under
stood but to know that twas beside her, its
cold breath on her cheek, its voice close to
her ear, yet neither to be seen or touched
was more than she could endure. So like the
simple Molly and her own girls, at whose
fears she had laughed, Jane fairly ran away
from the ghost.
| After this the room was vacant for a while,
then there came from the country a good
woman who had been a nurse and humble
friend in James family. She had found work
in the city and wanted lodging room, but
the only empty room in the house was the at
| tic chamber.
"Tll take it," says Nancy Flint. "a ghost
up there is there? Lor, it's the live folks
that do the mischief in the world TO my
thinkin'. expect to be a ghost myself
sometime, then I'll have TO keep company