The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-02-25
VISION OF THE NIGHT.
How J Doctor Of Divinity Saw . 6hcst
By His Side.

How ! Doctor Of Divinity Saw . Ghost
by His Side.
The Rev. Augustus Jessop, D. D., has
published in the Lonhon ANsneum are
markable account of an apparition of
which he was the witness in Lord Ok
ford's library at Warrington hall, Nor
folk, in October last. After dinner the
party having broken up at 10 80 o'clock,
DR.. Jessop retired to the library to take
notes of some Of the rare books which
it contains. What bcfell him there he
thus nar1 ates:
By eleven o'clock ] was the only per-
son down stairs, and I was very soon
busily at work and absorbed in my occu-
patton. The room in which I was writ
ing is large one, with a huge fireplace
anda grand old chimney, and it is need
less to say that it 10 furnished with every
comfort and luxury. The library opens
into this room, and l had to pass out
from where I was sitting into this library
and get upon q chair to reach the vol
umes I wanted to examine. There were
six small volumes in all. I took them
down and placed them at my right hand
in O. little pile, and set to work-some-
times reading, sometimes writing. As I
finished with q book I placed it in front
of me. There were four silver candle
sticks upon the table, the candles all
burning, and, as l am a emily person.
sat myself at one corner of the table with
the fire at my left, and at intervals, as
had finished with book, irOse, knocked
the fire together, and stood up to warm
myfeet. 1continued in this way at my
task till nearly one o'clock. I had got
on better than I expected, and had only
one more book to occupy me. I rose,
wound up my watch and opened q bottle
of settler water. and I remember think
ing to myself I should get to bed by two
o'clock after all. I set to work at the
last little book. l had been engaged
upon il about half an hour, and was just
beginning to think that my work was
drawing to a close, when, as I was actu-
ally writing, I saw a large white hand
within a foot of my elbow. Turning
my head, there sat q figure of q some
what large man. with his back to the
fire, bending slightly over the table, and
apparently examining the pile of books
that l had been at work upon. The mans
face was turned away from me, but I
saw closely-cut reddish brown hair. his
ear and shaved cheek, the eyebrow. the
corner of the right eye. the side of the
forehead, and the large high cheekbone.
He was dressed in what / can only de.
scribe as kind of ecclesiastical habit of
thick corded silk, or some such material,
close UP tothe throat, and a narrow rim
No. ols~- IS ahar1t nv snnh krooV ~
satin or velvet, serving as a ~stand-up
collar, and fitting close to the chin. The
right hand, which had at first attracted
my attention, was clasping, with great
pressure, the left hand; both hands were
in perfect repose, and the large blue
veins of the right hand were conspicu-
GUS. I remember thinking that the hand
was like the hand of Velasquez's mag
nifcent dead Knight" in the national
gallery. / looked at my visitor for some
seconds, and was perfectly sure that he
was not afreality. A thousand thoughts
came crowding upon me, but not the
least feeling Of alarm, or even uneasi-
ness; curiosity and q strong interest
were uppermost. For an instant l felt
eager to make . sketch of my friend,
and I looked at q tray on my right for
a pencil; then I thought, "Up stairs I
have a sketch.book Shall I fetch itp"
There he sat, and I was fascinated;
afraid. not of his staying, but lest he
should 60. Stopping in my writing. I
lifted my hand from the paper, stretched
it out to the pile of books, and moved
the top one. l cannot explain why l
did this-my arm passed in front OF the
figure, and it vanished. / was simply
disappointed and nothing more. Invent
on with my writing as if nothing had
happened, perhaps for another five min
utes, and I had actually got to the last
few words of what | had determined to
extract when the figure appeared again,
exactly in the same place and attitude
as before. l saw the hands close to my
own; / turned my head again, to exam
inc him more closely, and I was franz
ing a sentence to address to him when I
discovered that l did not dare to speak.
I was afraid OF the sound OF my own
voice. There he sat, and there sat l. /
turned nv head again to my work, and
finished writing the two or three words
I still had to write. The paper and my
notes are at this moment before me, and
exhibit not the slightesttremor or nerv-
BUSINESS. T could point out the wordsl
was writing when the phantom came
and when be disappeared. Having Fin
ished my task, l shut the book and
'Lrew.it on the table it made a slight
noise Us it fell-the figure vanished.
Throwing myself back in my chair, /
sat for some seconds looking at the fire
with u curious mixture OF feeling, and l
remember wondering whether my friend
would come again, and, II he did,
whether he would hide the fire from me
Then first there stole upon me a dread
and a suspicion that I was beginning to
lose my nerve. / remember yawning;
then I rose, lit my bedroom candle, took
my books into the inner library,
mounted the chairs as before, and re-
placed five ofthe volumes; the sixth I
brought back and laid upon the table
where I had been writing when the
phantom did me the honor to appear to
me. BY this timeI had lost all sense Of
u~neasiness. I blew out the four candles
and marched off to bed where I slept
the sleep of the just or the guilty.
know not which-but I slept very
soundly. This is q simple and unvar-
nished narrative OF facts. Explana-
ton, theory, or inference l leave to