The Red Cloud chief., 1880-07-29
THE DUKES HOUSE.

L was Dorm IN an old chartered and
very picturesque town in o Western
county, in whose vicinity stood an
ancient ducal palace, which had moi
been occupied for many a long year;
and like other buildings left to decay, i,
had the reputation Of being haunted.
There certainly were strange sights and
sounds to be seen and heard sometimes
by those who were near the place al
dusk n after dark; but it was never
looked into. The uneducated were too
snperstitious and frightened; the better
class were too busy or too indolent;
and We had no rural police in those
days to trace out the causes. 1t was a
great pity for such a fine Elizabethan
structure to fall to ruin. l remember
1T as a strong and beautiful mansion
with its lawns and terrace-gardens, and
Its many windows as there are days in q
year. This | doubted when a child,
and often got the nurse-girl to walk
round the house, to count them with
me; but we never attained our object;
for it the sun got overloaded. she
would be sure to see a ghost at some
gloomy window, and rush of, leaving
me, terrified, to follow. The old resi-
dents had died out. the title having be-
come extinct; and around it were
sprung up mills and factories, which
prevented the aristocracy from living
in it. The mill-owners, too, preferred
being further away from their counting
houses and smoky chimneys. Besides,
1t must have been q very rich man who
could put it in decorative repair, and
keep up such an establishment. In
those days merchant princes were
content with very modest dwellings,,
such as many a middle class man now
adays would deem it derogatory to live
in. l am writing of a slow and sure
age; We are now living in q fast and
reckless n
But to my story. / had attained an
age when ghosts or hobgoblins and
such like rubbish did not terrify or
trouble me. was a married man, the
father of several children, when q
cousin came to visit us, who was high
ly delighted with our pretty town; and
knowing her to be very clever with her
pencil, 4 asked her to paint me one or
two of the scenes in the neighborhood.
This she willingly consented to do, and
we sailed forth 10 fix on what should
be her first picture. She thought the
view from the Dukes House cas- it was
called-would be the best. / told her
she dared not trust herself in there, for
it had been uninhabited for the last
century, and was haunted. She
laughed, and said she did not believe
in ghosts; she was not so much fright
ened at the dead in solitary places as at
the living; and her curiosity being ex-
cited, she wanted to explore the old
building. So, whilst she went for her
easel and materials, 1 got the keys
from an old man who lived in the old
courtyard of the ducal residence.
We walked through the rooms. ad-
their old grandeur, the lofty
marble columns, standing on marble
hearths each side of the fireplaces. sup
porting the groined ceilings, with coats
of arms and other devices carved in
marble between them. The tapestry
round the walls smelled moldy, but
was in a wonderful state of preserva-
Lw.nsy y.~-s noiore. / had pitied the
ladies who worked so hard to cover
their rough stone walls. My cousin
a room for her first sketch;
and as 1 was leaving, l advised her to
lock the door after me, to guard against
intrusion; but she objected to this, say
inc she never locked herself in any
room for fear of sudden illness; but if l
lock the door on the outside,
and call for her as 1 came from the
bank. she would be much happier to
know she was secure from interruption.
After some hesitation, l consented to
do this, and with the key in my pocket.
went to business.
1t was just closing time, and 1 was
locking up the strong-rOom, when the
manager drew my attention to a mat
ter which invoked z ~prOtracted search
&C - hnweyer. which