Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-11-05
THE WHISPERING GHOST.


Tell you about the whispering ghost?
Yes, and the first time we 80 to town
I'll show you, il you put me III mind of
it. the old house on Asylum street
where it all happened The first floor
is made over into shops and the upper
rooms are used for storage but twenty
wears ago il was boarding-houSe, and
Jane Duncan and her two daughters
kept it. Your mother remembers Jane
Duncan. She was 1T school with lis nj
the Pratt street seminary, when Gather
iue Beecher taught there. 1t was Il
pity about Jane, too, for she was Il like
" girl and belonged to a good family
but she threw hersclfaway ON ii worth
less fellow and had to 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 five years old and began
to be afraid she should be an old maid,
so the silly thing took up with her first
offer. Ii wasn't that she loved jim
Curtis, or thought he would make her Il
good husband. She knew as well as
ANYBODY that he was lazy, dissipated
fellow but he could save her from the
disgrace, rs she though it, Of leading n
single life So she married him, and Il
poor stick he proved to be, spending
half his time walking Main street in his
fine clothes, and Jane and her two girls
Shaving at home to keep him III 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 ten
ants hadn't made much Use of the
room, but Jane Curtis with all her
boarders needed it, SO got key to fit
the lock and furnished il for Molly
Morgan, her servant, to Sleep in. Molly
was 4 girl Jane had taken for charity
from the town house, where she had
been abused and put upon because she
was unidentified but in James hands
she made Il good servant, strong, viii
ling and obedlent
She took possession of her new room
one night, but about eleven o'clock
.NhIllG IOMll w llCl llliolltHo k7IlG GpulN
not sleep. she said there were noises in
her room. What kind ofnoises, Jane
asked, alike rats" mo, not rats, the
girl said. she shouldn't mind them.
there were thousands ut the stone house
-Molly's name for the town house-it
was worse than rats. "What, them"
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
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 its ghost, and can't stay there"
But Jane had no patience with such
fancies, and Molly was sent back to her
room in hurry. In the morning she
was found curled up in corner of the
kitchen. Miss Curtis, you can send
me back 10 the stone house for not
minding, she said 'for | can 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 for Molly,
and Kate and Nell, James two daugh
tiers, took the attic chamber the next
night. They thought it would be fun
to watch for the ghost. They chatted
awhile after they were in bed Us girls
will, then said goodnight and Kate
was Just dropping off to sleep, when
Nell asked If the window Was open.
mo, Why" said Kate.
I Il -,,t,.,I -
In moment she reused her sister
again. Now stop, Kate you've kept
that noise going long enough. I'm Try
ing to get TO sleep,
What noise2' said Kate I'm not
making ony noise.
"How dare you tell such a story?
You know YOU We been whispering
close to my ear for the last five min
utes
Indeed she had not, Kate declared.
well. something whispered.
Then the girls listened and this time
Kate cried out that cold wind was
blowing in her face. and something was
whispering III her ear. .And Oh, Nell
let's run down To mothers room.
Jane charged the girls Y say nothing
" what rad happened, and determined
70 watch the next night IN the attic
chamber Now Jane Curtis isn't tie
least hit superstitious and ha- plenty q
nerve and courage, and she wouldn !
tell lie 10 save her life. 30 what she
says happened in that room, ! know
Il happened a. we'll d. ii had been
there myself
She put her lamp on the table she
said, anl at knitting fer half an hour