Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-10-12
GHOGTH,
TWO sFoRIRs FROH SCOTLAND,

TWO sfoRIRs fhoh SCOTLAND
George Binelair, professor Of moral
philosophy Ia the university o.
lilasgOw, and afterwards minisleI OF
Eastwood ia iieRirewshiIe, Wy pubiiea-
tiOR, in 1895, Of his work, "hatan's In
visible World Discovered" did much 10
add to the teTOrs Of Mary Kings Close,
by his account ofapparilions seen there
IN aud recorded 'by witnesses Of IN
doubted Veneity"-a word long hawked
about tho streets by the ilineraht sellers
Of gingerbread, The last, ~ northern,
portion Of tho close, with its massive
yanltsd lower stories, was an open ruin
in lhlb tho south, or upper had fallen
into ruin after fre IN 1850, and Was ~
that condition when portion Of tho
site was required fOf the west side OF
tho ROYAL Exchange, three yeaFs after
II would appear from the professors
narrative tliat Thomas COllheaft, .
respectable law agent, whose legal
business had begun 10 flourish, took q
better style Of house Ia Mary Kings
Close, Their maidseryahi was, OF
course, duly warned by oblidng neigh
bOrs that tbs house was haunted, and IN
terror she gave up tho situation and fed,
leaving Mr. aud Mrs, Collheat to face
whatever they might soc, alone, Ae'
cOrdingly II came TO pass that, when tho
! lady hah seated herself 10y tho bedside
Of her gentlemen, who, being slightly
indlsposed on tho sunday afternoon, had
lain down to fest, while she read tho
Scriptures, CHANGING TO look up she saw
| to her intense dlsmay q human head,
apparently that Of an old man, with q
gray floating beard, suspended In mid
air ut little distance, aud gazing IN
tently At her with selfish eyes, She
swooned at this terrible sight, and re-
maned insenaIbls untll tho nelghbora
returned from church, Her husband
strOye TO reason her out OF her efednlity
aud tho evening passed without further
trouble but they had not been long In
bed when ho himself espied tho same
phantom head by tho hrelight, floating
In mid-air and cying him with ghostly
eyes, He lighted q candle, and betook
him to prayer, but with little effect, for
In about on hour tho bodileSa phantom
was joined by that Of child, also
suspended In mid air, and this
was followed by an arm, naked
from tho elbow, which. In defiance
Of all Col,heart'S prayers and pioua in
terioctions, seemed bent on shaking
hands with him and his wiiol In tho
most solemn way the luckloss lawyer
eonjurcl these phantoms to iptwst him
with tho story OF any wrongs they wish
od Ightcd but all to no purpose. The
old tenants evidently regarded the new
as intrudcrs, and others came TO their
aid, for the naked arm was joined by q
spectral dog which curled itself up in q
chair and went TO sleep; then came q
cat, and many other creatures, but OF
grotcsaue and monstrous forms, till the
whole room Swarmcd with them, 40 that
the honest couple were compelled TO
knoel on their bed, there being no stand
ing room on the floor till suddenly,
with deep and awful groan, as OF
strong man dying in agony, the whole
vanished, and Mr., and Mrs. Coltheart
found themselves alone,
In those days Of superstition. Mr.,
Coltheart-if We are to believe Prof.
Sinclair-must have been man OF moro
than ordinary courage, for he continued
TO reside in this terrible house till the
day of his death, without further moles.
tation but when that day came, it
would seem not TO have been unaceom-
panied by the supernatural. At the
moment he expired gentleman whose
friend and law agent he was, while
asleep in bed beside his wife, at Tran
ent, ten miles distant, was reused by tho
nurse who had been terrified "hy some
thing like n cloud moving about the
room" Starting up with the first in
stinct of Scot, in those days, he seized
his sword to defend himself, when the
something" gradually assumed the
form and face of man, who looked at
him pale and ghastly, and in whom he
recognized his friend Thomas Colt
heart. "Are you dead, and if so what is
your errand? 2" he demanded, despite
his fears, on which the apparation shook
its head twice and melted away. Pro-
ceeding at once to Edinburgh, the
ghost-seer went direct to the house OF
his friend in Mary Kings Close, and
found the wife of the former in tears
for the recent death of her husband.-
Old and New EdinJu0h.