The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-08-30
THE MYSTERIOUS ROOM.
CONCLUDED.

L for the-what shall / call It Y-obstl-
nacyS resolution firmnessY of my
old friend, here, who would persist in
sleeping In that unlucky room last night,
and the fortunate circumstance of Mr..
Bradley's being here you certainly would
never have heard, from me at least, any
account of the mystery which has so
long perplexed me- l must begin by
telling you, that to the best of my
knowledge, that room was never slept
in but twice since L was born, and / am
more than forty years old. You heard
what the major said respecting our old
housekeeper. She and her husband
lived here in my grandfather's time,
they grew old in the service, and died
within few weeks of one another. On
the day that the old woman was buried,
as l was returning from the funeral, 1
overheard something which, it appear
ed to me, was spoken purposely for me to
hear, though it was addressed by one
old village gossip to another. L do not
recollect the precise words, but the pur-
port was, that the squire aOouJd haze no
more evH spirits in his house noV. This
brought to my mind the strange stories
i used to hear when l was boy, and
without having the slightest idea that
my father attached any Importance to
the matter, for never in my life had
heard him allude to it, L unwittingly
asked him what could have induced the
housekeeper to tell such terrible stories
about one room in his house. You I'M
agine how much L was astonished at his
reply, when he told me that what the
housekeeper had said was but too true
GO For some time past, he added, L
have intended to speak to youabout this
painful matter, but having hitherto
always endeavored to drive the subject
from my mind, I have not had sufficient
resolution to do So"
I" 1 begged my father to explain HIM
self, and to conceal nothing from me;
for, to confess the truth, the more re-
luctant he appeared to be, the more
urgently pressed him.
6 He then told me that, not long
after my grandfathers death, he had
ordered this room to be prepared for
friend who was coming to spend a few
days with him that his servant had
made difficulties and objections, and had
proposed some other room for his guest,
but that he did not choose to give way
to her whims, and accordingly his friend
slept in the room as he desired, but on
the following morning he told my father
that he must leave him that day, and
when pressed to give his reasons for.so
sudden a determination, he protested
that nothing could induce him to stay
another night in house in which his
rest had been disturbed by such fright
ful visions. He refused to tell my father
what it was he had seen-he refused to
sleep in any other room, and he tried
hard to persuade my father never either
to sleep in that room himself, or allow
any other person to do so.
"Fully persuaded, however, that his
friend was laboring under some mental
delnsion, my father, who had no fears
whatever about the matter himself, was
so far from being deferred from sleeping
there, that he Immediately resolved to
do so that very night, and accordingly,
in spite of the evident reluctance of his
housekeeper, he did so, thinking, as he
told me, that this would be the most
effectual means of putting an end to the
foolish rumors which had been spread.
by ignorant and superstitious servants.
"Taking the precaution to lock the
door in order to prevent any intrusion
in the night, he left a lamp burning on
the dressing-tab and went to bed and,
undisturbed by any apprehensions, soon
fell asleep. My father was always a
sound sleeper, and not easily disturbed
by noise in the night, and it was not by
any noise that he was now awakened,
but by feeling the bed-clothes gently
moving, as if some one were pulling
them towards the foot of the bed. The
bed, should observe, stood just as you
saw it last night, facing the fireplace,
on each side Of which stand those high
backed chairs, and with the left side to-
wards the door. AS it was cold night,
my father had drawn the side.curtains
of his bed, but there were no window
curtains, nor even blinds, and though
the moon shown brightly into his room
at the time he woke, and the lamp was
still burning, he could see nothing but
the furniture standing in their usual
places. He lay quite still, and hearing
no noise, nor perceiving any motion in