Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-03-31
A Chamber of Death.

llc LOIuUll correspondent Vi lUt
New York Times contributes the fol
lowing Sombre romance:
The owner of the place, a iOvial old
gentleman, with large family, began
to find his house somewhat too small
for the requirements of the countless
guests with whom he delighted to fill
it. He sent for an eminent architect,
and consulted him as to the possibility
of adding room or two without iniu-
ry to the appearance Of the building.
The architect went to work at once.
inspected the house within and with
out, made sundry measurements, and
returned to his host with the COM
placent air of one who has found out
something worth knowing.
I'm fortunate enough" said he with
a smile "to have come just in time osave
you from very useless labor. DoyOu
know that while you are talking of ad-
ding new rooms to your house you
have room in it at this moment
which you have never used yet?'
"What on earth do you mean?" asked
the bewildered squire. 81 mean," an
swered the professional, with quite
scientific superiority, "that the meas
mements | have just been taking leave
several square yards of the houses
area unaccounted for; in other words
there is somewhere within its walls a
secret chamber of which you know
nothing" The squire laughed the idea
to scorn, but his wife, captiyated by
the romantic suggestion of a possible
"Bluebeard's chamber" in her own
house, at once ranged herself on the
side of the architect, and insisted that the
mysterious room be searched for and
found. "If it exists" put in her hus-
band. at not only exists, retorted the
architect, somewhat nettled by the
simplest doubt of his judgment, "but |
am positive that | can point out tine
very spot where it is to be found.
Pick hole in the wall that closes the
east end of the great corridor on the
third floor, and if you do not find the
secret chamber lying behind it, | will
gladly pay all the expenses of the
search" The proprietor, beginning to
feel interested in spite of himself, at
once agreed to the proposal, and the
workmen were called in. A few stur-
dy blows sunced to bring down the
wall, already crumbling. Behind it to
the great eXultation of the architect
and the amazement of the still incredu-
lous squire, appeared a moldering oak
ell door, which was speedily driven in,
revealing dark recess, from which eX-
hailed Il strange, sickening odor. The
architect taking Il lighted candle from
a bystander--Gor by this time the whole
household had assembled to watch the
progress Of the eXcavatiOn-squeezed
himself through the aperture, but in
stantly sprang back with II cry of hor-
ror. The squire, more courageous or
less impressible, entered in his turn,
and this was what he saw:
Hidden in the thickness of the wall
lay small oval chamber, once lighted
by II narrow, diamond-paned window
which had been completely bricked up
from the outside. The furniture was
Of rich antique cast, the carved oak
table spread with costly dishes and
silver nagon; but dust and cObwebs
covered all, and the very hangings
were rottmg upon the mouldering
walls. Rats We're heard scraping and
gnawing behind the WainscOt, and huge
Shiny beetles were crawling about the
damp blOtch floor. The crowning hor-
ror of this living tomb, however, lay
elsewhere. On the mildewcd couch
beside the table Il human skeleton was
shrunk together in posture of hide
Gus distortion, while another sat crouch
ing in corner with its bony fingers
thrust between its yellow rattlmg Jaws,
as if the wretch had gnawed his own
flesh from his bones in the desperation
of the last agony. The news of the
ghostly revelation flew abroad like
wildlire, stimulating the local anti
quaries to solve, if possible, the mystery
of this horrible secret. Their zeal at
length ferreted out the legend of Il
death bed confession made by the he.
reditary owner of the place, in the
days of james |. In vengeance for
his wife's inlldelity he had decOyed her
and her paramour into the fatal
chamber, whero he built them up alive