New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-15

Il
| any rate Pm half-aseep now, murmured Prmus.
Night after night we were reused by the voice OF
this or that child. Their mother always went
| fully, though, a minute before, there had been
sobbing and moaning. 1t was bitterly cold, and |
persuaded her not to go at the first call. linen
| there was whimpering on the stairs.
| One night we had both been lying awake lot
| some time. listening to what seemed like cautious
steps first on the Landing ana tnen IN our a0on IL
might be mice. But no; there were distinct steps,
| as OF a person walking. Yet though we followed
| the sound with our eyes, we saw nothing Suddenly
there was howl OF anguish, like the cry of large
animal III pain. 1t thrilled us with horror, Tor IL
came from our daughters room. Though II was not
their bedside they were calmly sleeping, and were
not even reused by our entrance with the hight |
| made quiet observations next day. DOln lnSluc anu
| outside OF the house.
| Ii you please, ma'am may have my sister to
| sleep with me ? said saltwater to her mistress
| Are you afraid TO sleep aloneP
| No. I'm not afraid
| Then why do you wish 1t 7
| No answer; only very earnest look.
| why, Stlllwel, you look as If you had seen q
| ghost said her mistress, laugnngly.
| Yes, ma'am, have" she replied. very quietly.
| Aud what did IL look like Z
Like Mrs. Y, just as she was OF afternoons
Come, come! she ought to have been all III
| white, you know
sort of cap she always wore and the same dress ana
white apron
| Il hope you asked her what she wanted.
| No. L lay sui ana IOOhSu ~ HtI, anu
then sat up and looked at her hard, and presently
| / could not see her.
1t was no doubt dream, and you Will probably
| never have such another
No am sure il was not a dream. Besides. |
| have seen her twice before, when L was walking
about
out Of doors
| No maam; in the house. One afternoon. to-
| wards dusk she came and looked at me through
| the window. | wondered how she could be there,
| and looked at her 1or good little time
And thenP
Aud then she was not there. And went to the
| window and looked out. but she was gone
What was the use of going TO the window, when
! you knew she was deadF
don't know. She looked just as if she was
| alive. The other time | was kneeilng down OIL the
| rug making your ire burn up. she passed straight
| before me-
ON! nonsense. She would have set fire to her
| clothes
| Still looked injured, but quietly persisted;
She did, ma am She passed straight between
| me and the fire.
How could she do thati Really, Still, for
sensible young woman, you are very full OF fancies
1T was not fancy, either OF the umes ma'am.
| did see her; did, indeed. hope you viii be-
| lieye me-
Yes, quite believe that YOU think you saw Mrs.
Y. You may have your sister 10 sleep with YOU
Now, 1t is no. pleasant thing for any man, still
less for of my profession, to confess that he has
felt creepy on account of certain mex phcabe
sounds. Bat, as this is perfectly true account.
am compelled TO acknowledge that II happened 10
me again and again. during the time OF my dwelling
In the Old Lodge. And also declare that my wife
and were perfectly well in ,alth. and that we
had never before been lie victims of similar teTrOTs.
Furthermore, though we spoke of the noises, ut
first abstalned from mentioning our sensations TO
each other.
the command Of some person, unseen indeed, but
certainly III the room. Then IA small something, say
a marble, would be gently dropped, more than once.
OH the carpet, close at my bedside sometimes on
the tOOTclOth, just outside the open door. Then
the marble would be gently rolled on the boards Of
the room and up against the skItIng board
rs
cOunteTed each others eyes We lay listening, and
both made a clean breast of our teTrors. Yes,
nothing short of that word will DO W agree that
the first sufferer shall wake the other But my wife
found 1t always possible to carry out tins deter
mnatiOn. What did You hearP l asked her
onceF
The chest of drawers was dragged over the floor
she replied. | am thankful you spoke TO me- for
have for some time been trying TO wake you, but
was not allowed. In TACT, nave been Kept per
fectly mOtiOnless.'
| had heard precisely the same sound, yet the
drawers did not appear 10 nave been actually
moved. The sounds were so distinct that we always
connected them with some special article. Now, IL
was chair. the tOwel-hOrsc that was moved.
Now, 1t was the loud swapping of a thick suck IN
the hall Now, ii was "A Violet blow on the hall
table, struck as if with my own walkng-stlck,
which remembered TO have left there and which
] found there in the morning. Once, the heaviest
book on my wrItlng-table appeared to be dropped,
if from the height OF man, on the foOI-clOth i'll
the hall. Then smaller one. l always myself
shut the doors of the rooms Leading into the hall.
OF course 1 tried III every way to account for the
mystery but, after time, could only resign my
self TO lie awake and wonder. The nights were
bitterly cold. On one occasion, when there had been
q persistent dropping of nuts In corner of the
room, jumped up, in desperation, and held the
light close TO the spot. In second, the sound was
behind NE. | whIsked round, but-tappmg to right
OF me- tapping TO lett OF me- tapping IN every dlrec
ton. without q seconds inteTmlssiOn No sooner
did look toward spot than the dropping of
nuts was at the ether end of the room. 1t a. if
some mischieyous elf were enjoying himself at my
expense.
Our boys had gone to spend day or two with
some friends and their mother, MOI hiking the look
of The empty ToOll, had closed the door ia paSsng
giving II push to make sure that ii was last.
That night, We heard the door shut with a treMen-
dOus bang. Even mad 1T been lett open, there was
wind TO move 1t.
Another night, when we had been awolle in the
usual way ih're was an agreeable variety IN the
entertainment. delicate, dute-like sound pro-
ceeded from the closed dinmg-rOOm. Again aud
again, distinct and lOng-sustaned musical note,
of some small pipe. Then the fifth OF that note,
then the octave repeated many tunes; then the
seventh aud octave, over and over again. We were
greatly puzzled. The piano was not III that room.
And the sound certainly suggested WIND lnslIu-
menC of sweet tone
went down early next morning and found to
my surprise, cOncertlna lying Oh table. lifted
the handle and there came forth q long-drawn
note, the very note had heard III the night. My
wife called out 10 me from up stairs, that's 1t!
That's 1t! What is itp
Without attempting TO dlsentangle her speech, |
held up the cOncertlna.
'Oh that is PhPs. He must have left it behind
But 1t was the very note; there is no doubt of it,
We locked the thing up III its box, and put it
INSIDE bookcase. and next night We were treated
10 a repetition OF the musical notes, only mulied.
IL was only during the night that the noises were
heard. For Instance: was reading by the fading
afternoon light when d chair on the other side Of
the room seemed 10 be moved from it's place; 80 that
j instinctlyely turned my head TO soc who had
entered The room. Again, was about to 20 down
the cellar steps, III the afternoon, when heard a
heavy picking pan dragged along the stone floor
below. quite thought some one was down there;
but, as usual. there was 10 10 he seem and the
pan was III Its place
AT eleven O'Clock, a. H., my wife and Still were
on the landing. The grl was telling her mistress
that she had heard Mrs. KS voice tho evenin,