The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1883-06-27
WHERE 4 TRAGEDY TOOK PLACE

UdhAH a 1HA0A1x 4OOh 1LACE
81 wouldn't tear that front wall down
for $40, 900 cash." said Mr.. Thomas 81.
Green, of Philadelphia. Hundreds of
people have asked me why didn't erect
nicer front when I was overhauling
the building" continued Mr.. Green,
"but l much prefer allowing the cid
brick front to remain, because of the
historic associations of the building.
Here it is that Benedict Arnold once
made his home. In the early part of
the present century the building came
into the possession of the ancestors of
well-known Burd and Shipper families,
whose histories are prominently inter-
woven with that of the city itself. One
of the female members of the Burd fam
lily on dying bequeathed the property to
a relative with the injunction that the
home should never be converted into
stores. To disObey this command would
necessitate demolishing the front, and
so you can see why it is wish to allow
the wall to remain, because by so doing
L consider am complying with the dy-
ing injunction of its former owner
'DO you know there is romantic
story connected with the house ?" said
Mr.. Green. "Abeut fifty years ago one
of the daughters of the Burd family was
engaged to be married to a prominent
Southern gentleman. On the night be-
fore the day fixed for the wedding a
large company was gathered in the par
ler Of the mansion, and the conversa-
tion turned upon ghosts. When the
hour for retiring had arrived the ladies
were pretty well worked up with the
stories they had heard. The betrothed
couple fingered few moments in the
parler, and when the lady expressed a
fear Of meeting with ghost her broth
er spoke up and said: Lock out for the
ghost of B nedict Arnold Tonight.
The Southerner, handing the lady a
handing the lady pistol, said: place
this under your pillow and if any ghost
appears don't be afraid to shoot The
brother, who was a sort of daredevil
fellow, resolved to have some fun. He
contrived to steal the weapon away
from his SISTER, and when everybody
was asleep he dressed himself in the
uniform of an officer of the Continental
army. Entering the chamber of his
sister, he made a noise which awoke
her, and when the terrified girl saw
what she believed to be the ghost of
Arnold she set up such a screaming that
she awakened the household. I'm few
minutes the room was filled with the
other members of the family. When
the matter was explained by the erring
brother the future husband of his sister
became so angry that he grossly insult
ed the young man and then and there
challenged him to fight duel. In a
few hours the preliminaries were all ar
ranged. A little piece of woods in the
southwestern part of the city was Sc
lected, which they reached about day
light. Pistols were produced, and the
two plucky men faced each other at
twenty yards distance At the first fire
both fell mortally wounded, md when
the seconds and the physicians drove
up to the mansion in the early hours of
the morning they tenderly conveyed
two corpses to resting place within
its portals, and the heartbroken sister
was compelled to mourn the untimely
death of brother and lover. ."-PhiaG-
delphia Record. .ae 8t .rIiss