National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-11-15
STRANGE FANCIES.
VERY QUEER NOTIONS THAT WORK UPON
PEOPLES MISsS.


FRAMEWORK OF glass, some twelve feet long
by sy foat broad aud four feet high.
Through tho glass can plainly be soon
largo oblong box, painted black, which
looks for all the world like n coffin. This
house, although under ordinary circup<
stances ii would bring an enormous re/tal,
being situated in one of tho most Irrshion-
able pats Of London, has been unenanted
for fully twenty years past/ The story
goes, and ! have heard iL/trom at least
half q dozen omnibus ITivers who daily
pass the house, that w last tenant, who
was also the ownerCI tho property,was an
eccentric and vcryNwealthy old cntlomin,
who had serveL/for many years under gov
ernment in Tdia. When he died he leita
provision IN his will that his body should
not wv buried, but should be placed
in /coilin inside the glass structure l
ha>fo referred to, which he had had built
Eome years previously, and almost every
body believes to this day that the old gem
| tleman's bones and whatovory hesh may
| be left upon them are actually at the
present moment lying in this strange re
! ceptacle. i have made inquiries of the
| agents of the property, and they laugh
| the idea to sCorn. but Mt the same time
| they acknowledge that the curious struc-
ture, whatever 1t may contain, will never
! be removed and they add that although
| the house has been offered for years past
ut q greatly reduced rental, nobody can
be induced to take it while the glass box
and its contents remain in their present
position.
Bunhil Fields cemetery, in the city
road, within half mile of the Bank of
| England, is, SO the residents of the neigh
borhood declare, frequently honored by
! tho presence of mysterious ghost, who,
| they allege, may be seen rObed in white,
| prOwling up and down the cemetery in
| the small hours of tho winter mornings.
| | have talked with at least half dozen
respectable and fairly educated people
whose premises overlook the cemetery,
and / have no doubt in my own mind
that they actually believe that an inhab-
| liant of another world really does put an
appearance in at this burying ground at
irregular intervals.
Every village appears to have its own
particular "spook,h and there Is hardly an
ancient castle, hall, or grange throughout
the land that does not boast of its own
particular specter. In almost all the
families Of the old aristocracy, particu-
larly among those who avOw in all
seriousness and back it up by genealogi-
cal trees that no human being can contra
dict the correctness of. that their ances-
tors came over with that Norman robber
known in history as William the Con-
queror, certain days of the year are sup
posed TO DO specially fatal to their race.
Again the appearance of certain birds,
such as the owl, crow, and heron, arc &C
copied as evil portents by other great
families, and all sorts of accidental occur
rences are taken to have particular mean
ings and accepted as warnings by half the
titled people in England. The great house
of Percy, to which the present Duke of
Northumberland belongs, is noted for n
superstition that the ghost of certain
Earl Percy, who lived hundreds of years
ago, aud was no better than he should
have been, appears in the corridors of the
famous Ainwick Castle, in Northumber-
land, within twenty- -four hours before the
dst SD s6 thH tnmat ha SthcAAs As
are looking eagerly for the appearance of
the specter it is no matter for wonder
ment that tho highly wrought imagina-
tion leads them to believe that they SEQ
the unquiet spirit patrolling the corridors
of the old castle. Among the poor ignor-
ant country people in England tho most
ridiculous and absurd superstitions and
iancies prevails. Charms are resorted to
to cure sickness quite as often as the doc
tor is called in, and theTo is hardly viii
lage in England where one would fail to
find some decreDit old woman, bent dou-
BILE with ago, who earns fair livelihood
by advising young women how to attract
and retain the undying affection of tho
particular Dick the plowman or Tom the
hostler on whom they have set their
young affections; by working charms that
will insure offspring to the childless. or,
in fact, accomplishing, or rather profess
| ing TO accomplish, anything that the
poor ignorant village folk desire.
In tho extreme north and west of
England superstition perhaps wields
the strongest sway over tho Inhabitants
and very notable instance Of the man
ner in which the credulity Of tho temper
ate, virtuous, and hospitable Cornish
peasants was some years ago played upon
by some tartfnl rascals has recently como
under my notice. Hanging in the place
honor in the best room of many hum
dred cottages in Cornwall is IA most re-
markable document, which processes to be
n copy of a letter written by Jesus Christ.
The broad sheet is 50 curious that l have
taken the trouble to have it copied. 1t Is
illustrated, and begins thus:
Copy of letter written by Our
Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ and found
eighteen miles from IGonium. siXty-three
years after Our Blessed Saviour's cruci-
tixion. Transmitted from the Holy City
by a converted jew. Faithfully trans
lated from the original copy now in pos
session Of Lady Cuba's family, in Meso-
pOtamla. This letter was written by
jesus Christ and found under Il great
stone, round and large, at the foot Of the
| cross. Upon tho stone was craven,
blessed Is he that shall turn me over
All people that saw IL prayed to God
earnestly and desired that he would
make the writing known unto them, and
that they might not attempt in vain to
turn tho stone over. In the meantime
there came out a little child about 6 years
of age, and turned ii over without as
sistance, to the admiration Of every por-
son who was standing by. 1t was carried
to the city of lcOnium, and there pub
lished by person belonging to Lady
Cubas family. On the letter was written
the Commandment of Jesus Christ,
signed by the Angel Gabriel, seventy -four
years after the birth of Our Saviour"
Then follows our Sayiours letter:
"WhOsoover workeJh on the Sabbath
day shall be cursed, command you to
90 to church and keep tho Lords day
holy, without doing any manner of work.
You shall not idly spend your timo in
bedecking yourself with suporiluities of
costly apparel and vain Dress for have
ordained u day Of rest. / will have
that day. kept holy that your sins bo for
given you. You shall not break my
commandments, but observe and keep
them; writo them in your hearts aud
stoadlastly observe that it was written
by my own hand, and spoken with my
own mouth, You shall not only 80 to
church yourself, but also send your men
/ al
observe my words and learn my COM
mandment. You shall finish your labor
every Saturday in tho afternoon by g
o'clock, at which hour tho preparations
for tho Sabbath begin. advise you to
| fast llYa ErldhYs In oYerY Yoar. hngining