The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-11-15
A GHOST STORY.
Mysterious Noises and Sepulchral
Utterances.
A Haunted Portrait--How and by Whom
the Ghost Was Laid-A Grateful
Maiden and a Happy De-
movement.

We moved into a house, mother,
Teddy, Rosaleen and l. | was Ursula
Despard, and Teddy, my fourteen-year-
old brother. The rent was so reason
able that mother and FASTENED to sign
the papers, fearful that some one would
secure the bargain.
No. 2,Ol8 was just ike the other
houses in block, which is sufficiently
described in the term "a row of Phila-
delphia bricks" We were all going to
be very happy there, we knew. The
a 'ount of rent was so much less than
we had expected to pay that it would
enable us to supply some much-coveted
articles for Residents trousseau. Rosa
leen, our beauty, was to be married to a
naval officer; we had only so much
money, and naval officer-well, one
knows the excessive style implied in
those words!
We congratulated ourselves upon Sc
curing such a nice establishment from
which to launch our paragon. The large
room on the first floor, which had evi-
IDENTITY been once used as an Office or
library, we converted into sitting
room, where, in the evening, we
gathered with our work or books. where
we held council, or made ourselves easy
for talk. Here, too, we wrote our
letters and received intimate friends.
1t was our home roOm-the one room in
the house where we felt perfectly free
and UncOnstrained.
Rosaleen's taking off, was but three
weeks distant and a great amount of
sewing and doing and fixing caused us
TO keep late hours. On Saturday night.
fatigGed by a week of continued strug-
Cling with silks and satins, we left Rosa
leen to finish letter to her future ''lord
and master, Lieutenant Harry De Wire.
remember looking at the clock in nv
bedroom, which marked near ap-
proach to midnight. How long had
been asleep | know not, but it could not
have been long, when | was startled
from sleep by succession of terrible
screams. | heard Rosaleen tearing up
stairs. rushed out to meet her, and
she fell fainting into my arms.
When Rosaleen recovered, she told us
that she had about finished her letter.
when she became conscious of a most
unearthly, hollow groan, which she
could not compare with anything NOR
tai. 1t did not suggest crash, or any,
thing loud, but it had deep, hollow.
Soul-thrilling quality, which penetrated
every bone in her body. Rosaleen,
being courageous, tried to convince her
self that it was imagination, and so re-
manned. A few moments of silence was
followed by an awful Gathering of
chains. The element of noise entered
into this sound; when Rosaleen started
to rush from the room she heard,
distinctly as she ever heard in her life,
the words: Poison them!'
Rosaleen was not superstitious, there
fore | was surprised to observe the de-
pressing effect this incident had upon
her bright temperament. She insisted it
was portent of evil. The rest of us
PERSISTED in making light of the sounds,
until she gave us to understand that it
was no joking matter with her.
Monday night Teddy came home very
late, and man-like went to the cup
board, obtaining some cake, then enter
ing the sitting-room, began to eat. He
went to Harry's picture for some cause.
Again was | aroused from slumber as
Teddy broke into my room, crying:
80, Lula! Come down stairs! The
picture spoke to me!'
slipped on wrapper, and together
we entered the room, The gas was but
dimly burning, and the customary rat
tie of the street had ceased. The deep
tone of a neighboring clock measured
out its midnight strokes. Teddy was
ghastly pale, and | felt myself shivering
with dread Sf some underlined feAr.