The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-01-11
BEHIND THE TAPESTRY.

The first part of the strange story
VIII h ana abort 30 tell happened some
ten Years ago.
Ten wears ago va, IN the first sorrow
of my wdowhuoi. was chi.dlcSS, too;
and when the grave closed over my nus
band thought that there WAS no place
left for me in tie world.
was rich. Young: and nv friends
an my own - '"rt.on in the glasS told
ne was beautiful.
OF course / had many acVra ntanccS;
what rich your@ widow has not? But
acqUaintancas and friends differ widely.
i did NOT care for the people who fiat
t"rrd and made much of me, but
turned. even in ihr first days of my
trouble. 10 one friend.
She. too, was Young and beautiful
We were Schnol-fciiow>: we were en-
gag d AT the same time: we were mar
Tie. in tue same month of the same
yea.
iur:rG the three wears OF my married
lie We had sen little of each other. but
wien my husband died. and Mary Cliff
ford wrut" to me tpnierlv out of her full
heart, | answered back her love.
she asked me 10 stay with her, and |
wet.
How peaceful were these DAYS spent
in her beautiful home! The house and
place were called Aspen'S Vale. The
house was macy centuries old Its ar hi
lecture was remarkable: its rooms
curious. II was n rambling old pla e.
and Of course it had ghost. 1t stood
in the midst of very lovely grounds.
overlooking wood and river. Altogether
Ii was one Of the show places in --
shire.
stayed with the CliffordS for a couple
of months. During this time the house
was quiet, visitors few-they eschewed
company for my sake.
IT the end of two months left them.
com 'Urtcd and helped. and with many
promises OF 4 return by-and-by.
Cir um>t3uceS. however. too varied
and too many TO mention proven ed
that second visit tax NJ place for
cuunl" OF years. At the end OF that
tim" great longing came over me to
see Mary Clifford again. must write
10 her, and propose visit. did So
BY return of post | got short but
charac eriStic reply:
&c DEAREST HONoR: Of course long to see
you. hut. unfortunately. the house is full.
lar-e as il Is, it is crammed from cellar to
attic.
My dear, don't want to refuse Won. do
long To see You. Will you sleep in the tapes
trN-rn' M for of course il u empty. dare not
Put any body else there, but don't think you,
Hon r. viii be afraid Of the ghost. If the
tan.Stry-rOOm viii do, come. and Il thousand
W. comes. ] can put up your maid. Your
loving friend,
MARY CLIFFORD"
To this letter | made short answer:
e do not believe in the ghost The
tap, >try-rnom will do beautifully. En-
PET me tomorrow.
Tie next evening | arrived at Aspen's
Vale in time for dinner The tapestry
rom looked charming. fell in love
witt il on the spot. and vowed laugh
in-Iy that thc ghost and | would make
friends
Ny maid, however, looked grave over
ny .."~ting remarks; it was plain that
Sic believed in supernatural viS;tat;Ons
Gayety o. heart. however, wa over
NJ. ! could not resist the cheerful in
fu"nce of my old friends company.
felt happier than had done since my
husband death, and, after very de-
Ightfui evening. retired to my room.
fee NJ brave enough to encounter anv
number OF ghosts that might choose to
visit ne.
Tn tapestryroOm was quite away
from the rest of the house-it was at the
extreme end of wing
No other bedrooms were in this wing.
There were 4 smoking room, a morning
room. and little Oriel chamber. VIII CHI
Ms. Clifford i'll her early married life
had curiOuSiy fitted up Tor herself. but
now seldom occupied. Neither did she
believe in the ghost, but she confessed
that this little oriel chamber had an
ecr.c feel
The mornihg-rOom opposite. cheerful
and pretty enough. was unused. lis
furniture WAS antique. Ii belonged to
v-gone day, and It's inhabitants were
dead. The smoking room also was de-
serted: even the fumes of tobacco had
LEFT I. the squire prefrrring a more cen
tral apartment in the modern part of
the house.
Altogether. this wing of the old
house seemed dead. Visitors only came /
t. il out of curiosity; they paid br ef /
visits. and preferred doing SO in broad /;
Gay light.
Il must have been quite hundred
years since the tapestry room in the far .
end Of this wing had been slept in Old f.,
a tn other rooms in the W NJ looked. |
the iapestry-rOom bore quite the palm
for ancient appearance. There was not |
al article OF furniture in it. not Il cha r,
not table. which must not have seen
Tie light Of centuries
he furniture was all of the blacklist
OAK. the bedStead the usual four poster
on which our ancestors loved TO stretch
Themselves. But the curious feature of
the room, that which gave it its name.
was be tapestry. Not an inch Of the
walls was to be seen; they were hung
completely with very ancient and very
faded tapestry. There was a story
about this tapestry. One Dame Cliff
ford, of long. long by-gone days, had
worked it, with the help OF her maidens.
Shn had come to an untimely end on
the very day on which the great work
of her life had been completed.
J. does not matter to this story what
became of the proud and fair dame.