Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-11
GHOST OF 4 TAILOR.

passed through this port, and ppnymasters'
money circulated very freely. There were
here, then, numerous large contractors
who had mrle handsome amounts fur
nIshing the boys down after Santa Anna
with clothing and provisions, and every
thing wore the appearance Of flush times
The sugar crop had been good, cotton was
coming in qIIte freely, and, commercially
speaking, business was booming Balls
sulrccS, opera parties and trips to the
neIghbOrIug plantations were much in
vogue, and almost Parisian gayety
rcIgncd
st. Charles street between Poydras and
Canal streets, was one Of the liveliest pOr-
tions Of the city, and gorgeous oyster
saloons, shooting galleries and gambling
houses ran night and day with patrons
waiting To be attended.
The old 81. Charles hotel, with its great
dome and imposing architecture, was one
of the crnters where planters and mer-
chants cnngregated of evenings to discuss
the crop prospects and to make arrange
ments for the coming season.
During the earlier part Of the year
Asiatic cholera hal made sad havoc
amongst the population, and many
families had been nearly broken up. But
prupitious look for the winter. an in.
crease Of business, and the restless spirit
of the younger inhabitants, soon dissI
plted the gloom left by the dread disease,
and pleasure was w0ocl by her yotaries
with all the L',t she h ID excited before.
II there was one thing more than an
other that the Creole gallant prided him
self In, II was the perfection OF fit i'll his
clothes. Neat To IA fault, and possessed of
taste that was almost artistic in his per
sOnal habllimcntS, he WAS thoroughly
connOisseur in the cut of a coat or she
set of pair Of panta!ouns. He believed
gentleman should be a gentleman even
III his neck-tie, and personal adOrnment
was not beneath the consideration Of a
prince. To meet the demand for the
finest of garments, there grew up race
OF tailOrs here probably not eXCelled ever
in Paris. The most costly stuffs from
foreign looms found ready purchasers, ard
the richest fabrics could be seen on the
backs OF the habitueS Of the opera house,
any night 1t is said that each Of the
leading tailOr- had his staunch supporters,
and their respective merits were often the
subject of warm discussion.
Perhaps as the leader in the art of fit
ting the human shape. Old Ducourneau
stood head and front above the others, at
least, many old residents, still alive. ties
tify to his great popularity. His place of
business WAS Immediately opposite the
ST. Charles hotel, and he employed large
number of operatives. He however,
trusted no one TO cut a garment, except
one foreman. DuCOuTneau's coats had a
curve in the collar and sweep in the tail
none others hal, and he would not sacri-
flee his reputation by permitting care
less hand to alter them.
Even tailDrs are amenahle to Asiatic
cholera, and DuCOurnraU'S establishment
popular as it was, did not escape the in
trusluu OF this unwrlCome guest One
bright spring morning the foreman was
taken down, and was soon followed by
three wnrkmen. They all succumbed,
and the old tailor was compelled to re-
double his own eXertiuns to ill the orders
that came Crowding in.
His shop was on the ground floor of the
building, and along either wall was ar
ranged the tables Of his assistants Few
of them ever went home to dinner, but
were served from a neighbOring restau-
rant. Here they piled the needle until
o'clock struck from the clock OF DR..
Clapp's church, at the corner, when, in 81
lent procession, they filed out and went
away to their families.
About two weeks after the death Of the
foreman the porter { the shop was in
formed that after trk the place WAS
haunted and nightly the ghost of the de
ceased foreman returned to his acCus-
toned table and there in the darkness
proceeded To cut out surtouts, redingotes,
and vests for spiritual gaIlants Of the
other world The statement was cOrrob-
GRATED by several cabmen whose hacks
stood in front of the building. They had
heard, night after night, the clipping and
swapping OF the ghOstly old gentleman's
scissors, and many other mysterious noises
within the shop. The heavy plate glass
doors permitted a full view of the interior
from the street, and it was plain to see
no human being was there to produce
such sounds.
Drcourneau himself paid but little at
tentiQn to the story. but it had its effect
on mis- wOrkmen, and in their homes and
amongst their aCquaintances they talked
about the matter, 50 taat in the course OF
oIe or two weeks a large proportion OF the
inhabitants down town had heard the
Strange story.
1t was then that small knots of listeners
could be seen after nightfall, standing
about the doors of the Ducourneau tailor
ing establishment.
At first these groups were composed Of
the Omnipresent small boy, but it was not
long before those of larger growth as
sisted i'll these vigils. BY Septemb Der prob
ably some twenty or thirty could be found
there, listening with rapt attention for the
tailor to commence his nocturnal work
Sure enough, when the passers-by grew
less and something like quiet reigned,
there commenced the snip p-snip p-snip' Of
the tailor's shears, and then the watchers
would tiatten their noses against the glass
doors, looking keeuly for sight Of the
ghost. Some few of strong Imagination
asserted they could discover the lank form
of the late cutter, but their ghostly figures
were generally found TO be some garment
hung up in the back part Of the shop,
which in the OhsCurity reSembled the hu-
man shape.
The fact that no specter could be seen
did not abate the interest in the matter.
In truth, it rather augmented it That
the scissors went on with their short,
sharp clip clip" the most obstinate had to
admit Anybody with half an ear could
testify to this And what could produce
the sound if it was not the ghOst' Why,
nothing. The logic was satisfactory to
the average man, and So it was put down
as an indubitable fact that Ducourneau's
foreman, the victim of the scourge, had
returned to his old haunts.
Soon the crowds increased about the
doors of evenings. From twenty they be-
came forty, sixty, and then 100. At first,
with all their reputation for curiosity, not
a single female could be seen in the hetero-
geneous throng, but soon three or four
women appeared ani in a few nights there
were many. 1t was at this time that the
Dncnurnean rhnst hnran 10 attract nuhlic