The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-06-17
The COLONEL'S STORY.
BY CAPTAIN JAMES MoNTFoRD.

by CAPTAIN JAMES MONTFORD.
mo dog was at the threshold, great or small;
No pigeon on the roof-no household creature,
No cat demurely doing on the wall,
Not one domestic feature.
.The centipede along the threshold crept,
The cobweb hung across its may tangle,
And in its winding sheet the maggot slept,
At every nook and angle.
Hood.
"The person who passed through the war
without meeting adventures which thrilled
his blood, or mysteries which chilled it,
must have been a very queer individual.
ave all met with adventures enough,
Colonel" / replied; "but they fitted past
so vaguely that very little is remembered
by the great majority. What was noticed
has now become historical. Every table
creams beneath the weight of that great
mass
"Umph!" said he. sitting down in his
chair. But what is to become of the mass
of events which the historians of to-day
would swear at, eh?"
"That must furnish entertainment for
those who will listen. But | see you have
q story; I'm not one of the sneerers, l
promise you"
"Well," said the old gentleman, laugh
ingly, "the tale will diminish in the telling,
but will relate it plainly"
"There was an old ruined house upon
the plantation of a gentleman named Muir
ray, in Tennessee, which had gained a
celebrity for being the harboring place of
the spirit of giant soldier, who was said
to have fallen under disgraceful circum-
stances during the War of Independence.
"The gentleman who owned the place at
the date / am speaking of disclaimed all
knowledge of the CHASTITY warrior, and, in
deed, secuted the idea altogether.
"The house, which l shall attempt to de-
scribe after moment, had been erected by
a gentleman of French descent called Gas
ton; but whether that was a family name or
not do not know.
According to the story, he had two sons,
and, as Very often happens in romances,
they both loved lady, the daughter of
neighboring thane.
The elder son was unsuccessful in his
suit, his brother marrying the lady and
bringing her home to his fathers house.
"As might naturally be expected, the dis
appointed sutton became very jealous of his
brothers good fortune, and, being of fiery
disposition, his anger ranked into a stern
determination to be revenged.
Both young men were patriotic, and i'm
mediately joined the revolutionary forces at
the first ringing of the bell of freedom.
"Gaston, as l shall call the elder, con-
cealed his hatred from his brother; but,
watching his opportunity, killed him.
Accounts differ as to the circumstances,
but the act was so cautiously carried out
that no one suspected CASTOR of the crime
except his brothers wife, who was probably
in possession of knowledge which satisfied
her as to the real assassin.
"Soon after his brothers death CASTOR
returned to the plantation to pass few
weeks with the bereaved family.
"Then it was that his brothers wife &C
cused him distinctly of the crime, and
warned him of exposure rs soon as his
mother who had become very i'll upon re-
ceiving news of her sons death, recovered,
and was able to sustain this still more ter
rible disclosure.
"The several narrators whom / have heard
relate the legend give very full account of
the scene, and Gastons uncomfortable
position after the accusation.
However, upon finding that neither
threats nor promises could restrain her
tongue, he watches his opportunity until he
finds her one night in solitary part of the
mansion, when he strangles her neatly,
and buries the corpse in the cellar beneath
the house.
"There is great excitement the next day,
and strict search is instituted, but without
a satisfactory result, and the family at last
decide that the young lady has, in a mo-
ment 0f mental disorder, thrown herself
into the lake "a very beautiful sheet of
water, which L have seem not far distant
from the plantation.
"Soon after, CASTOR returns to the army;
but his good fortune has deserted him.
His guilty conscience preys upon his body
and mind, and in q slight skirmish he dis
x1lo tb. ,cto lyoll 10
"As fitting close to his career he is
court martialed, found guilty of cowardice
and treason, and executed by martial law.
"Such is the substance of the story 1 have
heard related several times. The negroes
who dwell within n dozen miles OF the
ruined house firmly believe the legend, with
all its embellishments, and no sum of
money would bride them to enter the house
after nightfall, and even under the full
light of the sun they look upon the place
with awe.
in 1862 was stationed for the space of
three months at point about half mile
from the CASTOR ruin, and passed IT regu-
larry several times week.
1T was a low, weather-beate structure,
entirely dismantled, and overgrown With
creeping vegetation, which was fostered by
the dampness of its situation; for il had
been built in hollow, but little above the
level of the lake, which was about mile
distant.
at extended back for considerable dis
lance, but had, in the daytime at least, moth
ing romantic in its appearance.
II often wished TO pay visit TO the in
side, but leisure was wanting for a long
time.
"But one afternoon, shortly before sun
down, was returning TO my barracks by
the road which passed the house, when one
of those sudden thunder storms so COM
mon in the country arose.
81 was entirely unprovided for it, and as
the huge drops battered upon my head
while the play Of lightning overhead was