Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-14
A BEWITCHED HOUSE.

Yious circumstances occurred, and, al
though everything was done to find out
the originator, natural or supernatural,
Of the trick played upon us--if trick It
was--wc never succeeded in calculating
the matter.
Travellers in different parts Of the
world may have had the like disagree
able experiences, as have since heard
that this species of revenge on supposed
enemies, Of which so dissgreeablc a
specimen came under my notice, is
commonly resorted to in Ceylon and
several parts OF India.
happened 70 be spending year
with my sister and her husband in the
lovely island made immortal BY the
factor fiction--of the romantic loves
and deaths Of Paul and Virginia.s
The house servants, with the excep-
ton Of the nurses, were all natives
that is, Indians either born in the
island-the offspring Of coolies import
ed for the labor Of the sugar-planta-
tions-or who had come to prosecute
their fortunes, creoles of mixed race,
natives Of the island, and varying
considerably in tint and feature.
The cook was q Msdrasse. the butler
a creole Of African descent; three Of
the boys were pure Indians. They all
seemed to get on very well together
now and again we heard tremendous
noise-six or seven tongues raised in
unintelligible hubbub Of Incompetent
sible talk, but it gradually sank away
or ended in a hearty burst Of childish
laughter.
The language in which we commu-
nicated with them was vaguely called
creole--a mixture Of French and other
tongues, the former predominating; az
in Mauritius, though an English colony,
French obtains in the shops and in a
considerable portion Of the commercial
world, most Of the principal planters
in the island being descendants Of old
French families. 1T is childish lsn-
euage, full Of authorizations, odd,
abrupt terminals and calculations, with
q universal and most catching bur,
which all children born in the island
involuntarily acquire.
None of the servants spoke English
only one, the butler, Alphonse Appa-
varoo, Familiarity termed "Sammy,"
understood it, and he only imperfectly;
so that, Notwithstanding the presence Of
three or four "boys" at table, We
could speak unconstrainedly on any
subject. The cook, whose name was
Manuel, had been nine years in my
brother-in-law's employment, and was
q most respectable, steady, harm
less man, and occupied, with his
wife and children, a small lease" in
the grounds, hidden behind a hedge of
bamboo and tamarind-trees. 1t was
my brother-in-law's intention to finally
Rave Mauritius in six months, and as
the house was to be occupied after his
departure by his partner. single man,
the establishment would naturally be
considerably reduced. But, as his in
tention was only known to his i'm
mediate family, and he did not wish
it generally spoken OF until his
plans were fixed, do not see that the
servants can have had any acquaint-
ance with his projected movement, al
though subsequent events have made
me come reluctantly to the conclusion
that Sammy, in spite Of being trust
worthy servant and the factotum of the
establishment, was the prime mover in
the disturbance Of our peace and COM
fort. may be doing him an injustice,
but he must, think, have in some way
become aware Of the impending changes,
and have taken the means / am about
to narrate to get rid of servant whose
footing in the house was Of longer
standing than his own.
This, however, is only con lecture, as
we never succeeded in clearing up the
mystery.
One hot evening We were seated at
table, the party consisting of my sister,
her husband, two young men-hls
cousins-and myself. The servants
had left the room for one Of the courses,
when, instead of returning, we heard a
hubbub Of mingled voices, cries Of ter
ror, a stampede Of naked feet pat
teripg along the tiled veranda, and
while we were lost in amaze
ment as to what the cause Of the sudden
disturbance might be, in rushed one Of
them, Djuman by name, his face that
ashen hue which Indians assume when
pale, bis very turban shaking on his
head, as in tremulous voice he cried
piteOusly:
"M'sieu, pierre fine tombe venez,
gete Ii, fine coupe tete doomon, ma
pas come doomon zette-li, sarse, ne
trouve-h."
But as / cannot speak creole cor
rectly, not to mention spelling it, had
better give a translation Of the more
puzzling words in his ejaculatory SEN
tence :" Sarse" is "chez, chez" as
crsoles cannot pronounce sch y;
"gete" is "look," or see "; doc
mon" is very general term applied
to all and sundry. Any one wishing
to see you is a "doomon -; all news
is heard from "quelque doomon," aud
/ believe is traced to A" du monde"
Every second sentence begins with
"fine " and ends with oil" followed
by an extraordinary sort Of grunt-
"Eh :" Something like the 4" Yah (. "
Of our London street boy.
Djuman's trembling utteraDces were
to the effect that while cook was dish
ing the dinner stones began TO fall at
intervals on the stove, on the table, aud
in different parts Of the kitchen, coming
down on the outside wooden roof Of the
building, which stood alone at some
fifty yards from the house, with sharp,
clear ping" and falling down into the
room without crack or an Aperture
Of any kind being visible on the ceiling
to show how they had effected an en-
trance.
Nv sister, who was Of q nervous
tsmpe,sment, did not like it at all, and
shrsnk close to her husbands side
begging him not to leave her. The tw'
Young men and rose and ran across tn,
yerands and the bright moOnlit-payet
ward into the little kitchen, where d.,