Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-15

looked so beautiful as i approached 1t
for my uncle had spared no expense in
making il all that a gentleman's resi-
dence should be-that l felt quite
ashamed OF having been driven away
from 1t by q act OF paltry ghosts, mere
phantom collection gathered together by
my own uncle. principally for his profit
but partly also for his amusement, and
out of sort OF virtuoso curiosity. "Tbe
finest collection OF spectres in the world. +"
so he had been proud to consider them ;
and was |, the owner Of the museum, TO
be afraid OF my own specimens? The
idea was absurd. | was received by
Timpkins. whose air was preternaturally
solemn.
"Pm afraid, air, that you did not
pack them rs well as you thought, he
remarked gravely. "Some OF them
must have got loose somehow, for they
we're at il as bad as ever the night after
you left"
"Were they, indeed ?" I answered
grimly. =.
And for several nights after that, "
he went on. "The servants have all left
They stayed their week and then they
went. And as it happened the ghosts
have been quiet ever since"
Exactly So" / answered irritsbly.
81 always said the servants were at the
bottom of it."
lie looked at me with surprise. "You
don't think so, I'm sure, sir. It's just
what they call coincidence "
Coincidence or not, the ghosts let me
alone that night, but l got mp the next
morning in o very bad temper, notwith-
standing. NY uncles servants had been
admirably chosen, and knew their work
thoroughly. 1t was tiresome to lose
them all at one fell swoOp Of fate. |
should have been absolutely alone in the
house but for the faithful Timpkins,
who still evidently hoped that / should
"manage them" He had got the gar
dener's wife to come and cook for mo in
our temporary difficulty, and | ought to
have been more grateful to him than |
was. / am afraid that | wanted an ex-
cuse for being savage. ] found ono in
the clock, which had run down in my
absence and had not been attended to.
l had not noticed this the night before.
81 declare, Timpkius," / remarked to
that illused individual, 81 think that
my own room might at least be taken
care OF. can understand that the rest
Of the house must be at SKIES and sevens,
but the place ] sleep in ought to be IN
order"
Timpkins, in whose experienced eye |
saw compassion for my pitiable situa-
ton, expressed regret that anything had
been neglected. He had not been aware
Of it.
CTS the clock" answered angrily;
ait has not been wound up, thing that
can be done in three minutes "
ooh, the clock !" responded limp
kins. his countenance clearing. 81 beg
pardon, sir, but the old master never al-
lowed any one TO touch IT. The last
housekeeper "a very valuable person,
sir was sent away because she tired to
make it go. If yOu want that clock
wound up, cir, I'll take it as a particular
favor if you'll do it yourself !"
felt inclined to quarrel with him on
the spot, but on the whole decided that
! wouldn't; so [ WOMB up the clock
myself That night, as the intelligent
render will be already aware, the ghosts
came again. The intelligent reader has
had the advantage of what / may call
"selected circumstances " from which to
draw his deductions. / was struggling
with multifarious circumstances alto
gether unsolicited, which | have not put
before him. Selected circumstance IS
what reveals to us the end of novels
while the actors in them are struggling in
a hopeless fog this it is which makes us
so much wiser than the philosophers,
and so much sharper than the detectives
in the books we read. Weare not really
so clever as we think on most occasions.
Well, the ghosts came again, and |
think that on the whole they behaved
rather worse than before. They talked,
screamed, groaned, and proposed at the
very top OF their voices and without any
regard to the prophecies. They qnite
disturbed the philosopher at his notes,
and he looked at me in a remonstrant
way, rs who should say, 81 really do
think. YOU know. that you let them 60
too far %
But what YVES I to do? At first could
only add my groans to theirs. After a
time the sound of the clock ticking JOY
ouslv on through al the noise struck me
oddly. ceased my groans to listen to
it a saving thought flashed through my
mind the coincidence existed not with
the servants, bnt with the clock. /
leaped out of bed, rushed through
those ghosts as if they had been air
very chilly air they seemed to be, too
and | put my finger on the swinging
pendulum. There was a low wall OF
deep dismay, then-oh. Joy oh, happi-
ness oh, relief the ghosts were gone
| drew my breath with long sigh of
satisfaction, and felt the solitude like a
paradise. But my troubles were not all
over. The silence lasted about minute,
then heard slight sound. as if some
one in the corner OF the room was try
ing to speak to me. The voice was faint
and uncertain it trembed and nearly
ebbed away, then took body and went
on: electrically must protest. i
er-really can't consent to this. It
er-is not fair, not in the contract.
You-er-have perfect right not to
wind it up, but to stop lt-er-that was
never agreed TO-.
looked in the corner Of the room
and saw that the old philosopher had al
most gone, but not quite; or, to speak
more correctly, he had partly come back
again. His form was as indIstinct as his
voice it wavered like a candle in a
breeze, and tried hard to keep itself to-
gether that his limbs might not part
company, like clouds before tempest.
of you-er-would just let it go again
while | talk to you" he pleaded, "the
others -sha 'n't-come back, and I'll tell
YOU all-er-all about it. He nearly
went out then and there, and only by
violent effort braced himself up into
comparative solidity. He was courage
Gus old phantom.
| stood hesitating with my finger on
the clock. A wise man would have let
well enough alone but was not wise.
| wanted to know "all about it. /
wanted TO hear the secret of the clock
and of the ghosts
"You are sure they won't come back ?"
| asked.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of a gentle
..non I,,st o,;,.o mn On faxp tioEc ca bar1