Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-26

4 lnwrlSnt, had been Ill. He had been IN oeclln-
ing health for a long time and died shortly
after Mrs. Hillyard Another was that mar
rage always completely metamor-
phoses woman. and especially In
| regard TO all the conditions and relationships
Of her anti-nuptial life. Marriage radically
changes her point of view, and she looks at all
things with her husbands eyes rather than
her own. Then, too, it is q sad fact that the
altar often produces deeper, wider. more heart
| rending chasms in the family circle than the
grave. Still the question persissently pre-
sented itself to my mind: Why did she employ
a stranger to draw her will!
IN NEW QUARTERS.
As spring approached my brother proposed
that we should take a house. saying that we
would be much more comfortable and, indeed,
that it was greatly to his advantage that we
should do so. / assented. and he at once put
the matter in the hands of an agent. After
some days the agent reported that he had
found exactly what we wanted-a small, nicely
furnished house In the best quarter Of the city.
My brother examined it and the house was
taken and on the It'll day of the month Of May
we moved into it. / have occasion to always
| carry wildly in my memory that date. The
house, which stood on a corner, was of the
usual kind 1t was two stories in height. A
! flight of eight steps led up to the front door,
| which opened into hall. On the right were
the parlors, the back one of which we used as
dining room. Upstairs there were three
spacious chambers. Along the back Of the
dining room ran a wide veranda, from which a
! wooden stairway led down into a small paved
courtyard, across which stood the kitchens and
servants quarters This yard was sepa-
rated and protected from the side
street by high brick wall, in which was door
into the street for the use of servants. &c. and
on which was strong lock. Our household
| consisted OF my brother myself and three old
family servants negro man, our butler, his
wife, our cook. and their son. my brothers
coachman, and they all lived in the ervants'
quarters across the yard over the kitchens.
A GHosTLY VISITOR
1t was one Of those first warm days that came
to us in the south In April and May. We had
enjoyed our first dinner in our new house and
congratulated ourselves on our vastly increased
comfort. My brother had gone out to his pa
tents The servants had retired and was
| alone in the house. II was near o'clock in
the evening. had lighted one Jet of the chan
delier and the drop light over the table at which
was seated, with my back to the mantel and
nearly facing the door, which stood at this time
partly open, and which led into the hall and
thence out Oh to the veranda before described.
On the table before me were the papers i'll a
case which l was to try the next day and which
l had been engaged in looking over for the last
half hour. Suddenly my ear caught the sound
OF a woman's football crossing the paved back
yard 1t arrested my attention after moment
because 1t was so light and different from the
heavy tread of our cook, the only woman on
the premises, and to whose football had been
used from my infancy. Slowly the steps ad-
vanced, came up the stairs and crossed the
veranda into the hall, until, as l. bent over my
work, was, without looking. aware of the
presence OF some one in the room. Finishing
the work which l was writing looked up and
saw woman standing Just inside the door,
which, as I've said, was partly open.
THE APPARITIoN.
Her appearance was altogether a striking
one. She was tall thin and angular, her face
sad and of unhealthy hue. Her hair, dark and
drawn down over half the ears, was fastened
In knot behind She wore dress OF some
white, soft. clinging material. caught at the
waist by black belt. From her shoulders
there fell a short cape half to her waist, which
was bound with black ribbon an inch wide
while it was fastened at the throat by knot Of
narrow black velvet ribbons which fell in many
strands drawn over her bosom. On seeing her
my first impression was that it was some one in
haste to find physician and who had therefore
entered our premises by the door through the
wall from the side street, which has already
been described, and with that idea in my mind
l said: Il presume you are looking for the
doctor. He has gone out, but if you will leave
your address l will send him when he comes
in"
To this there was no reply, but the woman
with her eyes bent on me, moved slowly from
.he door across the room, making a slight de-
Il
and passed through the folding doors, which
we're pushed apart about two feet, into the
front patrlor. This surprised me, and my first
thought was that she was either a lunatic or
somnambulist. With this thought stepped to
the doors and threw one of them back The
woman had now turned around and stood facing
me near the center of the drawing room with
her right arm raised and forefinger extended
as II pointing at something.
DISAPPEARANCE.
To get more light stepped back to the drop
light and lifted off the green shade 1t took
me but an instant to do it. My back was not
turned to the woman at all and my eyes not
off of her five full seconds. Yet when l stepped
back to the folding doors she was nowhere to
be seen. l threw back the other door and the
room was brightly lighted. She was not there
tried the door of the room which led out into
the hall. 1t was locked. l tried all of the four
windows. They were locked. l rolled the
sofas out from the walls She was not there
There was no other place in which she could
conceal herself. She was gone. But in the
name of heaven how? / confess to a feeling
which made my flesh crawl-to that strange
sense which makes us feel as if something
weird. uncdnny, supernatural had occurred to
us. | knew that had not been asleep. In all
Ily life l have never been able TO read myself
to sleep, as so many Others can. To read, with
me. Is to put all my faculties on the alert, and
keep them SO. Neither was l ever in
L III,
on the day i'll question, not even my ordinary
glass of clarct at dinner, our supplies of
VINE had not then arrived. / stepped back to
the table at which / was sitting when the
woman entered and found the cigar which |
had been smoking, and which / had on rising
Lard down. on the edge of the table still alight.
Clearly could not have been asleep and
dreaming. In the course Of half an hour my
brother returned and related the strange oc-
currence to him. he at once pronounced it
an hallucination, and one particularly interest
ing, III that 1t involved. successfully, two of
the senses-the ear and eye. l heard her some
moments before l her. / accepted his
dictum as man learned in such matters, but
l could not shake off the feeling that had been
produced IN me, nor put the thing out of my
mind.
JUDGE H INTERESTED.
The next day l was engaged all day in the
trial Of case before old Judge H, life
long friend of my father, and when the court
TOOK IA recess at noon he invited me home to
luncheon with HIM. Walking down to his
house told him of the ghost had seen the
night before. He was very much intere sted
and when we were at luncheon urged that
strange occurrence. This did
When l had finished the recital Mrs. h
said: This is the strangest thing ever heard
In my life. Who're do you hive? Where is the
house in which this occurred?'
gave her the street and number. She at
once replied: ''Ah. / know the house as well as
do my own. 1t once belonged to dear friend
of mine and must still belong to her estate
aid LA- 4,