Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-10-03
THE WARNEFORD GHOST.
BY MRS. ROBERT JOCELYN.

1.-The hS1se is very full, Florence, and
thought you would not mind sleeping
in this room," said Mary Warneford, as
she ushered me into large, airy bed
room, into which the bright rays of the
setting sun were streaming gloriously On
q certain afternoon in by-gone June.
81 really see no visible reason why I
should do SO" replied jestingly, with a
smile. 81 think it about as charming a
room as it we'll can be-"
"The room is fairly pleasant in its
way" she returned carelessly. "Only,
as you know, it is supposed to be
haunted"
"Haunted?" repeated, rather aghast.
"Do you mean to say that this is the
haunted roomW
eyes, it is the room that is said to be
haunted" she replied quietly. ''Do you
object to it? If so, pray say SO, dear. ~
Her words woke me to a sense of my
duty to my hostess. ooh, dear no."
replied quickly. ~ call it most inter
esting"
every interesting, no doubt, to those
who believe in ghosts" she returned
quietly. 81 do not, or I should not
have put you in this room"
"Of course, know that, and of course
the ghost question is all nonsense" ]
agreed lightly.
'Just SO, DEAR" she returned in the
same tone. II knew you were blessed
with little common sense, and that was
why selected you as a suitable occu-
pant for this room. We all know YOU
ere quite above anything of this sort, and
do not possess such inconvenient things as
nerves."
And with this fattering assurance
ringing IN my ears found myself alone
in the haunted room of Warneford Alb
hey
I looked curiously around it. A
charming room certainly, but haunted,
the haunted room.
Now the haunted room at Warneford
Abbey was about as we'll known as the
haunted house in Berkeley Square, and for
years it had been closely locked against
all possible intruders. 1t was an under
stood fact that the late Sir Charles
Warneford did not like any mention of
the Warneford ghost to be made in his
presence. There had been a charming
mystery about the Warneford haunted
room. Every one had told different
story about it, and every one was quite
sure that his version of it was the true
one. Some people swore it was man
some people knew for fact it was a
woman; others were sure it was a mon
ster, too dreadful in it's hideousness to be
1ocor1hcI ooI IoI al
reliable authority, that it had a tail and
cloven feet, and its form altogether was
the reverse to heavenly.
But when Mary's husband, the present
baronet, came into the property, which
he did very shortly before the time this
story begins, he took quite an original
view of the case, and proclaimed far and
wide that there was no ghost at all, much
less a monster. Mary backed him ur
about it. They unlocked the room, had
it thoroughly done up and refurnished,
and gave it to be understood that they
could not understand how any one in
their senses could possibly have believed
that there could have been a word Of
truth in any of those old, foolish, super.
stitious stories.
And it was thus that Mary coolly in
PRODUCED the first guest into that haunted
room.
I gazed round the room in an awestrick
en- manner, and came quickly to the con.
clusion that the thing liked the least il
it was the bed. A heavy, dark, old bed
stead, on which was carved 1nnumerable
extremely unattractive objects. Head
of Misunderstanding men and women
interviewer among horrible, open-m outhec
| animals, which had never been copiee
from any of the species supposed to hav'
come out of the Ark, and were none tn,
less CHASTITY because their proportion
were a physical impossibility. No.
certainly did not like the bed in which
was doomed to sleep that night ct all
However, luckily for my peace ofmind
had not mu:h time to spare in nedita
ton. We had arrived just in lime TO
dinner-papa, Molly and Land whe
Mary left me I had only half an hour i
which to unpack INV -dSfessing case, rum
mage in my eox for some evenin
clothes, and dress myself for Dime