The Press., 1890-01-02
THE GHAIST O GHAIRLEE.

The incident am about to relate occurred to myself when on visit to an old house far in the wilds of Rosshire Scotland is the; land of visions. Fey are the places that have not some tradition attached to them. Gloomy and grim stand the old houses, and there is a cause for their forbidding as pect The sullen shadow of pastcrimes hangs over them.
 Last autumn was invited by my dear old friend, the Laird O Ghairlee, to make one of a shooting party assembling there. Sport is good there, if anywhere; and, moreover the laird owned acovey of pretty daughters, who would be sure to make things lively and pleasant
 I arrived, then, at Ghairlee station full of hope and prepared for enjoyment. brought with me my guns and my beloved violin, without which never travel.
 Ghairlee itself is curious old house; the. passages run about it in an extremely com- plicated fashion, up one step to a room. down two steps into it, and 30 on. The hall is a. portion of the old tower; the walls of im- mense thickness. Many additions have been made by different lairds, long since gathered to their fathers.
 did not see all this the night of my ar rival-in sooth, it was so dark that could distinguish very little as the dog cart spun, up the avenue; but I did notice the black mass on my left as we turned a very sharp corner round block of buildings, and on my right, a sullen roar as if angry waters boiled over in a torrent to dash upon rocks in the dark depths, far, far below.
 The next moment we drew up before the door, barred and studded with great iron nails. Light was pouring from the hall, and the laird stood in the doorway surrounded by a bowling bodyguard of terriers.
 ''Whist, dogs! Come in, laddie!''
 And my old friend gathered me into his an cestral hall with highland hospitality. We passed up a low stairway, and across thick ly carpeted corridor furnished with strange pieces of antique workmanship-fr drowning cabinets and carved chairs from which uncan. ny faces leered in the frelight. The drawing room was at the far end and there were again two or three steps leading to it alone, By the side of these steps and against the wall stood fine old press of marguerite, quaint ly inlaid and used, as 1 afterward learned, for the slowing away of odds and ends, of nothing and all things. It was here that my violin soon found place, and laid it, in its modern embroidered case, by the side of a quaint old lute about which vas twisted faded, moth eaten ribbon.
 s'This," said the laird's pretty daughter, touching it reverently, ''has history. We keep it here-pretty as it is-because none of us like to look OH itr-- But all this be- longs elsewhere in my story
 Report had not exaggerated the charms of the old laird's daughters Four of them he had-the youngest, charming child-the eldest, already appropriated. But there re- mained the adorable second and the exquisite third, and after day of painful uncertainty fell before the first of these two, who was called by the tuneful name of Mavis, and who had a musical fever akin to my own. Together we trilled and tummed and turned leaves and played love songs and madrigals, serenades and sonatas, and when we did not play we talked music, and when we did not talk music, we talked-ah we'll! suffice it to say that the days hurried by and the weeks flew after them and had been a guest at Ghairlee nigh on to a second month, and my heart belonged to Mavis.
 The cream of the shooting was over and the party much diminished. One or two men only remained beside myself, and pretty young woman-a neighbor of the laird's who had come for a two weeks visit We were. gathered in the drawing room and somebody asked for music. l went out to the fire lighted hall to the old cabinet to get my violin, and Mavis went~with me. We finger ed there, alone, for moment just, for the sake of lingering. It was enzMavis spoke about the lute.. I took it in my hands and, as I did so, a thin, faraway vail of melody seemed to sweep past us and lose itself in the dimness beyond the glow of the frelight.
 "What was thatg' I asked, sharply. Then, seeing that Mavis only trembled in reply, added, quickly: II must have jarred the old thing"
 Put it down, ;" said Mavis; fit is uncanny. we never touch it. It belonged to the Ghaisf O Ghairlee!''
 ITO the ghaisti' cried ], slaughing--p perhaps not altogether heartily-fore though I cer- tainly did not believe in ghosts, there had been something in that wailing strain to set ones nerves on a quiver; .'you Scotch lassies, forsooth, must still believe in your ghaists! There was never decent bluided Highland body without a ghaist in his castle! You must introduce me some day to yours!p And so, laughing and teasing her to bring back the roses to her cheeks, if, indeed, | could, I led her again to the drawing room, where a merry crowd and an hour or two of my be- loved music with my dear violin soon chased the Ghaist O Ghairlee from my thoughts.
 My rooms were in the .tower-~in that same black pile of stone round which I swept, on the evening of my arrival, and my windows looked out over the torrent which roared its way ceaselessly from rock to rock to a shud- dering depth, and then tore on in dark sullen stream.
 bade Mavis good night with hurried pressure of her little fingers --for they all stood around us in the drawing; room and she did not offer to go out into the hall, and then sprang lightly up the steps, hamming strain of the bit of Beethoven we had been going over.
 The large corridor was illuminated by a lamp. A smaller passage led away from it, and my room opened into this, passagar-now in profound darkness. There were candle sticks on a table at the headeof theaA flight of steps, but after found out the way to my rooms and had grown accnstomed to 1t, I rarely stopped to lightone. Tonight I made no exception to this custom, and went swing ing down the passage toward my door.
 I had found it, and-was about to turn. tho handle when saw before me, few feet dis tant, man crouching, with his ear cl0se against the wall level with my door. He slowly turned his head and stared straight at me. A more evil expression had never en- countered, so full was it of threatening hate and devilish purpose
 l stood fascinated, watching the man Presently, with hand outspread feeling along the wall, he began creeping toward me: at s the same moment the dismal bowling Of . dog eusaarently in on0 of tha rooms hecauaa