The Portland daily press., 1891-03-13
AN ODD GHOST STORY.
sbawIey. the Grocer Boys Spirit,
brings Trouble.
rNew York Continent

Miss Emily Kingsley, most respect
able maiden lady, who lives in dainty
little flat on Throop avenue, near Han
cock street, Brooklyn, is being pursued
by the outraged ghost of German gro
Gerry boy.
Miss Kingsley has snug little fort
une, and for years she has maintained
an independent establishment with the
aid of dignifed colored person named
Martha. AS Miss Kingsley and Martha
never kept late hours nor gave card par
ties, they led, on the whole, a very
happy, if uneventful, existence, until
within the past year. Then the ''hantn
came into their lives.
Fifteen months ago Miss Kingsley was
living in fiat on Madison street. Brook
Ign. Most of her supplies in the proyis-
ion line were drawn from a corner gro
Gerry in the neighborhood and delivered
by little German grocery boy. He was
Jolly fat chap, with stupid face and
prodigiously red cheeks, full blue eyes
and hair that gained him the title of
"cottontop" with all the children of the
neighborhood.
his BOSS CALLED HIM ''sHAwLEY."
His trips to Miss Kingsley's fiat were
never ending source of delight to "Shaw-
ley" whose correct name, by the way,
was Karl. Like many other maiden lad
les, Miss Kingsley detested children, and
though 'tShawley" did the work of three
or four men, still, on account of his size,
and particularly on account of his &C
tions, he was nothing but an intensely
disagreeable boy in the eyes of ''die alte
jungfrau," as she was known at "Shaw-
ley's" store.
One day, while the poor lady was suf-
fering from particularly bad state of
nervousness, "Shawley" came humping
up the stairway with a big basketful of
potatoes for the Kingsley household. He
had been told scores of times to send his
goods up by the dumbwaiter; but, like a
true grocery boy, he did just the oppo-
site, though it caused him good deal of
extra trouble. With an exclamation of
rage Miss Kingsley few out into the hall
just in time to see the boy mounting the
last step. Startled by the sudden appear
ance OF his angry customer, and COM
pletely taken by surprise, 'Shawley"
stumbled and, losing his hold, tumbled
down the stairs, with the big basket on
top of him.
Miss Kingsley, grimly observing that
it served him right, bounced back into
her sitting rooms. AS for ''Shawley,n he
lay wonderfully still for German GRO
Gerry boy. 1t was dark in the hall, other
wise it might have been seen that his
usually red cheeks had very suddenly
lost all their color. After few minutes.
however, during which the people on the
floor stood by laughing, "Shawley" man
aged to get up. He gathered in as many
OF his potatoes as he could find, though it
gave him queer pain to stoop, and then
he tried to carry the basket up again,
But he couldn't.
HAUNTED BY THE BOY.
So he left it where it was, and. still
with that queer pain which almost made
him cry with every step, he slowly walked
back to the store. Next day it was said
that "Shawley" was sick in bed, and a
week later hearse drove up to the side
door back of the grocery and carried
the little "cottontop" away to the Luther
an cemetery.
Miss Kingsley, who is thoroughly
good hearted lady, was inexpressibly
shocked. And then came the chant"
Not at midnight, nor even after dark,
but in broad daylight. Every grocery
boy who delivered her groceries was
living image of ''Shawley." They called
themselves ernest" and "Yake" and
"Hiney' and "Willie," and they all
smiled at Miss Kingsley's startled looks
when she first saw them, but the good
lady knew that they were all s'Shawley."
At first Martha waxed pathetically
earnest in trying to dissuade her mis-
tress from believing in this illusion.
The doctor found that his patient was
suffering from hysterical mania, caused
by incessant worrying over poor SHAW
ley's" death. In this state it was not I'M
natural that she should imagine herself
haunted by the appearance of the other
grocery boys, who generally resemble
one another as closely as two peas in
pod. The doctor, like Miss Kingsleys
friends, tried to show her that she was
deceived by this resemblance, but so far
he has not succeeded, and unless a change
comes soon he will order his natient
from the city