The morning call., 1891-07-29
OUR HAUNTED HOUSE.
BY MRS. JULIA M'NAIR WRIGHT.

Shortly after the close of the war Dick
and were left without parents or property
and with the two children to care for.
THE children" were Rob, aged II years,
and lisa. aged IA years. Robert was all
ready for college, noble, studiOus boy, I'M
usually eloquent and full of zeal for that
profession of law in which he has since dis
tinguished himself lisa was thoroughly
artistic in all her tastes. eager to devote her.
self to drawing and painting Nowadays
many books and magazines are graced with
Isa's Illustrations, and | am very proud of
my gifted sister
Dick and | were most anxious that the
plans our parents had made for Rob and lisa
should be carried out. Their plans for US
had been thwarted by the miSfortunes of
wartime. was now %, and Dick was %.
We could not 90 to college for the burdens
OF life rested upon us, but we wanted the
children " to have all that we had missed l
think we four belonged cOnstitutionally 10
what is now called 1.-THE new South" We
were not afraid of work we had no shame
of self-support; we esteemed intellectual
culture as, next to godliness, the most de-
sirable OF possessions; our natures, like
Damascus blades, had grown both tough
we had passed.
God was very good to us. Just as we
were so careful and troubled about SO
many things" | was beQueathed a moderate
sum. which with strict care would be enough
to send Rob throgh college and law school
and give Isa four years in conservatory;
possibly, if we were all very saving, even
year of study in Europe! Accordingly
that they might be near together in their
exile, Robert was sent to Harvard and lsa
how r.
for two years. We could not afford travel
ing expenses. ISa was to spend the long
vacation with friend near Boston and Rob
esteemed himself happy TO have promise of
a position in a summer school among the
White Mountains.
Dick had keepers position in Rich
mond. The salary was small, but we made
il do for US two. We had tiny house in
the outskirts, where L devoted myself to
making two ends meet" No one was with
Us but our old black nanny, who clung to
us in cur fallen fortunes. The children"
had been gone a little over year when
Dick was taken very Ill with fever. During
his three months sickness all our tiny saw
ings vanished. Worse tnan that, the doctors
said Dick was unfit for indoor work and his
only hope OF vigorous health rested in out
of-dOor occupation. Get plantation and
run it, MY lad" said the doctor; You can
not 60 back to a desk" What hard, cXpen-
sIye prescriptions these doctors give. A
plantation. And We had not $50 in the
world.
But God was still very good to us. The
first day Dick was bile to take a long walk
he met old Colonel Gresham, our mammals
fathers friend, whom we had not seen for
wears. Dick brought him home to our SIM
pie little dinner, and at the table we dis
cuSsod our fortunes and misf0rtunes. The
Colonel wanted to know all about US.
See here, Dick" said the Colonel do
you remember my plantation nsar -?
The Tulip Tree plantation"
Indeed / do!'' cried Dick; sit is noble
old place"
you can have that" said the Colonel,
''if you are not afraid OF ghosts"
| burst into a laugh. Ghosts, Colonel!
| thought ghosts were all out Of fashion in
the nineteenth century,"
What should be afraid of, Colonel"
said Dick. would be that | could not in
my inexprrience, make enough to pay you
a proper rental for the Tulip Tree That
place should bring you in a handsome SUM-"
" 1t has not brought me a dime since a
vow, Dick, l don't know what is wrong with
the place. They say 1t is haunted. | don't
believe in such tales. but there is something
queer. | have had five or six tenants in
there, and the bOldest of them won't remain
O week. There isn't negro i'll the country
will stay in the house after twilight. There
are plenty of negroes there at the quarters,
for the quarters have not been molested
There is a strange, wild, wailng sound all
thro' the house most Of the time / can't
trace itur, and Eve tried my level best. Then
at night there Is the most Internal clashipg
and crashing and din; shutters opened doors
opened, furniture oyetset. | went there for
fortnight 10 ferret 1t out, and | couldn't,
and lad to come away. Old folks need their
sleep, you know, and couldn't get wink.
There's Simon Coles, who owns the next
plantation, has been after me since before
the war to sell him Tulip Tree at about half
what it is worth. The other day he met me,
and with that hateful leer of his, which
made me long to give him cut with my
whip, lie offered me about half what he did
in the first place. He said, You'd better
take it, Gresham; haunted houses have no
market value, and before long Tulip Tree
will have such name you can't get rid of
IL as gift vow" added the Colonel
bringing down his fist on the table, told
Coles I'd starve before I'd let him have
Tulip Tree at any OF his COMPOUNDED figures;
and il l couldn't do anything with il, I'd
keep it for my burial-piace. But l can tell
you, Dick, if you and Hi!da could 60 out
there and exercise the demons. and bring
have 1t rent free for five years, and my best
thanks In the bargain. There is consider
able handsome old furniture out there, and
with what you have here you could be quite
comfortable"
The occasion Of the manifestations out
there said Dick. laughing. must be either
man, the forces OF nature or spirits. If it
is man, have a good pair of fists and a
good revolver; if the forces of nature are
concerned, they should be harmOnized with
humanity IN some way; and as to Spirita.
really think they have some better occupa-
tons than tormenting couple of well-c0n-
Quoted young people who are trying to make
living What do You say. Hilda?"
II say let US go TO Tulip Tree and make
our fortune" | replied.
That ayaninO | FRANKLY fnld ntnr ou-
plan, ana what Colonel Gresham had said
about the plantation home. After an hour
spent in fearful entreaties to US to recon-
slider our intentions, old nanny said, he
and die wild yo'. Wat ole nanny leP in
dis worl' but you uns?" But when we
reached the Tulip Tree, and nanny had
heard the peculiar wailng In the house
aud the tales OF the negroes at the quarters,
she changed her mind. She refused to
yo' NANNY is 'fraid OBJ dyin', chile" she
explained; ives all got to die some time.
honey; but what l 'jects to is gobbleens,
wat carries yo' off, body an SOL. Dere's
Scripture fer dat, honey. Uncle JOKE
s'plained 1t to we 'uns at the quarters. 1t
says. Fear not dem dat kill de body, and
cy'aGt do no more; but fear the gobbieens
wat can kerry bof SOL an body off to de
bad place."
However, as COLLINS are supposed to be
eso uanStlOuS III tne uayLIne, NANNY, re-
inforced by Casinda, stout, jolly black girl
who considered homework much easier
and "lno' spectacle" than field work. came
to the house at sunrise and left for the quar-
tiers at sunset.
We found all that the Colonel had said
true, and quite as inexplicable as lie had
found it. The wild, continuous wailng
filled the house nearly all the time, now
low, now high, now falling 10 a sob or
moan; sometimes in still, hot moons coming
to an entire pause. We soon became used to
it. | even found some of the tones of our
mysterious music beautiful
The uproar at nights was most diabolical,
ana we wore ourselves out trying to dis
cover the cause Of it. If we watched all
night there was less of it, and usually it
began alter we were asleep. But Dick and
were young and active and hearty; we
had ouoyant dispositions and calm con-
sleeping unconcernedly through the riot
We had two bedrooms, with a door be-