The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-02-06
LACKS TRUTH ONLY.
COLD FACTS DESTROY AN ENTER
TANNING GHOST STORY.


Rem luisooncos OF Lord Lytton which Are
More Valuable In Relation Than in
Truthfulness e. An Alleged Haunted
Room which Did Not EsIst.
Romantic Lord Lytton was, but not
buperstitious, His death, however, has
revived the story OF the yellow boys
room, the ghost chamber said to exist at
Knebworth house, the beautiful ances-
tral homo of the Lyttons for more than
COO years. At Mr., W. p Frith's door
must the charge be laid Of having put
the interesting tale in circulation, for we
find it first in his engaging volume Of
"Reminiscences" After relating West
woods experiences with the weird wom-
an of the Maison Blob, the painter sup
plements the story by another anecdote
Of more trngical significance,
"At Knebworth," he says, "the seat
Of Lord Lytton, there is a bedchamber
called the yellow boys room" He then
proceeds to relate that during o visit to
Knebworth, Lord Castlereagh, while the
guest Of the grandfather of the late
British ambassador TO Paris, was as
signed without a word Of wREning to the
mysterious and haunted room. Feeling
very tired he soon dropped into sleep,
but his uneasy slumbers were troubled
and it was not long before he awoke,
What it was which startled him his lord
ship never knew, but the sight which
met his eyes as he gazed at the still burn
ty,t
The figure Of boy, with long, yellowish
hair streaming down, sat in front Of tho
fireplace with his back toward the Irish
nobleman As the latter looked, the lad
arose, turned toward him, and drawing
back the curtain at the bottom of the
bed with one hand, with tho other he
drew his fingers two or three times across
his throat or course the impression
produced on Castlereagh was decidedly
disturbing Bulwer insisted that he
must have been dreaming, but his lord
ship declared with emphasis that he saw
the figure as distinctly as he saw his host
at that moment, and that, far from being
asleep, he was wide awake.
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
Mr. Firth then adds that Mr.. Bulwer
did not tell Lord Acknowledgment
carotid cutting Castlereagh"-that the
yellow boy always appeared to any one
who was destined to die a violent death
and always indicated the manner Of it
| to his victim.
A more amusing and less unpleasant
Incident is told Of the same chamber at
Knebworth by our artist author, the
subject being a timid, nervous brother
painter who spent night at tho poets
lovely and stately retreat In Hertford-
shire The father Of the author of "Lu-
cile," Mr.. Firth says, confded the de-
tails Of the Castlereagh story to his
guest on allotting the yellow boys room
to him, remarlhng on bidding him good
night, "You will not be frightened, will
your 'No-o-o," said the painter, with
an ashy face. "Well, it is getting late;
what do you say TO retiring2 Yes, that
is your candle. Too warm for fire in
your room. You don't mind2 Good
night" "The rest Of the story shall be
told" says Firth, 'in my old friends
words as nearly as can remember them.
| had seen," ho went on, 1.-The internal
room before dinner, and l thought it
looked a ghostly sort Of place, and when
1 reached 1t that night what would not
have given to be back In my own room
at homel looked under the bed, up the
great, wide chimney, and had a shock
from the sight Of my own face in the
looking glass No ghost could be whittier
than was. don't believe In ghosts,
you know, but still 1t was really too bad
Of Lytton to tell me such things Just as
| was going to bed, and then to put me
In the very placel There was an awful
old cabinet, ! managed to pull open the
door and was tugging at the other, when
my candle went outflow, don't know
somebody seemed TO blow it out
can't tell you what became Of it, all
know is | jumped into bed with my
boots on, and lay trembling there for
hours, Frith-literally for hours-till
Ileep took me at last; and never was
more thankful than when l awoke and
saw the sun shining into the yellow boys
room.
no TRUTH IN THE STORY.
The clrcumstantiality with which Mr
Firth tells these short tales must con
vince his readers that he is thoroughly
satisfied in his own mind that the Incl
dents which he carefully describes all
happened at Knebworth. And yet, in
that respect, he is altogether out in his
reckoning There is no yellow boys
room in that grand old house Of the Lyt-
tons at Knebworth. Lord Castlereagh
never spent a night there, nor Is it known
that he ever visited the place in his life.
In the autumn of 1884 | spent two or
three very agreeable days at Knebworth,
the guest Of Lord Lytton, who very kindly
showed me everything Of interest about
his homo and it's charming surroundings.
thought it strange that the yellow
boys room--if there really was such a
room-had not been open to mo, and that
tho very story associated with 1t in the
Firth "reminiscences had been kept back.
So / sent off a hurried note to Owen
- Meredith, then performing his embassa.
dorial functions in the gayest capital IN
Europe, and an early mail brought me
these lines,
paris, Sth Feb'y. 1855
MY DEAR Mr.. STEwART-I answer
your letter of the l2th ulto in desperate
and unavoidable haste. Mr. Firth:
autobiography Is all wrong about the
story Of the Yellow Boy That story
was told by Sir Walter Scott Of LORD
Castlereagh, who Is said to have seer
tho yellow Boy IN some house in Ire
land at the time when he was secretary
for ireland, just before the union, ant
tho story went that the apparition ther
predicted to him the mode of his death
But tho incident certainly did not occul
- 1t Knebworth, nor do | think Lore
Castlsreagh was ever there. Yours very
faithfully LYTToN."
The CnstlareHgh story is quite familiar
% the readers Of Scott and Lockhart
aala biography independent
simplify.
Simplify! That is tho secret. Simplf
IN household service and elucidate th
domestic problem. Simplify in fool
sld solve tho servant problem. Simplf
ia weddings and ro-ostabhsh the ol
lshionod practice Of marrying and gi1
ing in marriage Simplify IN what 70
cat, and Danish dyspepsia. Simplify
rotection, and abiUre colds. Bang OF
our double windows, uncoil your steal
pipes, and go back TO airy houses am