Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1892-01-16
LACKS TRUTH ONLY.
COLD FACTS DESTROY An ENTER.
TANNING GHOST STORY.

TANNING GHOST STORY.
"Reminiscences Of Lord Lytton which Ars
More Valuable In Relation Than In
TruthfuIness An Alleged Haunted
Room Which Did Not Exist.
Romantic Lord Lytton was, but not
superstitious. His death. however, has
revived the story of the yellow boys
room, the ghost chamber said to exist at
Knebworth house, the beautiful ances-
trail home of the Lyttons for more than
600 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
Elements the story by another anecdote
of more tragical significance
Eat Knebworth," he says, 1.-The seat
Of Lord Lytton, there is bedchamber
called the yellow boys room" He then
proceeds to relate that during 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 warning 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
ing fire in his room was startling enough.
The figure of a boy, with long, yellowish
hair streaming down, sat in front of the
fireplace with his back toward the Irish
nob]eman. 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 the other he
drew his fingers two or three times across
| his throat OF 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 Castlereagh-Byron's
carotid cutting Castlereagh"-that the
yellow boy always appeared to any one
who was destined to die 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 a night at the poets
| lovely and stately retreat in Hartford
shire. The father of the author of Gu
cile," Mr.. Firth says, confded the de-
| tails of the Castlereagh story to his
guest ON allotting the yellow boys room
to him, remarking on bidding him good
| night. "You will not be frightened, will
your 'tNo-o-o," said the painter, with
an ashy face. We'll, it is getting late;
what do you say to retiring? Yes, that
is your candle Too warm for a fire in
your room. You don't mind? Good
night" 1.-The rest of the story shall be
told" says Firth, "in my old friends
words as nearly as can remember them.
had SEEM" he went on, ''the Internal
room before dinner, and l thought it
looked ghostly sort of place, and when
reached it that night what would not
have given to be back in my own room
at homei looked under the bed, up the
great, wide chimney, and had q shock
from the sight of my own face in the
looking glass. No ghost could be winter
than was. l don't believe in ghosts,
you know, but still it 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 place! 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
sleep 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 circumstantiality 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
1913 Sc 1rv,a
that he ever visited the place in his life.
in the autumn of 1884 l spent two or
three very agreeable days at Knebworth,
the guest of Lord Lytton, who very kindly
showed me everything of interest about
his home and it's charming surroundings.
thought it strange that the yellow
boys room-if there really was such
room-had not been open to me, and that
the very story associated with it in the
Firth "reminiscences had been kept back
So / sent off 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. 1885.
"MY DEAR Mr.. STEWART answer
your letter of the 18th ulto. in desperate
and unavoidable haste. Mr.. Frith's
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 seen
the Yellow Boy in some house in Ire
land at the time when he was secretary
| for Ireland, just before the union, and
| the story went that the apparition then
| predicted to him the mode of his death.
But the incident certainly did not occur
| at Knebworth, nor do think Lord
Castlereagh was ever there. Yours very
faithfully, LYrToN.
The Castlereagh story is quite familiar
to the readers of Scott and Lockhart's
noble biography independent.
| Happy HeOsiers. /.