Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-06-07
LAcKs TRUTH ONLY.
COLI FACTS DESTROY AN ENTER.
TAlNINe GHOST sIosY

- l.
"Reminiscences OF Lard I.ytton which A..
""te Valuable In RetatIop Than IN
TruthfuineSr An Alievea
R""m which Did Not Exlst.
Romantic Lord Lytton was. but NOT
snperstitions. His death, however has
revived the story OF the yellow bows
room. the ghost chamber said to exist At
hnebworth house. the beautiful ances-
tfai home OF the Lyttens for more thar
bOo years. At Mr. w. P. Frith's door
must the charge be laid Of having mt /
the interesting tale in circulation, for we |
md It first in his engaging volume Of
"Reminiscences After relating West
woods experiences with the weird WON
an OF the Maison Blob, the painter SUD
plements the story by another anecdote
OF more tragical significance.
AT Knebworth.r he says, the seat
OF Lord Lytton, there is a 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 word OF warning to the
mysterious and haunted room. Feeling
very tired he soon dropped into sleep,
but his uneasy slumbers were troubled
and 1t was not long before he awoke
What 1t was which startled him his lord
ship never knew, but the sight which
met his eyes as he gazed at the still burn
ing hire in his room was startling enough.
The figure Of boy, with long, yellowish
hair streaming down, sat in front of the
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 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 be
must have been dreaming, but his lord
ship declared with emphasis that he saw
the figure AZ distinctly as he saw his host
at that moment. and that, far from being
asleep. ne was wide awake.
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
MIR Firth then adds that Mr.. Bulwe1
did not tell Lord Castlereagh-Byron'
t carotid cutting Castlereagh' the
yellow boy always appeared to any one
who was destined to die a violent death
and always indicated the manner of il
! to his victim.
a A more amusing and less unpleasant
e incident is told OF the same chamber a
!, knebworth by our artist author, thu
o subject being Il timid, nervous brothe
J, painter who spent a night at the poet
lovely and stately retreat in Hartford
= shire. The father of the author of ''Lu
~ cile.' Mr.. Firth says, confded the de
l., tails OF the Castlereagh story to hi
~ guest on allotting the yellow boys roor
to him. renarking on bidding him goo
1T night, You will not be frightened, wi
y. yous' "No-o--o," said the painter, wit
an ashy face. well. it is getting lat,
:, what do you say to retiring? Yes, thu
IL is your candle. Too warm for fire
your room You don't mind? Goo
~ night" The rest of the story shall
re told" says Firth, sin my old friend
ne words us nearly as can remember then
mad seen" he went on, the infern
is room before dinner, and | thought
81 looked ghostly sort of place, and whe
a reached it that night what would n
n have given to be back in my own roo
u. at homel | looked under the bed, up tt
Al great, wide chimney, and had shot
1t. from the sight of my own face in Il
he looking glass. No ghost could be whit
in than was. | don't believe in ghost
CHI YOU know, but still it was really too bi
. Of l.ytton to tell me such things just
Sc, was going to bed, and then to put I
s in the very place. There was an awf
~. ~, old cabinet. managed to pull open t
he door and was Juggling at the other. VIII
, a nv candle went outflow, don't knt
somebody seemed to blow it ont.
gh can t tell YOU what became OF it; al
re- know is jumped into bed with l
US poots on, and lay trembling there
iiu s hours, FIRTH literally for hours
,,os sieep took me at last; and never wa
oh more thankful than when | awoke a
ew saw the sun shining into the yellow DO
sti- room.
DDS NO TRUTH IN THE STORY.
The circunstantiality with which
oox Firth tells these short tales must c
on vince his readers that he is thoroug
mt; .:.e.,I !, his own mind that the il
Sc, dents which he carefully describes
Ne, hammered at Knebworth. And yet
that respect, he is altogether out III
reckoning. There is no yellow D.
room in that grand old house OF the
It TONS at Knebworth. Lord Castiere
les never spent night there, nor III It knc
uri- that he ever visited the place III MS
, he In the autumn of 1854 spent TWO
law three very agreeable days at hneowo
all the guest OF Lord Lytton, who very XII
,uld showed me everything OF interest al
I'M his home and it's charming surrounoi
v is thought it strange that the vel
blue hov's room-if there really was SUE
anne room-had not been open to me, ana
xist, the very story associated with II IL
the FIRTH "reminiscences had been kept .
red So | sent off a hurried note to y
yell Meredith, then performing MS emu
IS of do,,at functions in the gayest caplti
in Errone and an early mail brought
ST ''iese '''> paris, sth Feb'y. Is
MY DEAR MR. TEwART-l an
your letter of the 18th ulto' IN oes !,
and unavoidable haste, MT +,
mans autobiography is all wrong aoou'
ltage story of the yellow BOY lna'
an al WAS told by Sir Walter ocott Oh
our Castlereagh who is said to nave
which the yellow Boy in some mouse ~