Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-09-15
WHAT WAS IT?
[NorE.-1t is rumored that the

~
museum in New York City have
made arrangements with DR.. X
to exhibit to the public the singu.
lar cast which Mr.. Escott deposited
with him. So extraordinary a his
tory cannot fail to attract unlver-
sal attention.
Inquiry has been made among
the different museums concerning
the truth of this rumor which. was
made public by Fitz James O'Brien
some years ago in Harper's Mon
thly and which the proprietors
have allowed ns to reprint. But
the singular reticence observed by
the authorities only serves to
deepen the mystery.
IT is, L corfess, with consider
able difidence that / approach the
strange narrative which l am about
to relate. The events which ] pur-
pose detailing are of 80 extraor-
dinary and unheard-of character
that / am quite prepared to meet
with an unusual amount OF
incredulity and scorn: ! accept all
such beforehand. I:haye, / trust,
the literary courage to face un-
belief. 1 have, after mature con-
sideration, resolved to narrate, in
as simple and straightforward a
manner as 1 can compass, some
facts thatpassed under my observa-
ton in the month of July last, and
which, in the annals Of the mys-
teries of physicale science, are
wholly unparalleled.
I live OF No.-Twenty-sixth
Street, in this city. The house is
in some respects q curious one. 1t
has enjoyed for the last two years
the reputation OF being haunted.
1t is a large and stately residence,
surrounded by what was once a
garden, but which is now only q
green inclosure; used for bleaching
clothes. The dry basin of what
has been a fountain, and a few
fruit-trees, ragged and unpruned,
indicate that this spot, in past
days, was a pleasant, shady retreat,
filed with fruits and flowers and
the sweet murmur of waters.
The house is very spacious. A
hall of noble size leads to a vast
spiral staircase winding throlgh
its centre; while the various
apartments are of imposing dinner
sions. 1t was built some fifteen or
stHentysY incasbEM Mrsxzz
the weIl-known New York mer-
chant, who FIVE years ago threwthe
commercial world into convulsions
by stupendous bank fraud. Mr..
4, as every one knows,
escaped to Europe, and died not
long after of a broken heart, Al
most Immediately after the news
of his decease reached this county,
and was verified, the report, spread
in Twenty sixth Street that No.
was haunted. Legal measures had
dispossessed the widow of it's for
mer owner, and it was inhabited
merely by a care-taker and his
wife, placed there by the house,
agent into whose hands it had
passed for the purposes of renting
OF sale. These people declared
that they were troubled with un-
natural noises. Doors were opened
without any visible agency. The
remnants of furniture scattered
through the various rooms were,
during the night, piled one upon
the other by unknown hands. In
visible feet passed up aud down
the stairs in broad daylight, &C.
companied. by the rustic of unseen
silk dresses aud the gliding OF
viewfess hands along the massive
balusters. The care-takes and his
wife declared they would live there
no longer. The house-agent laugh
ed, dismissed them, and put
others in their place. The noises
and supernatural manifestations
continued. The neighborhood
caught up the story, and the house
remained untenanted for three
years. Several parties negotiated
for it; but somehow, always before
the bargain closed they heard
the unpleasant .rumors, and dec
lined to treat any further.
1t was in this state of things
that my landlady-who at that
time kept a clearinghouse in
Bleecker Street, and who wished
to move farther uptown--conceived
the bold idea of renting No.
Twenty-sixth Street. Happening
to have in her house rather a
-1..L ,orf rh;1ooaNb1oo1 cnt nf