The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-09-08

neas end the low mur,nuranrn ,
thusAsr seemed - ~ affected d
hosse. too and ~ sn0ocious brui
eied constantly 70 1lnsksx NJ pse'
How louely = seemed thesd 10 h&ussl
no liv5 ~ bet nothing - ths dee
in til Rra1Byard bet euddenl
the horse slopped and slortsd ~
Dupont saSttwo white nguls suddcnl
dart into the road; 01s stood beside hi
horse. and the other beckoned him :
descend from his wagon. His hal
rose, and hfs ton6us seemed o1ued .
his mouth. The silence was terrible
II those white BEINGS would only speak
but no sound came from them. At las
IN desperation be stammerei.uute
"Who are you, and Whist do yo,
mean BY stopping me hcre In this way7'
I'VE are spirits of the departed dead,
q sepulchral voice replied, "and W,
have need OF your services; descent
from your vehicle, do as we bid you
and on the word Of q ghost you shal
not be harmed" n
The terrified lawyer descended ant
stood by the speakers side, while the
other ghost tied his horse 70 o tree and
joined them.
yield yourself entirely 70 M and
you shall be safe, said the spokesman.
"You must needs walk far and must
allow Ms to blindfold your eyes, in order
that you may not discover before your
time the way to the land Of the shades.
No more words must Be spoken.
Obey" ~r4e 94.t
Mr.. Dupont was so terrified that he
could not speak. and In silence allowed
cloth to be bound over his eyes; then,
escorted by his ghostly companions, he
began to walk. It seemed to him that
he would never be allowed to stop;
seconds seemed ages, every attempt Of
his to speak was checked by impatient
groans Of his guides At last, after
walking half around the earth, as It
seemed to him, he realized that he was
being piloted up some steps, and by the
feeling of warmth he knew that he had
left the open air. ~
THE justice Of the peace may be
seated" said the ghost who had done
all the talking. A
Mr.. Dupont sat down and tho cloth
was quickly removed from his eyes, re-
vealing to his nstonished gaze the In
terror of room dimly lighted by wax
candles Every side was hung with
black curtains, and on four black-cov-
cred stools facing him sat four white
robed specters, while beside him stood
another dressed like his companions.
Before he had timc to more than WON
der at his strange surroundings, the
spokesman began:
Mr.. Dupont, we have solemn duty
for you to perform. You are q justice
of tho peace In the world Of the living,
and a man dear to us on account Of
your noble life; therefore are you here.
We have in these abodes Of 3the dead
two young shades recently come from
the other world Each OF. these died Of
q broken heart becsuse stern parent
forbade them to marry? What do you
think, sir. OF such q parent as that?"
Mr.. Dupont wiggled about unessily
In his chair, and at last said: II think.
good shades IL was very wrong of him"
I'VE knew you would" resumed the
ghost, "because you are kind man,
and one who loves his children. Now
do we understand you to soy that II the
poor girl had been your child Il would
never have happened?"
Surely It never would,n replied The
frightened Mr.. Dupont
I'VE have not misjudged you, then"
replied the shade, while the other four
ghosts nodded approvingly. 1--WE have
you in order that you may
mite them in wedloclz, 30 that IN this
world at least they may be happy. Such
marriage as this is not common among
is, 80 we brought you here, a good Jus
Ice OF the peace, rather than a minis
er, who might have been shocked at
hese proceedings You can marry
hem just rs we'll as clergyman. Now,
ir, will you oblige US, BY marrying
hese two shades? II you will CONSENT
,ou may depart at onoe TO your home.
VIII your
Marry the two shades9 OF course he
you'd; anything 70 get away from this
errible spot And %, without tho pre-
aution Of stipuiating his fee, be stsm-
! cred outs ~. .yN
''Oh, yes, surely. anything you wish" /"
No sooner had he given his consent
IAN one Of the black curtains wos /
rawn aside and two other beings In
7hite entered and stood before him. |
he. other shades rose, and Mr. Dupont.
OF wishing TO be the only,one 10 keep
Is scat, rose too, The good Justice had
ever married shadess ne dd not know
uite how to proceed They looked ex. I,
silly ahkes he did not know which wa
,e bride and which the groom He
'ished he wero well ont o. II and tho ,
My way to gain his wish was to pro- ,
ed quickly with tho, ceremony, aud Z
he began ct once. Some way he I
'anaRed 70 got through, although be 4
'uld not have told afterward how Il !
as done. He turned 70 the bride
hen he said: "Do you take this woman
be your welded wifeT' and to the
'oom when he should have addressed
% bridei but at length, much TO his I
lief, the II do" was said by each, and I
Q justice finished with the al pro-
)unce You man and vlfo -