The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-04-22
ARTIST AND GHOST
A Story of Reginald Easton and
Ghost subject.


ARTIST AND GHOST.
A Story of Reginald Easton and a
Ghost subject.
In the Magazine Of Art for April w. P.
Firth, r. A., tells the following story of
his friend, the late Reginald Easton,
miniature painter, and the ghost that was
the subject of one OF his paintings: 70
his dying day believe my old friend
! persisted in the truth OF his story, which
was as follows: He was asked by letter
II he would undertake the miniature por-
traits of some children, whose parents re-
joiced in the name of Cobb or something
like it, and who lived in an old house in
remote country place. The Cobbs
would be delighted TO receive him as a
visitor; he might be assured of a Hospital
Bile reception and a room with good
( light for his work. My friend arrived at
moated house OF great antiquity, truly
a treasure OF place to an artist, as
he described it, with its mulhoned
windows, its inner courtyard with
quaint gables, tall ehimneys, and the
rest of it. The Cobbs were charming
people, the children pretty, and APP
/ parenty tractable and the house quite
| full of company, SO full that one bedroom
only was available to the artist.
Easton noticed mysterious sort of
muttering between his host and hostess,
| Vi WHICH uG uGdIu Ine MOIuS CAL L D6
! helped-there's no other" which he con-
| strued rather unfayorably in respect of
| the salubrity of his apartment, but in re-
| ply to his inquiry about dampness, ETC.,
/ he was assured that he had nothing to
| fear on that score. The dinner left moth
ing to wish for, the company was con-
| genial, the wines, OF which, as always, he
! was very sparing, were perfect, and the
! artist retired to his room somewhat
/ tatigued by his journey, but only suIti-
GENTLY so to make his bed more than
usually welcome. Before testing its
qualities, however. he examined the
ancient room. The bed was huge cree
ton, with funereal feathers browning
each Of the four posts. 1t stood opposite
to fireplace of high and quaint con-
struction, with silver tire-dOg on each
| side OF 1t; opposite to the door, and to the
| left OF the chimney piece, was an oriel
! window, through which the moon shone
brightly enough TO enable the tenant of
the room TO distinguish pretty clearly all
| the objects in it.
Easton was soon in bed, and almost as
soon asleep, to be presently awoke By a
strange intruder, who stood at the foot OF
his bed III the full light of the moon, in
the form OF an elderly lady, who was APP
parently wringing her hands, and with
/ eyes cast down was searching for some
thing on the floor. Feeling that q mis-
ldhC 4lsASl DCGtA llldlG, TIC uTIlSJ SdJ I'D IN
/ his bed and said, Il beg your pardon,
madam, but you have mistaken your
ROOM" The strange visitor made no re-
! ply; and on closer inspection, To his great
surprise, Easton found the lady to be in
the dress worna hundred and fifty years
ago, and perfectly transparent, for he could
distinctly trace the form of the fireplace
/ through the body OF the figure; he also
recognized the lady as exactly resem-
( bling one Of the ancestral portraits he
| had seen i'll the picture gallery before
dinner. These reflections had scarcely
passed through his mind when the lady,
with a look of terrible despair in her
face, ceased wringing her hands, seemed
to be absorbed in the moonlight, and dis
appeared through the window.
''Well," said Easton to himself not
! having experienced the slightest sensa-
ton OF fear, that's ghost If ever there
was one. l wish to goodness 1 had a
sketch of her." In few minutes he was
fast asleep again.
The mystery of the conversation of the
| previous night between host and hostess
was cleared up at breakfast when, in re-
ply to the usual hope that be had slept
well, he gave an account of his midnight
visitor.
YES" said Mrs. Cobb, 1--WE never use
| that room If we can avoid doing so, for
our friends are sometimes terrified by the
| aquarium VI INC OtuNllul MOllldH VINO
committed murder in that room. No,
| she is no ancestor of ours, but she be-
came possessed of this property by the
murder of the heir to it-a child who was
! the only obstacle to her inheritng the
estates. This she managed by sending
the childs nurse on fictitious errand,
and during her absence she strangled the
heir, but so skillfully that no traces of
foul play were discernible, and nothing
would have been known of the crime il
she had not confessed it on her death bed,
The property was then sold, and Mr..
| Cobbs grandfather bought it."
'Wlll she appear again, do you thinll?"
inquired the artist.
Certainly she will, and about the same
time" was the reply.
At the request of Mr. Eastou he was
furnished with lamp, the light of which
was kept as low rs possible, and with
sketching materials by the side of it he
laid himself down in bed on the second
night, but not to sleep. The apparition
appeared and conducted itself exactly as
it did on the previous night:
and, if ghosts are capable of surprise
she must have experienced the sensation
when Easton, sitting up in bed, said
~ beg your pardon, madam; l am an
artist-will you allow me to make a
sketch of you? | shall then convince
skeptics of the truth of the appearances
Of" But before the request was COM
pleted the old lady had vanished as be-
fore.