The morning call., 1893-10-21
HER GHOST.

ST don't think 1 am more supersEitious
than the general run of men. and l know
lam no believer in this table-waltzing
wall-rapping sort of spiritualism. but
did once run across queer thing not to be
explained on natural grounds.
"I am a native of England and for seven
or eight years of my early manhood served
in the royal navy as lieutenant. In 1866 |
sailed in the Princess Alice, where l first
became acquainted with young fellow a
little older than myself named, or l shall
call him, Freeman Lovelace. While
cannot say / ever conceived any real affec-
ton for him, we became rather good friends
as such friendships 60. He was clever,
full of good stories, had seen much of life
though, perhaps, too much of its worse
SIDE. and was we'll liked by ell on board.
He was just the sort of man that
women love to infatuation and throw
themselves away on, and from what he
would sometimes in confidential moods
let drop, fancied he was pretty much
entangled in half a dozen different
directions ashore. When we left on The
cruise am going to tell you of, thought
that he seemed TO have something on his
mind, and once i saw him tear up some
letters he had and heard him mnrmur
several times: Poor girl! poor girl!
But this unwoDted seriousness wore
away in week or two and l thought
nothing more of it. But one night when
he and [ had just parted for the night and
l had started for my cabin he called me
back.
you just now?'
~ looked at him in amazement We
were 200 miles from any woman and he
knew t.
IA womanP 1 echoed. why, how
should a woman come aboard the Princess
Alice?'
ION. all right he answered. lightly.
although | could see by the pinnacle
lamp that his face was singularly color
less.
1t must have been imagination that
made me think | saw some one in woman's
dress steal out of the shadow of the mast
there. GoOd-night'
1--WE were TO touch at Gibraltar. Malaga
and Barcelona as we entered the Mediter-
ranean, and il was at the first OF these
ports that the next of the series OF eX-
traOrdiDary events l have to relate took
place. We had passed the mighty fort
ress and lay at anchor near the town
when Lovelace and l got leave to 60
ashore for a couple of hours. AS we
d
closely shuttered. as it was noOntlde. /
observed a woman standing half-concealed
By the pillars of a church. L was just
about to call the attention OF my cOmpan-
ion TO the fact that she seemed TO be an
Epglishwoman and that her quiet English
costume seemed out OF place in this essen
TALLY foreign town when l saw hlTa start
back and turn palld. l caught him.
thin king him faint, but soon saw that it
was unmlstakable terror | detected on his
face.
The woman was in black. and in Lon
don would have been taken for a sort of
superior workingwoman, probably The
forewOman in a mantua-making establish
ment. But what struck me as strange was
the fact of the unusual intentness OF her
face fixed immoyably on LOvelace, and
that she held her hand 20 her throat In a
way that concealed it from view.
"In another moment Loyelace seemed to
rally and started forward with a cry OF
'Lury! you here?" on his lips.
''But as my eyes went from him back to
the spot, not thirty5feet away. where the
girl had stood. / saw that she was gone.
My companion now became excited.
Where did she go" he asked.
81 was as much puzzled as he, for it was
hardly possible that she could In that mere
moment of time have gained one of the
adjacent houses or have gone down the
street unseen by us. Indeed. in both
directions there was no one in sight There
was only the church, but on our entering
we were confronted by priest speaking
very fair English, who assured US that no
one had entered the edIfice within the last
hour. l was, as | have said. puzzled by
this, but thought nothing of any super
natural element il might have.
'L0velace, on the contrary. returned at
once to the ship and for days secluded
himself from all cOmpaniouship. When
we reached Malaga he did not wish to go
ashore, but the commander OF the ship de-
tailed him. together with three others, to
carry dispatch to the Consul at that port.
! remained aboard. but on the others re-
turning [ heard what was designated as
queer story of Lovelace.
ut seemed that he, with the rest of the
party, stopped on the street 10 buy some
fruit, when all at once the frult-seller's
little child cried out IN terror something
about woman in black shat was standing
Just back of Lovelace. All looked around,
but could see nobody there, and they went
on choosing the fruit. when the child gave
another still louder shrek and fell down.
Its mother picked 1t up, and the little iei-
low clung TO her, s0Dblng out that the
woman had taken her hand from her throat
and that it was all bloody.
"As there was plainly no such woman
about, the other young officers would have
laughed at the child's fancy, but Lovelace
had been obliged TO borrow the frui.-sell-
er's chair, so agitated was he for some
minutes.
lie looked as white and weak as a
woman concluded my informant.
"On getting to Barcelona Lovelace re-
fused to leave the ship, bgt during the day
there arrived an invitation from mutual
FRIEND of his and mine, whose yacht was
lying there, TO dine with him, and aftel
some difficulty succeeded in getting Love
lace to consent 10 90.
''We spent pleasant hour aboard Lord
IS beautiful craft, and were just going
in to dinner, Lady - on LOvelace's arm
when all at once that lady gave scream
and looked around IN haste. only to scream
again and to faint dead away.
''I stared with amaZement with the res
of the guests, but just beyond Lovelace
saw the woman in black standing