The morning call., 1893-03-12

III LOhuOn, ana you uOn want TO Oe letl
alone here all that time. See here's the
place" and he indicated it on a county map.
~ GU cannot miss II, and you can walk or
ride just as you please"
l embraced the proposition eagerly and
elected to walk. Kent is the garden county
of England, and the roads. many Of them
| built by the Romans, are as firm as rock.
Two miles over a succession of chalk
| hills, with green-springing hedges and
| highly cultivated farms, brought me to a
| point where the road turned sharply to the
| lelt, in the direction of q village called
| Horton Kirby. The busy paper-milis of
| hartford were humming away as | left the
main road. and followed the banks Of the
babbling trout stream that turns half q
| score of mills in as many miles.
The first mill, distant about mile from
| the turning point of the road. had been
| indicated TO me as the scene of a ghost
| story famous in modern history, though few
| know the details.
! This mill, or rather group Of mills, had a
| dark, gloomy appearance, and a thick
| growth Of young trees was everywhere
! around them. They were gunpOwder-millS,
| In fact, and the trees had been planted
there years ago to break the force OF explo-
sions,
Two or three hundred yards from the
nearest mill, and well protected by trees,
was a dwelling exactly answering the de-
| scrption given me by my friend b.
1t was an old EliZabethan house. no imi-
regular thing. In Kent three or four hun
! dred years count for pcthing, and the re-
| mains Of pTiory built In the days of the
| Plantagenets were well preserved close to
| the point where | had left the main road.
| A most beautifully kept lawn made n
| pleasant approach to tie old house. The
| trout stream babbled merrily under the
/ trees close by, as if 10 sag Men may come
aud men may 60. but roll on forever"
| There was a sort of pOrtcO, / TecOleCt, and
driveway right up to the door
was very fortunate IN finding an old
! gentleman at the house. He was of most
| venerable AID Intellectual appearance a
! curious mixture of thoughtfulness aud
| chattiness, but not exactly the ideal of q
nervous man living in q haunted house
| | told him my errand. l wanted 10 in ter
| view the family skeleton, ghost or what
ever il was. Failing that. l wanted the
| story.
The old gentleman smiled benevoentlv.
rang for the butler, and when glass of
sherry mad banished our reserve he brought
! forth a number of documents that nearly
took my breath away. He was the family
| solicitor. and among the deeds of the prop
ertv was one bearing the signature Of the
very man whose name figures in the ghcst
story that wrung a confession from Dr.
| johnson of his entire belief in it.
Miles Peter Andrews had been. in fact,
| one of the partners in these Identical pow
der-mills nearly a hundred years before.
OF course the old gentleman could not
| recolect Miles Peter Andrews, but the next
| tenant Of the dwelling and partner In the
| concern. whose name was Pgon, was the
| grandfather OF the present owner.
| Very few changes had been made in the
| building, and | was led to believe that the
| chamber in which the ghost of Lord Lyttel-
ton appeared to Miles Peter Andrews was
| pretty much in the same condition as when
subsequently Miles Peter Andrews was
| found dead in his bed.
Letme try and give the story as nearly
| as | can rec0llect 1t. Somewhere or other
! there are records that may serve 10 bring
out other points than those l could gather
| in the haunted house.
| Myles Peter Andrews, Lord of the Manor
| Of Bignores, ami Thomas, the wicked Earl Of
| Lytteltnn, were bosom friends. There were
many features in common in their disposi-
! tons. Lyttelton had imbibed the early
| skepticism of his great and distinguished
| father, without any of his virtues. He was
a heartless, utter protiGate. Andrews may
| not have been this. but lie shared the reck-
less skepticism of his friend, and one day
they made bond OF as solemn a character
| as an avowed infdel is capable of, that If
| there should be another world the one that
died first should appear to the other
Lyttelt0n lived at Pitt Place, near EPSON,
about twenty miles from London and fifty
| from the home of Andrews. Failing
railroads and telegraphs, communication
between the friends, even If urgent re-
| quired from twelve TO twenty-four hours,
and generally two days.
During the latter part of November, 1779
Lord Lyttelton, who, though only 35 years
of age, was virtually an old man, as
the result Of his vices and excesses began
| TO be troubled with suffocative fits of an
alarming character. He submitted to some
sort OF treatment for them, but instead of
| taking rest and allowing nature u chance
he determined on having n house full Of
| guests and a general j0llificaton. Among
| the guests invited were two sisters named
| Amphlett, both of whom, il was believed,
he had wronged, while a third sister had
died IN Ireland OF broken heart as the re-
suit OF his having dishonored her.
On the night of November &c, 1779. after
Lord Lyttelton had retired. his servant was
| startled by most unearthly cry from the
| EarFS chamber, and. rushing in, found his
master pale as death and drenched with
| cold sweat.
When he had regained his eomposure the
Earl stated that he had distinctly seen at
| the window the form of a woman pointing
at n dove, which he saw land heard tiut-
tering at the panes. The woman in the
most solemn manner warned him to pre-
pare for death. as before midnight of the
morrow he would cease to live.
Lyttelton was brave to recklessness, and
calling his friends together told them of his
Intention TO Jockey the ghost" As the day
closed the clocks were secretly advanced
nall an hour, and the Earl, though toe un-
we'll to leave his bed. sat mp slipping teddy
and apparently in the best Of spirits The
guests retired, persuaded that the warning
was oply such stuff as dreams are made
Of" The hour of 12 passed. according to
the clocks, and twenty minutes later the
Earl's valet left the bedchamber for a
moment on some trihing errBnd.
When he returned lie found the Earl lying
on his face. dead. There was no mark of
violence and natural causes were accepted
as the cause.
On this very night. few minutes before
midnight, Myles Peter Andrews, who had