The Cook County herald., 1893-11-18
TIE SOLDIERS VISION.
STRANGE SIGHT SEEN IN A
D CHURCH IN VIRGINIA.. K.
Aroused From His slumber in the Shell
f Ter Of the Consecrated Building to
Witness tho Return Of q Ghostly We'd
ding Party to It's Old Haunts.

~ "0A0 LIVING WILL Uur 1dQ1ly IN q
great country house in one of the
border counties of Virginia, so called,
as 1t was near that line of flame,
the sad, fatal, ductuating war.
Near our house was q church, q
noble edifice and monument of the
days gone by, when stately ladies
and grand gentlemen composed its
congregation. The old church, built
n early colonial times, had seen the
growth OF our strong. young re-
public, and near its hallowed pre-
clncts were buried the descendants of
princes, mobiles and titled danes, the
old cavaliers OF Virginia. The wind
made sad music through its sounding
galleries and the raindrops spattered
like tears Of memory on its ruined
walls. The church had been used as
barracks by passing troops in two
wars, who found safety from storms
IN its massive walls, and it could be
used as fortress of defense in sud-
den attack. In the swift fight of
years it had fallen frequently into
ruin and been again repaired, and
once, while removing the rubbish,
the workmen found box hidden far
back in an embrasure of the ruined
tower, which contained a rich bridal
garment, in a fashion of bygone
years. The rare and costly fabric
was blood-stained, and every evil
dence pointed to mysterious murder,
but in answer to the questions, s.Who
did the deed?" "Who was the vic
tim?' the echoes from nearly two
centuries brought no reply.
One quiet night in June while we
were sleeping after watching and
praying for weary hours for loved
ones in the army who might never
return we were startled by a knock
at our front door, and on opening it
| dark, determined man stood there
and asked for shelter, which in a
Virginia house is never refused. His
uniform was dark brown, the color
OF dead oak leaves; his. cap was knit
OF black and gray worsted, the color
Of dead moss and ichens of forest
trees; his rife was long and bright,
andsa sheath knife glittered in h: =
sbaaa AS he stood in the weird Iigfr
OF the family dawning day he looked
like a ghost of one of the old KNIGHTS
OF Sherwood forest in the days of old
Robin Hood, but we knew him for
what he was, Texas ranger so
famous in the guerrilla warfare of
the South. The color of his uniform
SO blended with the color of the
woods that no one could suspect his
presence.
After a hasty salutation he said:
~ have seen strange things tonight,
that make me doubt my own identify.
and have come to you, not with
war stories and news of battles, but
to ask the explanation of what saw.
l am acting as scout for General
Stuart and have been sent forward
to obtain what information I can. I
have passed quickly and quietly from
one position to another, my presence
not even suspected, and as night
came on, tired out, I sought refuge
in the old church 80 near YOU.
suppose I must have fallen asleen
from utter WEAKNESS, for apparently
I awoke to the sound of weird music.
so plaintive and ghostly in its nature
that all the superstitions I had
learned from my negro nurse on the
faraway old plantation possessed me
at once.
It was that wild, low strain, q we'd
ding march or funeral dirge; in its
tones. tenderness, regret, sorrow and
pity seemed blended. All at once the
massive doors Of the old church
were swung open by unseen hands
and the dim moonlight lit the old
building with ghostly light, and q
phantom train of stately cavaliers
and pale, lovely women entered the
ancient sanctuary.
''Solemnly down the aisle the dim
procession swept I could hear the
taps of the high-heeled shoes and
the rustic of the ladies' trains as
they passed over, the old, damp
stones. and the night winds tossed
their waving plumes, and the low,
dirge-like music kept time to their
stately stepping.
''There was one among them fairer
nAAoAA 0AA VIC ACSt cuE01y Lu0 D08FlS
in her golden hair and the shadowy
veil had been arranged in delicate
beauty by spirit hands; the soft,
mournful eyes had far-away look
of grief, and at her side walked one
dark and stern as midnight.
t.Ihe procession paused before the
ruined chancel, and it seemed to me
that bridal vows and deep sobs were
mingled with low imprecations and
muttered curses; the wall of sad,
low voice, a culver and q shudder
passed through the phantom and the
vision mingled with the shadows of
the night. ..s
Thoroughly aroused, I arose and
vent out into the moonlight; far
away in the east the first rosy tints
OF the new mox1;;cg wore family
glowing, while the sentinel stars still
kept watch over the sleeping earth;