The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-06
A SUPERNATURAL STORY.
Tho Contents of n Paper Found on the For.
son OF an Insane Suicide. 81

The Contents of n Paper Found on the For.
son of an Insane Suicide.
Here is u story of the supernatural. It
happened more than 100 years ago, so
that you may hope that it is not true.
Yet i'll those days the invention of news
was not yet known, and the paper which
contains this story was sober and hon
est Journal. One of the patients in
madhouse-a parish madhouse, think
that OF Launceston-escaped. That was
no new thing. They all wanted to es-
cape. AS the woman, although very
mad indeed, was quite harmless, they
went about their search in leisurely
fashion. At last they found her drowned
III shallow ditch and carried her back
10 the madhouse.
On preparing the unhappy woman for
the grave they found in her corset-then
called her stays-something that rustled.
They cut the thing open and discovered
small parcel rolled up tight in some
waterproof stuff-whatever was then in
vented. The parcel was Il document
written on parchment. 1t was written
very small and misspelled, but this was
how it ran:
THE man came along after dark. He
stopped at our door and said he was
n stranger. and would my aunt take him
in for the night? He seemed sailor
and said he was respectable and showed
money. Elizabeth said aunt, he can
have your room, and you shall sleep with
me- There were two bedrooms in the
cottage, up ladder, both garrets. Dur
ing the evening he sent me out for
drink, and he had lot and was drunk.
but he got up the ladder safe and so to
bed. In the night l heard aunt get out
of bed There was moon shining in
the slylight window.
''She took something and went into
the mans room. Then was frightened
and sat up in bed. and I heard sound
as of a blow and nothing more. Present
ly aunt came back, and in the moonlight
she saw me sitting up in bed Get up
she said; go down stairs and get. if YOU
can, Il light SO 1 did and brought the
rushlight up the ladder. Aunt had the
Bible i'll her hand. Swear she said.
that you will never tell any one what
has been done So 1 swore, trembling
and wished might go suddenly mad if
told. Then, says she, I've killed the
ledger. His pockets were full of guineas.
and I'm II made woman. But you must
help me-
$50 she made me help to drag the body
down into the room below and out in the
garden. where we dug hole under the
cabbages and laid it as deep rs we could
Then we covered all up and went back
to the house and waited till daybreak
As soon as it was light we washed up the
place, and nobody ever found out. One
night, when was woman grown. the
dead man came to my bedside and said,
Tell the story and said, 4 cannot, be-
cause | swore.' He said: IF You tell, YOU
have sworn to go mad. If You do not
tell, will haunt you till you do 90 mad
$50, as l am bound to go mad either
way, have written the story down and
sewn it up. When am dead. somebody
will find it and will dig up the poor man
and bury him i'll churchyard. The
house is situated"
Thus the narrative. And they dug up
the garden in the place indicated and
found the dead body III what had been
sailors clothes.-Walter Besant in Lon
don Queen.