Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-02-23
ATRUE GHOST STORY.
a REAaARs<Aele EXPERIENCE or s,s...
or WleeReoRce.


As1eesWhsa ADDRESSED b ~ nashs,
he Ese.ss cAa.ssa ow..r..
Tho following remarkable inciden,
IN tho life Of the late Samuel WiIber.
force. bishop Of Oxford and afterv.rd
81 winchester, Is related rs absolutely
authentic, and the good bishop himself
y said to have many times rehesr,ea
tno story 70 his friends. Bishop Will
oefiorce was most prominent among hin
contemporaries Of the English cierev
md was once leader Of the hioh
church party. He, however, frequent
found time to devote to the social
SIDE OF life and was sometimes STYLED
the bishop of society,"
I'm . certain occasion the ,vorfhv
bishop had accepted an invitation tn
stay ut country house not far from
London. Entering the drawing room
previous to dinner on the evening of his
arrival, he noticed u priest-evidently
OF the Roman communiOn-sittipy nv
sne open fire and taking no part in the
general conversation. The bisbon WA
somewhat surprised ut not being pre-
sented to the priest, and his astOnish-
S1ent was great when. q few moment,
later. dinner being announced. the
guests retired, leaving the priest at his
place by the fire. The hostess having
assigned Bishop wilberforce the seat of
honor Mt her right hand. MS soon as an
opportunity offered no remarked:
II beg your pardon, madam, but
may i inquire who was the priest we
iett sitting apart in the drawing room?"
"Ah, You have seen him, them re.
Piled the lady. 1T is not every one
who has thct privilege. 1 cannot tell
You who he is or whence he comes.
For many years this specter has haunted
the house and grounds-it has. in fact,
been . tradition in the family. He
seems to do no harm, and although he
appears only occasionally We have be-
come quite accustomed to our friendly
ghost.
How very singular!' remarked his
lordship. But have you never ad-
dressed your priestly specter:"
Indeed. I have had no opportunity,
nor the desire. for that natter" re-
sponded the hostess, growing pale.
May I take the liberty now?" in
quired the dignitary.
with all my heart. your lordship,"
replied the lady. The bishop arose,
and returning to tho drawing room
found the priest where he had left him
q few minutes before. Having no fear.
the bishop said kindly:
"who arc you, ny friend, and why
are you he-e?'
The specter seemed to sigh deeply and
say, as though to itself, AT last!''
Then. in a hollow voice, addressing
the bishop, it continued: II am the
spirit of priest who left this world
some so years ago, and 1 I'm hero to
tmpart to any one who will receive It
a secret which died with me. I could
not rest in my grave while o great
wrong was being done which it was in
my power to right. I have been re-
turning all these years in the hope some
one would address me. for it was not
given to me TO be the first to speak. All
men have Stunned me until now, and
it is your mission to do my bidding. /
was q priest of the church of Rome
and was called to this house 80 years
ago to receive the confession of dying
man. He was the sole possessor of .
secret. the knowledge of which would
alter materially the entail of this vast
estate. and in his death this man wished
to repair the terrible wrong he had
brought upon hts kin.
AT his request wrote down the
confession word for word, as he gave
1t to me, and when he finished had
barely time to administer the final sac
rament Of the church before he expired
in my arms. 1t was very important
that I should return to London that
night, and in passing through the libra
~ to leave the house I concluded it
would be safer not to carry the paper
on which was written the confession
away with me, but to place ii in some
secure, unseen spot. where could OBJ
tain it the following day and deliver
the document to the person for whom
It WINS intended. Mounting the steps
to the hook shelves, ! took ont a copy
Of Young's Might Thoughts. which
was the first book upon the upperinost
shelf nearest the last window, and in
serting the paper carefully between ite
leaves / replaced the book and depart
ed. A horse was awaiting me ut the
door, but ere we reached the entrance
Of the grounds no took fright. i was
thrown and instantly killed. Thus died
the secret Of my confeseor with me. No
ono has disturbed that book in all these
years, and no one has had the courage
to address this messenger from the un-
known. The paper will he found as
have stated. and now remains for You
to correct the injustice which has 20
long been upon this noble family. My
mission h over, and can rest in
peace"
At the close of this remarkable speech
the specter faded gradually from sight.
and the bishop was left gazing into
space. Recovering from his astOnish-
ment, Bishop wilberforce went at once
to the library and found the book ex-
actly n indicated Ivy the specter. In
it, secluded corner, upon the top shelf,
thick 9TH the duzf If nwoa ovidp0fly