Democratic messenger., 1894-12-15
Ii.c RETIRED RiRGlAR.

An id., t.tnr" sh'win. That a Live t.'cm-
an l. i;"r1 t" BE Dreaded Than - Ghost.
AT q clool; cnc morning, said the
retired bnraLr Il was il q hood sized
second story bat., bedroom III com
Portable oil house IN :. r~:-y town in
Massachusetts, Tho bel this room
was empty but tho clothes VI Turned
back, and the bed had evident. Y hccn
occupied 1t stood in the rea: CO.
farthcSt from tho door, with the he....
board against tho rear wall and the
side Of the bed about u foot or so away
from tho side wall. At the foot of the
bed against tho sido wall, about in the
middle of that side OF the roon and
right opposite tho door, stood to bu.
rcau Between it and the foot.c2rd it.
self there was - space of perhaps :. foot.
maybe II foot and half, enough for
any body to pass through comfortably.
Il stood now i'll front of the blreau.
/ had set my lamp down on top Of it
and had just opened tho top drawer
when something prompted INC to look
up into the mirror In that mirror
saw, dim, but clear enough, the rctlec-
tion of IA ghost i'll tho hall There was
a faint light i'll tho hall, just little
from lamp standing on 4 table near
the front end. and by that light. when
turned to look, | saw the ghost. 1t was
moving from tho rear of tho house To-
ward the front, along the hall, n little
nearer To the side / was on than TO the
other. and moving slowly, like stage
ghost 1t was tall and spare and all in
white, with something white over its
head II moved slowly across the door
and disappeared. After it had gone
stood there, with my back to the bu-
reau, staring at tho doorway.
"A Eiomcnt later it reappeaIed, NOV
ing now toward the rear of the house,
! and this time nearer still to my side OF
the hall II was moving slowly, as be-
fore, but instead of passing by it turred
toward my doorway when it came OPP
poSite To it and came i'll over the sill
and moved slowly across the room
straight toward me. Nearer and nearer,
and | couldn't move until something
told me-I wondered why it hadn't come
walker Ii was woman. This was her
room, and she was coming back where
| she belonged.
"Of course felt little easier then,
bat wanted to get away, and | thought
should soon be able to, for l supposed,
Of course, that she was making for the
bed, and tho idea that she would do
anything hut 30 TO the front of the bed
| and get il there. like any other human
being. never entered my head. While
she was coming across the room had
sort Of involuntarily backed into that
gap between the corner Of the bureau
and the footboard of the bed. ! stood
there looking ut her while she was still
coming straight across toward the uu-
reau, never doubling that She would
turn in time and go to the front Of the
bed, and She did turn and move i'll that
direction, but when she got pretty near
to the other corner of tho footbo?rd
from where | was she turned again and
started toward the gap that l was
standing in. evidently with tho inten-
tion of going around To tho back Of the
bed between it and the wall and getting
III on that side. That last three or four
feet along the footboard she seemed 10
glide rs smooth as ever, but quicker
than lightning, in the way and too
scared to move. She was awake the in
stant she touched me and screaming like
mad woman, and l was awake then.
my friend, finally. and clawing across
that bed to a window there was at the
head of it l cleaned that window out.
blinds and all, with ono sweep of the
jimmy and jumped. New York sun