The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-08-21


Den he must gone into dc sittin room
up stayahs and shot hisself, Gus OATS
whar do blood commenced. and hit war
splash all long do hall and down do
stayahs and into de front pa la whar do
big red stain is. Lilly say dat she been
tolo dat aftah he shoot hisself no think
bout do lettah ho drap Oh dc flo, and
he drag hissolf all do way down dare
and burn hit up, all 'ceptin little piece
'thout no writin on hit, and nobody aim
ever know what Miss Charlitt dun
write to him. And Lilly sho say dat
Prince Cholly's ha'nt crawls down dem
stops and ober to dc pa'la fireplace and
burns dat lettah ev'ry night. -
Yes, '" L said, II presume it does,
but what of Miss Charlotte?"
jest gwlne to tell you dat. Lilly she
say dat when Miss Charlitt she heah
what Prince Cholly dun gone and do she
up and comes homo to her NANNY in
Alexandry and doan' cat nuthin, but lust
lay on dc bed and cry and cry Jest SO her
heart would break. And den do fevah
come, and she git 'stracted and doan'
know anybody, not even her own mann
my. She crowd worse every day tell she
ain lookin no moro like Miss Charlitt
than anything The doctor tell her
NANNY she aim gwine to live long and
say she bettah send fo' her husband, but
her NANNY say no, not TO- him. Miss
Charlitt she sleep right peaceful dat
night, and she smile right nachullikc
and look most Jest like she did bcfo'
Prince Cholly had to go way Long
t'wads dc mo'nin Miss Charlitt she dun
raise right up i'll dc babe and reach ND her
arms jest so and cry out raj jyful, Prince
Cholly, but she aim neber say no mo-.
She drap back on her pillar, and de doe
tor say hits all over, and he say hit toe
bad her husband aim thar, but Miss
Charhtt's nanny sho see the happy
sprcshun oil Miss Charlitt's face, and She
say, No; hit am bettah he aim heah >
Lilly say she hccrd dat Miss Charlitt's
ha'nt Is yer i'll this house too"
The afternoon faded into tho darkness
of the evening. After my dinner [ had
to remain with Nose while he finished
washing the dishes, us he was afraid to
be left alone for even II moment. His
work over, we adjourned to the front
parlor, and permitted Nose to smoke
cigar with me. As no ghosts seemed
to como forth, thought they might OBJ
Ject TO the lights, and, much to the dis
gust of Nose, | put them out in the hall
and i'll the room where we sat. A soft
radiance came III from tho street and
wo sat and smoked, and Nose, wishing
to appear courageous, was saying that
he guessed that half the houses that
were supposed to be haunted were not,
and l WAS thinking of the beautiful
Miss Charlotte when suddenly a figure
passed swiftly and noiselessly from the
hall door to the fireplace and there
vanished completely.
Flo God, mahsa, jew see dat?"
cried Nose, clinging around my neck,
beseechlng me i'll one howl to protect
him and i'll another calling on the Lord
to make him "a better niggcr.''
l have said that am not supersti-
tlous nor even nervous, but l had just
seen what Nose had, and after his un-
earthly bowling i'll my ear l was nearly
as much worked up as he was. We at
once lighted the gas and started al i'll
vestigation, but discovered nothing.
tried all my persuasion, but Nose
was determined to go. We, however
settled that he should sleep at Lillys
and como to me early i'll the mornings.
L told him there were no such things as
ghosts, and that | should no doubt soon
md ont all about the apparition of the
night before. That evening, after he
had finished his work and gone to sleep
across the way, again planted myself
Ill such position that l could easily
tfl In n.
was i'll the dark smoking, and had not
been seated long, when Il tall figure,
seemingly that of Il young man, passed
hurrledly from the fireplace across the
room and out into the hall.
L cried to it to stop My voice echoed
through tho house and frightened me,
1t sounded SO little like my OWL was
about to start i'll search of the retreatins
figure when there entered from the
door two others-those of man and a
woman. They passed slowly enough for
me to see them plainly, shadowy as
they were, and | ran from the room and
out the front door to the sidewalk. No:
L was not mistaken. There We're the
man and the woman-two negroes in
flesh and blood-and down the hill M
the corner of Second street was an elcc.
trio light. | saw it all ut once ANY
one passing in front of the house would
cast deep shadow i'll my drawing
room. called out to the couple who
had just passed: Hello, there Waltz
AT my first invitation to wait they
stopped, but as they located my voice
and my figure there camo howl from
the woman: 70 God, Ephr' am! Fo'
de Lawd sake, look yondcr, honeyr'
Approaching them, l asked if they
would not please walk back past the